If you asked yourself this question and caught the irony of me writing in English, while promoting the Arabic language, congratulations! You've just discovered the problem we at Dardasha are trying to help address.
It’s me. Hi, I’m the problem. It’s me.
But also, this problem is more deeply rooted than just any one individual’s responsibility.
I am fluent in Arabic. At home, we exclusively speak Arabic with our sons. With my family and friends, I speak (mostly) Arabic. I make it a daily ritual to read and watch Arabic content. I even take weekly Arabic lessons as an adult. As someone who struggles to write as easily in Arabic as I do English, this challenge deepens my admiration for those who effortlessly express themselves in our mother tongue.
More background: I attended English language schools and universities my whole life. We deferred to English at work, my professional network mostly speaks English, and my online research and reading are primarily in the English language.
So, when it comes to writing, I find myself more at ease with English and tend to reference English language resources, further deepening the gulf between my Arabic and English language proficiency.
I'm aware there's more I could be doing, but when your entire life has been mostly in English, catching up in Arabic is a journey. I’m also mindful that I have a whole lifetime ahead of me, so we started Dardasha! *pats self on back*
My personal struggle is what really ignited this journey with Dardasha, it started when Iyad, our first son, was born. While I strive to tackle this issue for myself, my focus is empowering my sons and their generation in their mother tongue.
There’s two sides to this, one is our nuclear family’s responsibility to create an environment rich in our culture and language so that our children never have to write a disclaimer like this when they simply want to express their thoughts.
The other side extends beyond our immediate family, no matter in how small a way, to impact this rising generation of children.
It wouldn't surprise me if many in our immediate community share similar sentiments, even if the specifics of our experiences vary. If you do, I'd love to hear from you.
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading.
