Every year, during the '
NRI season
', second and third generation
Gujaratis
from the US, the UK and other countries fly down to the state to connect with their roots.
While their English is flawless, the
Gujarati
spoken by them is often distinct. Ram Gadhvi, president of the Gujarati Literary Academy of North America, said the reason lies in
emigration
and '
double emigration
' and children picking up accents and vocabulary from their parents and grandparents.
"Many Gujaratis first emigrated to East Africa and then again to the UK or the US. Their vocabulary often comprises words that are not frequently used in Gujarat now," he said.
Experts said the words they speak reveal which region of Gujarat their ancestors emigrated from.
This year, the theme of
International Mother Language Day
, which is celebrated on February 21, is 'Multilingual education - a pillar of learning and intergenerational learning.'
It resonates with the Gujarati diaspora in foreign countries where oral traditions and expressions are largely passed down through the spoken forms of the language.
Sam Joshi, mayor of Edison in New Jersey and a second-generation Gujarati, says, "Temples often double as culture centres for the 20,000-strong community where teaching the language becomes an important
responsibility. Families and community members often teach the language to the children and efforts are on to strengthen this exercise," he said.
Thus, when Parle Patel, a UK-based performer of Gujarati origin wrote a garba song in 2020, he used words such as nisari (went out) which is not used much in conversational Gujarati these days.
English (US) ·