Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
I have a family member than married an arab girl in Canada, they have lived their throughout and their kids know both arabic and urdu. Met an Dari speaking Afghan women other day, who was born and raised in France but is proud that her kids are as good in dari as a person Afghanistan.
If your culture & language matters to you, its very relevant, if don’t value your culture then its irrelevant.
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
That’s the thing though ^
The “culture” is not what what you might think it is anymore.
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
Technically, it should be the opinion that is well-informed, accurate, and well-researched, no? Taking politics as an example, a person living in Pakistan who has zero interest in politics and an ex-Pakistani living abroad who religiously follows Pakistani politics both comment on current affairs, whose opinion do you think should value more? Or is the ex-Pakistani automatically disqualified from commenting because hey, they left Pakistan so obviously they didn’t love Pakistan and since now they don’t live there at present, what do they know about what the average person is going through. Right?
FYI - not every ex-Pakistani gets their news from the Television. Majority of us still have strong ties to the country through immediate or extended family - the same common people that you speak of.
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
I had to study German, French and Spanish for 3, 2 and 6 years respectively in school even though I have never been to any of those countries. Why do they make us do that if it’s really such a dumb idea to teach kids the national language of a foreign country.
Teaching my kids how to read and write Urdu is not that important to me (that doesn’t mean I’m against it) but making sure that they can speak Urdu is important. My grandparents didn’t speak a word of English and if we didn’t know Urdu, there would’ve been zero communication between us and them. That would’ve been pretty lame considering it’s not rocket science. You don’t have to hold special classes for your kids to teach them Urdu. Just speak the language at home and they’ll pick it up. That’s how easy it is and that’s how I know both Urdu and Punjabi. Kids really are that quick at absorbing different languages and the number of languages one can speak is often seen as a sign of intelligence. So why would you deprive your kids of such a rich language. I was recently reading an article about the most intelligent celebs and the author was impressed by how so-and-so can speak Japanese etc. Why is it any less “cooler” if one can speak Urdu or Tamil?
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
BTW, its sad to see you calling something silly, which means a world to others.
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
What did I call silly? I called the concept of people trying to judge someone based on language…completely silly. Because it is to me.
If you feel like misunderstanding a twisting my words so your post can sound like its making a veryyyy strong point - you can.
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
I was replying to an argument, and my reply was valid there. You made another argument with different parameters which is valid too but again, politics is not all about Pakistan and you are missing my point of having first-hand experience or being connected to average people through some medium.
Its neither about politics nor residents vs non-residents. It’s all about being connected to real Pakistan.
I didnt generalize ex-Pakistanis here nor do i consider not-knowing the Urdu a sin.
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
Ask my mommy, she will also tell you that I can speak perfect Urdu. Can most people abroad speak it? Mostly yes. Are we experts in the language, no. If I were to come to Pakistan people would notice my accent but I would still be able to communicate with the local people of the land. That makes my mom very proud. Isn’t that enough? I am not reading or writing Urdu, because that’s where the practical use of it comes into play. You learn it on a general level. Do they deeply understand and relate themselves to it, most probably not. Of course there all always exceptions which may be the case in your posts. They might be experts in Arabic and Urdu and more power to them. I am assuming you are talking about children who converse with their parents and family members, speak the language for practical purposes in everyday life. Most have learned it the exact same way. As time goes on and we grow up in this environment, it becomes a part of your life alongside other cultural aspects. Not each and every part of your day and life revolves around your mother tongue and culture. So thats where it becomes relevant and irrelevant and people further their knowledge based on how it applies to them and their lifestyle and in the time they are living in. If these are children consistently visiting their parents home countries, I am sure they have a better understanding and need for it. For someone who hasn’t gone to Pakistan in 20-30 years, its not irrelevant but its not a top to-do.
Another point I wanted to make earlier is that, there ARE changes that are happening. With the 2nd and 3rd generations of Pakistani Westerners having now grown up and living here has given the children of our time the chance to have a better understanding from us about our culture and language and how it relates or does not relate to where we live. The resources now are so useful and we have just started to learn how to effectively mesh both worlds in a productive way. We are not new immigrants, our parents may have struggled in teaching us balance because they also did not know what that balance was. I think the generation after us will have figured it out even better. Or alteast they won’t struggle as much with that fight of “who am I? Who am I? Who am I?” They will know more better than our generation did, what the answer to that question is earlier in their adulthood. IMO
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
Knowledge is power and its amazing you can speak those languages all so fluently in the short amount of time you spent learning them. Learning different languages is encouraged for a lot of reasons, its intellectually stimulating for your brain and builds the foundations for cultural tolerance and cultural awareness for those same cultures that we are exposed to everyday living in a multicultural society. It helps to prevent ignorant behaviours and stereotypical prejudice. I dont think anyone once said it was “uncool” but it definitely isn’t as glamorized in our society like Japanese and German etc. I wish speaking Urdu was as easy for me as it was for you, because I had to work pretty hard to get a good enough a grasp of it including special classes (Sunday School) regardless of my parents speaking it at home. Everyone is different.
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
I can understand your sentiment. What is the reason that you think someone living outside of Pakistan who has very little ties to the country left (or the only connection is being born to Pakistani parents in a foreign country) should feel a deeper sense of connection to the average person in Pakistan?
Personally, I say this to my husband all the time, that if we ever had the chance, I would LOVE to travel to the different parts of Pakistan and just learn and witness all of the different regional cultures and dialects there are over there. Aside from Urdu, Pakistan is one of the very few places where each and every region has their own language and way of life. Its really really fascinating. Because I have only learned one side of Pakistan, its very cool and rare when I find out about a new custom different from the main stream Pakistani culture. Like the Kalash people that I recently learned about. Pretty amazing. I recently shot a Pashtun wedding and everyone was speaking Pashto. It was so cool. Before that, I had, had no exposure to any of those before. Punjabi and Urdu are what I am really only familiar with as my family is Urdu speaking and Punjabi is all around me in different communities. Apparently my grandmother spoke Purbi. Also really interesting!
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
Thank you. At last, you got there…
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
oh God,
so much time and energy…issi tara Allah ko bhi yad karae…
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
please don’t pollute this therad with urdu shurdu…
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
^Bwahahaha…dude I just noticed your sig. 
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
Oh my goodness…potato…potaaato…same thing.
I hold my ground: I find my religion more worthy of attention than anything else. Seeeempal. 
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
Reha: There was no nastiness in my post. I responded to you in equal but opposite way.
I never said french is not romantic. I said maybe so. No bias there. You do need to read carefully.
I said those who believe french is romantic and think they should learn french because of it are biased or fooled by false advertisement.
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
Please read carefully:
All it takes is the interest and little effort for parents/guardians to continue their heritage.
Those who do not love themselves or do not love what they have, get easily overwhelmed by something others love or have.
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
didnt really think passing on a language you already know to a young, developing mind was a huge task that could take away from religion, careers, or how to be kind to neighbors, or how to survive in this world.
and jesus, being concise never hurt anyone.
anyways, i find langauge and our ability to communicate with each other vocally using language amazing and a gift. it saddens me to see any language die, so i think it’s pretty absurd to not speak a language yoy already know with your children.
wish i knew more languages and thank God i know the ones i know. each gives you a way of expressing yourself, a way of looking at the world, a sensitivity for emotions and language gives you depth–yup. 
i like well-rounded people…and knowing multiple languages adds to that!
oh my, need to go read about the renaissance and vernacular! here i come.
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
just look at the amazing evolution of the larynx!! UTILIZE IT TO THE MAX 
Re: Sorry, I am born to a Pakistani but cannot read Urdu
^Agree!!! Why are some people making it seem like teaching Urdu to kids is rocket science? Yes, I admit that teaching them how to read and write will take work and you may need resources to guide your instruction. But seriously…teaching kids how to just speak it is not hard. I have a friend with two toddler kids who speak Urdu; they pick it up from their parents; it’s a natural process. You can even teach them Gibberish or sign language if you wish. As harsh as it sounds, what’s going on here is just a play of words …like ghumaa k baat karna mixed with dhitaai/ego in the guise of “open-mindedness.”
The world is not a homogenous place…it’s diverse…why do people insist on not teaching Urdu just for the sake of “assimmimaalayshun”…why do you want cookie-cutter people? Don’t worry, the “assimilation” WILL take place and it doesn’t have to happen at the cost of of stifling your own culture/roots. For those who are saying that well my kids won’t have that same connection with culture or language …it’s because you are part of LESSENING that connection…and you play an active role in their “disconnection” with your apathy/refusal especially if you’re already fluent in the language.
Why do you resign yourself to how things will be for future generations. You don’t know if you’ll even live to see the next day…so why worry that far down the road? That’s like saying I don’t need to make an effort and my refusal has no consequences. Wrong! Your refusal will have consequences just like making an effort would have consequences. Parents play a role in the disconnection…as they do with inculcation…don’t exempt yourself and blame it on the future…your actions impact the future.
And if you’re gonna attribute your decision to “priority”…then you’re basically saying… For all the love I feel for the language, I choose to give disconnection more priority. That’s all it is.