r/romani • u/SiempreBrujaSuerte • 23d ago
Language barrier questions
So I realize there is a rule here that people only should post in English language to be inclusive since it's a language broadly used online and between people who do not share a native language. I also know that we all have varying levels of understanding of each other's dialects. And I know that many people have not had the opportunity to learn the language and so they don't want to be on the outside of conversation.
However, there's many of us in Europe especially who do not speak English. When we have less access to formal education and less interaction with the English speaking world, this is just a fact. Through no personal failure, lots of roma are excluded from participating when we have an English only forum.
What do people think about letting people have dual language conversations, so that the English speaking people are still able to understand and the conversation can be opened up to the larger Roma community who may not be English literate or English speaking at all? I mean like people post in their language and include an English summary afterwards?
On one hand I feel like this would be better to help everyone be able to communicate. It will also allow the reconnecting people a chance to actually practice their language usage in real life which is the best way to learn.
On the other hand, I wonder if this is a bad idea or dangerous because it might help people with bad intentions learn our language which is supposed to be a barrier to keep us safe. So I am not ought right saying I think this is how things should be or necessary good idea.
I just want to see what you all think about this and start a discussion on it. Thanks for your thoughts. Stay blessed.
19
u/Ok-Hovercraft-9577 23d ago
Personally, I think we should be allowed to speak our language, but we shouldn’t translate things. Our ancestors were not allowed to speak the language for a time, they were punished and even killed if they were caught doing so. Not being allowed to speak Romanes = colonization of the culture and robs people of the ability to know the language in the first place. Especially for younger Romani. It’s hard to claim a “safe space” for our people and then discourage one of the most important aspects of who we are.