Kurdish migrants in Europe struggle with new languages
STOCKHOLM, Sweden— Young men like Hekar Yousef, 23, traveled thousands of miles to Europe primarily to find a well-paid job. The last thing that crossed his mind before his long journey, was the new language he would soon have to learn in Sweden, he says.
“It’s really a difficult language. I have no idea how to master it. The problem is that I will need it if I ever want to live and work here,” Hekar who is originally from Kurdistan region in Iraq.
He says since Swedish is not widely used outside of the country, it is less motivating to learn.
“It’s not like English which has broader use and easier to speak,” he says.
Hekar is far from the only migrant in Sweden struggling to learn a new language, which they unlikely have encountered before coming to the country.
The situation is not much better in Germany. Recently German interior ministry announced that learning the language is one of the key conditions to receive resident permit in the country.
Also in Sweden authorities have said one of the criteria to become a Swedish citizen is to have learned basic Swedish after 5 years, that is the period needed for a foreigner to be eligible to apply for Swedish citizenship.
With nearly 15 percent of its 9-million population born outside the country, Swedish authorities have struggled to assimilate large migrant communities often residing in ghetto-like neighborhoods in bigger cities.
On April 3, authorities announced that Arabic is now the third largest language spoken in the country after Swedish and English, and bigger than Finnish which is subsequently the fourth biggest language in Sweden.
Kurdish teacher Mahabad Muhammad who has lived in Sweden since the late 1980s says the new generation of migrants have a different attitude towards learning the language.
“They often say that Swedish is too small and that they want to learn English instead,” Mahabad says.
Nearly 100,000 Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan live in Sweden and are partly represented by 5 Kurdish members of the parliament.
“It’s really a difficult language. I have no idea how to master it. The problem is that I will need it if I ever want to live and work here,” Hekar who is originally from Kurdistan region in Iraq.
He says since Swedish is not widely used outside of the country, it is less motivating to learn.
“It’s not like English which has broader use and easier to speak,” he says.
Hekar is far from the only migrant in Sweden struggling to learn a new language, which they unlikely have encountered before coming to the country.
The situation is not much better in Germany. Recently German interior ministry announced that learning the language is one of the key conditions to receive resident permit in the country.
Also in Sweden authorities have said one of the criteria to become a Swedish citizen is to have learned basic Swedish after 5 years, that is the period needed for a foreigner to be eligible to apply for Swedish citizenship.
With nearly 15 percent of its 9-million population born outside the country, Swedish authorities have struggled to assimilate large migrant communities often residing in ghetto-like neighborhoods in bigger cities.
On April 3, authorities announced that Arabic is now the third largest language spoken in the country after Swedish and English, and bigger than Finnish which is subsequently the fourth biggest language in Sweden.
Kurdish teacher Mahabad Muhammad who has lived in Sweden since the late 1980s says the new generation of migrants have a different attitude towards learning the language.
“They often say that Swedish is too small and that they want to learn English instead,” Mahabad says.
Nearly 100,000 Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan live in Sweden and are partly represented by 5 Kurdish members of the parliament.