desis growing up in middle east and accents/approach

Arts & Culture Culture, Arts, Literature & Linguistics
21

I dunno what is the buk buk about, but can’t resist buk buking myself…

Racing & crashing cars in Jeddah (check)
Shawarma (check)
Arabic school (check)
Desi School in Jeddah (check)
Speak Arabic in Arabic accent (check)
Speak Arabic in Urdu accent (check)
Speak Urdu in Arabic accent (check)
Speak Urdu in English (US) accent (uncheck)
Speak English (US) in Urudu accent (check)
Speak Punjabi in Punjabi accent (uncheck) :(
Speak Punjabi in Urdu accent (check)
Speak Punjabi in British accent (check) :)
Influenced by wahabis (check)
Baggy clothes (check)
Sneakers (big uncheck)
Taro Arab women in abaya (check) (I was a sinner back then :D .. can’t even imagine that now, got married :))

So what’s the beef ?

22

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Fraudz: *

Which is people should not give up their roots..atleast it seems weird when the kids of first generation immigrants are clueless.

[/QUOTE]

Clueless...what makes u think the desi kids in the middleeast are clueless abt their roots. Infact desis in middleeast have a strong attachment to their roots, their subcontinent culture and Islam. Unlike what i get to see in America...(eating nihari and naan, with knife and fork).

Lots of assumptions in ur post....bhai saab. I think there are enough problems with America and American Desis, so stick to them. People in the Middle east are much better of.

23

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Sharaabi: *
Unlike what i get to see in America...(eating nihari and naan, with knife and fork).
[/QUOTE]

lol, that's so funny. :D

24

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Fraudz: *

and again, niether do i think abcds are the best or that everyone is expected to think, act, dress like they do..and that is the basic point..when people try to copy, whether they are in mid east or in Pakistan and look like some teeny bopper show rejects, then it is a bit funny..

[/QUOTE]

I agree with ur idea that people should'nt copy, but the fact is, people tend to act and behave like those they see on TV.

American media is the strongest media, so people tend to act like Americans. Its happening all over the world, not just Middle east.

25

Originally posted by Zakk: *
**Fraudz maybe those differences you mentioned are because they are Middle Eastern Born Confused Desi's? *

Bingo... u hot the nail on the head.
it still does not explain why middle east born confused desis pretend to be american born confused desis, there is a world of difference.

*Isn't being confused about who you are a natural process of being brought up in another country? *

it can be, but how can a person growing up in Nigeria speak urdu as if he had grown up in China..catch mah drift? :)

26

Originally posted by Sharaabi: *
**Clueless...what makes u think the desi kids in the middleeast are clueless abt their roots. Infact desis in middleeast have a strong attachment to their roots, their subcontinent culture and Islam. *

right, but other ppl who have lived in middle east have noted in this thread that these kids growing up in middle east have been affected by the media..as u note yourself even.

arab born confused desis exist, and its sad when they try to act so western. Now it may not apply to 90% of the desis there, as a matter of fact looking at how majority of middle east desi dress, it may even be more.

Unlike what i get to see in America...(eating nihari and naan, with knife and fork).

this thread is no not about american desis :)
funny bit is that steroetyping american desi sis okay, but one word about arbay desi and hungama kahara ho jata hai :)

*Lots of assumptions in ur post....bhai saab. *

Not assumptions, but observations, your observation of someone eating nihari with fork and knife is not an assumption, and niether is middle east born desis who pretend to be western :) i mean its not unheard of, go to pakistan and see ppl who are all western wanna bes :)

*I think there are enough problems with America and American Desis, so stick to them. *

Oh indeed there are problems with america and american desis, and that a different topic, that is not a reason to shy away from an analysis of arbay desi :)

*People in the Middle east are much better of. *

maybe, but then why do they pretend to act as if they are from London when they are in hafuf? :D

27

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ChaChoo: *
Speak Urdu in English (US) accent (uncheck)

So what’s the beef ?
[/QUOTE]

the beef is with the types that grow up in dammam but speak urdu as if they were born and raised in detroit and the parents never taught them urdu :)

28

Bingo... u hit the nail on the head.

Another point..the Middle Eastern Arabs and Saudis in particular have always had a serious inferiority complex when it comes to America. they ahve always preferred the US over Britain, while the Gulf ones originally were more influenced by the British. These complexes have carried over to the educated expat community.

29

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Fraudz: *

the beef is with the types that grow up in dammam but speak urdu as if they were born and raised in detroit and the parents never taught them urdu :)
[/QUOTE]

good... for a minute I thought that you are including us Makki's & Jaddans in there as well :) ... as long as you keep it up north... carry on with your beef...

30

Fraudz your generalisations are true in the case of my cousins in Dubai. Obviously they have to go to the American schools, but its not just that, even though the majority of girls at my cousins school are Arabs, they all have the American complex. You know what Dubai is like anyway, they dont consider themselves very middle eastern and I think the ME is worlds apart from Pakistan, its like growing up anywhere else. I mean, it depends really, I know kids who exactly like us grew up in Africa and their Urdu is superb, and ours, well it just sucks big time because our parents never made us speak it.

31

interesting thread...
not much to add...a lot of ppl have said what i would have said in one way or the other. one thing to be added; there are all kinds of ppl everywhere, prejudice is wrong.

and, i really think pakistani expats, be they from the ME or the US or UK or just about anywhere, be it Brunei, are definitely at the top of the list of ppl who run away from their culture and try their best to transform into something they are not and forget and try to forget who and what they are and lose regard for their roots. one of my friends once said a very nice thing in disgust towards desis who try to act like they have nothing to do with being desi. the accents, the clothes, the attitude...
he said most such ppl actually go to England for a year and come back with an american accent. it's true. and even those who are born and bred in the US or UK are the farthest from their culture as compared to other nationalities born and bred in other countries. our ppl of the new generation raised in foreign countries cant read, write urdu. they have the hadest time speaking in urdu. they hate traditional desi clothes and desifod is aliento them. ok, so you go to schools where u dont learn urdu, where everyone speaks yankee or cokney but damn you! the chinese kid who sits next to you in class can speak, read and write chinese, he not only loves his culture, food and clothes he promtes them and makes others like them. the jordanian kid speaksd arabic at home, and eats arabic food. the mexican kid promtes latino and burritos. the french girls brag about their culture. but god forbid! dont mention the desi roots to the paki kid! he hates the mention of them. he dreads cultural activities and gatherings, hates family and roots. cant express himself properly in urdu, writing or reading is hopeless. one wonders how he reads the quran...everyone else atleats doesnt foget their language...
why do we run away fom our culture and are so readily able to forget it...?

again, ive just decsribed the way most ppl are. and many ppl who have never ever left pakistani soil fall entirely tru to this description. and of course there are exceptions too, with ppl born and bred away from pakistan being totally involved with pakistani culture.

32

haris agreed

there is no prejudice here. part of the thread was atire, and part of it was pointing towards a certain kind of middle east desi, who acts as if they grew up in atlanta :) and not al ain .. this is not about the others.

the two factors contrbuting to it are

1)the surroundings/culture they are in
2) how the parents havehandled it

so in Uk/US you have

desis who can speak urdu, are in touch with their culture etc
desis who can nto speak urdu, and/or are not in touch with their culture and more in tune with local culture.

the latter ones range from those who shy away from their culture on purpose, to those whose parents never really bothered to teach em, etc

the question that I raised was

howcome people in Pakistan or middle east are not in touch with ther language and culture, and especially for ppl in middle east who are unable to speak their mother tongue properly, not in tune with their culture, and its not the local culture that they are in tune with, they are somewhat in tune of what they think culture in UK/US is.

ppl growing up in Uk/uS who are are in tune with local culture but not with Pakistani culture still have the excuse that this is teh culture they grew up in ..and maybe the parents did not teach them the langauge and culture..fine.. so its not a wannabeism there..one can comment on upbringing..

but the kids in pakistan or middl east who grow up and are in tume (or so they think) with Uk/US than pakistan..or heck even the place they are in e.g. qatar... how is that really possible..thats where the wanna be-ism of the family comes into play.

33

Interesting post Mr. Fraudia but like some1 said earlier lots of assumptions in ur post, this scenario could be true for 10%-15% rafeeq (desis) living in middle east, but I see more desis here who adopted many things from Arab culture (food, dressing, sheesha etc, all that shabab stuff ;)as compared to Americans.
It’s natural, it happens everywhere, you adopt things from different places, languages, culture.
About that hanky panky stuff @ shawarma palce, things are different here, we use blue tooth technology 2 exchange info why just exchange looks n smile? Hehe
Anyway nice topic

34

I grew up in Qatar, went to a Pakistani school and I can speak/write urdu very well and I'm aware of my roots. Its sort of difficult to blend with natives in a country where most of the population is based on expatriates from either India/ Pakistan or elsewhere. I don’t know about Dubai or KSA but most of the Pakistanis here are still living in the 18th century. They know much about their country as compared to an avg pakistani in US/UK but then again its like every family has got its own culture and hardly anyone seems to care about the other.

As far as kids giving up their cuture is concerned, Parent’s dislike for Pakistani society and their remoteness with the country is bound to give you odd results. I know various people who would do anything but live in Pakistan. Though, much is changing now cuz no longer visas are available for Pakistanis and hundreds have already been kicked out.

And you'll have to open a separate thread to discuss the Arab Haseenas and their transparent, tight burka-s. That multiple layers of make up is so true..

35

Haha! This thread is so funny :D

36

have we reached any conclusion yet....Fraudia bhai :)

37

yaar yeh aap ko conclusion wala thread lag raha hai?
pak.org kay kitnay threads conclusion tak jatay hain waisay.

38

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Fraudz: *
haris agreed

there is no prejudice here. part of the thread was atire, and part of it was pointing towards a certain kind of middle east desi, who acts as if they grew up in atlanta :) and not al ain .. this is not about the others.

the two factors contrbuting to it are

1)the surroundings/culture they are in
2) how the parents havehandled it

so in Uk/US you have

desis who can speak urdu, are in touch with their culture etc
desis who can nto speak urdu, and/or are not in touch with their culture and more in tune with local culture.

the latter ones range from those who shy away from their culture on purpose, to those whose parents never really bothered to teach em, etc

the question that I raised was

howcome people in Pakistan or middle east are not in touch with ther language and culture, and especially for ppl in middle east who are unable to speak their mother tongue properly, not in tune with their culture, and its not the local culture that they are in tune with, they are somewhat in tune of what they think culture in UK/US is.

ppl growing up in Uk/uS who are are in tune with local culture but not with Pakistani culture still have the excuse that this is teh culture they grew up in ..and maybe the parents did not teach them the langauge and culture..fine.. so its not a wannabeism there..one can comment on upbringing..

but the kids in pakistan or middl east who grow up and are in tume (or so they think) with Uk/US than pakistan..or heck even the place they are in e.g. qatar... how is that really possible..thats where the wanna be-ism of the family comes into play.
[/QUOTE]

hmm..yep fraudia,
ur analysis of the types from the "west" is true and youre right aboput the ME kids who are in touch with tradition, culture, religion and yet try and look diff somehow...its all confusion in their heads, the wannabeism i guess. ok to some extent being able to do in rome as romans do and to folow "global trends" is ok, but you ought to do in rome as romans do when ure in rome for cryin out loud! same goes for the desis who step out on foregin lands for a short whiler and have that gadget from MIB flashed on their eyes that wipes away all memory of roots, culture, traditions etc.
what'll become of our ppl...?

39

:hehe:

40

anyone know if people named Asif had difficulty living in the middle east?

think of mr. asif introducing himself to an arabic friend for instance..