Through story and song, Somali Minnesotan looks to preserve the language

SPEAKER: [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]

CATHY WURZER: This is a Somali lullaby from an elder in Minnesota that Marian Hassan recorded for a new project she's working on. She spent her career educating Minnesotans about Somali language and collecting oral histories from elder Somalis to prevent the language's loss.

Though Somali is the third most common language spoken in Minnesota, behind English and Spanish, the language was not written down until the mid 1970s. Before that, Somalis had a rich oral tradition.

Marian just got a Minnesota Legacy Cultural Heritage grant to continue her mission to preserve Somali oral tradition. And she's with us right now to talk about that. Marian, it's good to see you. I can't see you, but I know who you are. We've got to meet. And it's nice to hear your voice again.

MARIAN HASSAN: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

CATHY WURZER: Say, tell me about the idea for the project. It sounds like it's a lovely project. I'm glad you're doing it.

MARIAN HASSAN: This is a very special project. It was born out of necessity, the first one being that Somali elderly are aging. The Somali oral traditions have been one that we've used to take care of our children. We've recited poetry, sang, and it has been our mode of child rearing.

Now, the Somali elderly, as I said, are aging. And this is a great opportunity to talk to especially grandmothers who have been the primary custodians of this tradition. So we're talking to elderly grandmothers to collect their memories of home, parenting practices, and the songs they sang to their children for generations to preserve that for current and future generations.

The other reason, or I would say, the necessity for doing this project, is also alarming because Somali children's oral tradition, while it's extremely rich and beautiful, currently, Somali children are not speaking the Somali language enough. They're losing the home language at a staggering speed, even though we haven't been in Minnesota not that many, many years. And so that's worrisome. And we are trying to provide children experiences, rich language experiences so that they're able to maintain the home.

CATHY WURZER: I'm curious--

MARIAN HASSAN: They're able to maintain the home language.

CATHY WURZER: I'm curious, then, about the language being lost so quickly because I know many Somali households have-- it's multigenerational, right? There are some generations that speak only Somali and only English. But is Somali not being spoken in many households then?

MARIAN HASSAN: What's happening is that so much has changed has been changed because we are in that process of integration. The Somalis who are here, the parents are not fluent yet in English, and the children are not fluent in Somali. And because children are spending a great deal of time outside of the home in schools, and perhaps in child care and other programs, they're not getting equal input of both languages.

So they're having those experiences of not having access to language because to maintain fluency in bilingual children, you have to have equal amounts of input. So one hour of English will mean one hour of Somali, and that's not the case.

Also, we're seeing that children are making conscious decisions not to speak Somali. And that's very common for children who are children of immigrants. What's going on is that children are realizing that the home language is not valued in society. And so to find belonging, they're opting to speak English, sometimes in the home.

We're seeing parents who, as I said, are not speaking English, trying to struggle to speak to their children. And that's really disheartening because it breaks down family connection, and it makes parenting difficult.

CATHY WURZER: Right, and it kind of happened in my family as well, because I come from an immigrant family. And this kind of happened to us. I'm wondering, then, how do you talk to younger Somalis about learning the language, the importance of it, to communicate with elders?

MARIAN HASSAN: I think one of the best way is to create these oral traditions, to make them accessible, in a format that they can experience. We're trying to have this material in a book form and to have them in schools, and also to have them in community centers in the home.

Not only written because many Somali parents might not be literate in the home language, because this language has been in the oral form traditionally for centuries. But we're also recorded and recording by the elderly. So that we're hoping the children will find that soothing, and they will be able to identify and find a sense of pride here and using their home language much more frequently than they are now.

Cathy, usually, immigrant children will lose the language if they don't have those experiences. We usually see third generation immigrants perhaps having those struggles, but not the first generation or the first generation and a half.

CATHY WURZER: I'm really glad that you are talking to elders for your project, and I'm wondering what you're hearing from them. What are the threads that are going through the oral histories you're doing?

MARIAN HASSAN: One thing I realized that I didn't expect is that Somali elderly are eager to talk to people who want to hear about their experiences. We are holding story circles. And I'm realizing even though I'm with them for two hours, when we are done, they are lingering and they're wanting to continue talking. That's one thing I didn't expect.

The other thing is they are worried that even though we came to live here, many of the Somali people who are in Minnesota and in the US are people who were pushed by war. So we came to find life here, but we didn't come to lose the sense of identity and language for our children.

And many times, really, I would say that language is all we have. It is the most portable asset that we carry with us as we leave so much behind. And it is the best legacy we can give to children. So I see that grandparents are concerned. They're sad. Many of them are sad because of the disconnection with their grandchildren. They love their grandchildren. They want to talk to them. But unfortunately, many are not able to have conversations.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, how sad. Say, I'm curious about some of the favorite stories that you've heard so far. What's one you want to share?

MARIAN HASSAN: I can sing to you. One of the ones I've heard is-- well, one that's a traditional song is the song of prayer, which a mother will recite when a baby is born. And it's a prayer. And so it will go something like--

[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]

So it's a long song, but essentially, what it's saying is that the day that you were born, when I've seen you and I held you, my day brightened, and my worries were washed away. And as I look at you, my future is promised because I have you. And the idea behind that is that children are our future.

Most times, I know that in our times that there is a retirement plan, and there's things like that. But for the Somali tradition, the children are the-- they are the retirement plan. I've taken care of my mother. I've taken care of my mother-in-law. And for as long as I remember, we had elderly in our home. My grandmother used to live with us until she passed away.

And we have three children. They have been raised, I would say, in the presence of a grandparent. And so they are able to maintain the home. One thing that I must mention is that Somali elderly, many of them do not come with their immediate family.

So for the first time, something that we've never seen in the past, we're seeing that Somali elderly are living alone in small apartments or studio apartments. And it's very isolating, and it's an experience that we're not used to seeing, because we've always had the elderly with us. Parents have always taken that responsibility.

CATHY WURZER: Right.

MARIAN HASSAN: And so while that is still the case, there are also cases where elderly people are pretty much on their own.

CATHY WURZER: I have one final question for you, Marian, and I'm curious about this. So because you've spent so much time on this project, and clearly, it is something very important to you and the entire community, I'm wondering, when you get yourself involved in such an extensive project, you can change yourself. You can learn things about yourself and your culture. And I'm curious, have you taken away something that has changed your life because of this?

MARIAN HASSAN: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Absolutely. I think I have been able to receive a confirmation or reiteration of what matters ultimately to an individual is to have a sense of identity, concept of self, even though as we interact with the dominant culture, we are learning, we cannot help but belong and be part of the Minnesota experience. And it's a wonderful experience.

However, we want to find a balance of who we are and maintain that balance. And one of the things I'm seeing is, I'm actually enjoying and really looking forward to interacting. I'm finding myself wanting to hear more.

I've always loved stories. And I tend to, even when I'm in a public place, I lean on to always hear the stories and what people are sharing. So this has changed me to want to value more of the resources that we have in elderly people and the opportunity to be around them more often.

CATHY WURZER: That is lovely. I'm glad you're doing the work. Marian, thank you for taking the time to talk with us.

MARIAN HASSAN: Thank you so much, Cathy. Thanks for having me.

CATHY WURZER: Minnesota educator, children's author, and biliteracy advocate Marian Hassan has a Minnesota Legacy Cultural Heritage grant to continue her mission preserving Somali children's rich oral tradition.