Iran Abroad

excellent point

excellent point

assimilation?

In response to AmirT: I think most of us Iranians living abroad are mistaking "assimilation" with "self-hatred" and that's why we don't let our kids to know about their culture/language. That doesn't happen in any other self-respecting community either from north or south!

It's important for some people and not for others!

I agree partially with AmirT.

But the importance level is different for different people! To some it's a matter of pride and others don't care one way or another!

The difficulty depends on whether or not both parents are Iranian (Persian-speaking). And also on whether or not they live in a center of Iranian population (like Los Angeles), etc.

My wife is American born and raised and I have found it hard to keep my kids speaking Persian. In fact, it becomes a wedge between you and your child, if you push too hard (often at an age that is so critical to have all channels open and optimal in communicating with your child - like the teenage years)!

But if both parents are Persian-speaking, then it's a whole different ballgame. I know there are challenges even in that situation (because of the kids' environment and the overwhelming amount of input from the host environment) but I have seen many Iranian couples in the U.S. successfully raise their kids to be fluent in Persian.

A lot of these parents use summer breaks or other extended trips back home as an effective tool! In fact, the trips to Iran work best for mixed kids as well!

Bottom line: don't push the kids too much. Just keep speaking Farsi to them, even if they answer back in the host language. I have seen miracles. My kids take 8-10 days on average on each trip back to Iran, before they start speaking Persian!  If you keep up your end continuously, when they are ready, and become interested about their heritage again (usually late in high school or in college), they will be able to get going very easily!

Why is learning Farsi important?!

I think it has to be expected (and accepted) that learning Farsi for second generation Iranians who are probably never going to live in Iran (or any other Persian-speaking country) is half not as important as learning the language and culture of the hos country. In general, overemphasizing the importance of learning your "mother tongue" delays the process of assimilation.