#there’s so many relatives I don’t even talk to because my Urdu isn’t good enough

[violet-primroses]

Please note this is from an Indian who grew in America. Some of these things may not apply to you.

To multilingual parents,

I’m begging you, do not speak to your child in English/whatever the official language is in your country. They will learn that learn that language literally everywhere else. You are their best shot at learning their mother tongue.

My parents stopped speaking to me in Urdu when I was child. My Urdu is now so bad that I cannot call myself bilingual. It’s so bad that I feel ashamed whenever I have to speak it in front of someone who is fluent. It’s so bad that I could not speak my own grandmother because my Urdu simply wasn’t good enough and by the time her English was, we were just awkward relatives. I don’t even remember the last time I spoke to her.

You are your child’s only chance their mother tongue. They’re not going to be able to learn it elsewhere. The Spanish classes in America suck, and those language learning classes can only do so much. Speaking to your child in their mother tongue is the fastest, easiest, and best way to make sure your child has at least some connection to their mother tongue.

And it’s not just the benefits of being bilingual that this is about. It’s about making sure your child can communicate with their relatives. It’s about making sure they don’t lose their culture. And if your child can speak their mother tongue, your grandkids at least have a chance.

[nopperabounet]

FT 095 - Sakurai Atsushi Interview

Fish Tank 95 Interview with Sakurai Atsushi Reporter: Okubo Yuka Translation: Lola

 How did you spend New Year's?

I didn't do anything in January, so I honestly can't say much about it.

Really? In that case I'd like to go back and talk about "THE DAY IN QUESTION 2019".  So on the first day, you played in a new venue in Takasaki.

It felt rather special you know, to have our first show be in Gunma as it's also our home turf.

How did you find starting the set list off with "Muma - The Nightmare"?

It felt like a powerful way to start. No matter which song it is, or how many times we've played it, I try to make each part compelling to listen to by having a clear image during rehearsals, and I think that came through.

Including the two winter themed songs, "Snow white" and "SILENT NIGHT" made for an impressive performance.

It seems like Yuuta and Hide were in agreement about that. Like if we're going to do a segment with two winter songs, then these two feel right for that. I think they left an impression on everyone involved. Back in the day, I would sing with the guitar for "SILENT NIGHT", but now because I have the ear monitor, I can adjust the sound the way I like so I wondered what it would be like if I sang with the rhythm parts. It worked out because I didn't really mind it.

As for "Datenshi", it was also your first time performing it live even though you had already recorded it. How did the audience react to hearing it for the first time live?

Even though we've played the song and heard it a number of times by then, the audience knew absolutely nothing about it. So I think it's a little hard to say, I mean they only heard it once. But I did wonder what sort of impression it gave everyone.

You also changed the set list up a little bit for each venue.

The idea came while rehearsing for the first show in Takasaki, I thought if we're rehearsing them anyway, why not perform them all, this way we can do our utmost to ensure that each show has a different feeling.

Were there any incidents during the tour?

No, it ended without any incidents . . . . . . Well ok, there were a couple of little hiccups. Like my surprise at the intro that sounded like NIN [1].

Oh, are you referring to the "LOVE ME" performance at Yoyogi?

Yes. I was taken aback. Like what? Is this really how the song goes? *smiles*

Did you end up double-checking reflexively?

I thought something happened because of where I was on stage, so I wanted to verify.

It was also your first time performing at Yoyogi Stadium, how did you find being on stage there?

The people who are high up and in the last rows are terribly far away as I expected. But at least the audience can watch the show on the huge screens. It's just that there's really absolutely nothing I can do about it, they felt too far away. I told them I was sorry they were so far. There wasn't even anyone directly in front of me to soothe my heart[2] even though both sides of the venue were filled right to the back. It felt a little strange.

Were you nervous?

Even though I'm doing this with others, I do have to concentrate on drawing the performance from myself, and that's not something that changes even if the venue does.

One thing that was different on that day from the others was that there was a camera above the stage during "Saibougu Dori: Soramimi: PHANTOM".

As always we had Hayashi-san as our Director, and as he always does, he came up with a few ideas on how to change things up for us.  So he said, "What do you think of having a camera above the stage?" And we said, "Sounds great, let's try it out." I thought it was funny because that was all decided without us knowing that it would be live streamed on (WOWOW).

I know "LOVE ME" isn't exactly meant as a happy song originally but, I thought it was incredible, it had that great rousing feeling like a grand finale. It was moving.

That was the point of choosing this song, I thought it might give that feeling. And I was thinking that if it's the absolute last song, then it might make everyone happy, including Yuuta *smiles*.

Yuuta-san?

He hadn't picked it as the last song, but it was his song choice. We've ended shows with it before as well, and you know, once in a while I think it's good to do that.

Before the super rousing "LOVE ME" performance, you said, "Let's love ourselves." These are impressive words, so what were you thinking about to make you say that?

When you translate it directly, it's "Watashi wo aishite"[3], but I think it's important to love yourself first. This even ties into what's coming in the new album, so it's been on my mind a lot recently. But it's not like I had arranged to say that or even talked about saying something like that, it was really just me letting out my personal thoughts in the moment. I wasn't trying to sound super serious or anything, but I was trying to say that nothing will start if you don't take care of yourself first. I figured it would work with this song.

Hearing you say that, and considering what you told me about writing the lyrics for "Datenshi" in the previous issue, I thought you might like to talk about it a little more.

Thank you for that. Last year, lots of people came to our concerts, and so the year felt incredibly complete.  It was just that I had a lot of stuff going on in my personal life, like my friend passed away, then I was hospitalized again, and the balance between my mind and body had seemed to once again deteriorate so it was a very off year for me.

So have you turned over a new leaf with this new year? Or do you feel like your struggles are still ongoing?

It is something that I am actively working on, but at least I can put my feelings into work in this way, and use that energy to create something. So I'm not just bottling everything, and so with the new year I've slowly come to be more at ease with myself thanks to those around me.

I'm so glad. Right now you're in the midst of recording, and you've been putting in the vocals for Hoshino-san's songs right?

Yes. Our little ant has been hard at work as always *smiles*.

So you've been working with the ant and the grasshopper?

Actually, I haven't had a chance to see the grasshopper recently. Because we never hang out *smiles*. Recently I heard that for the grasshopper it feels like New Year's only just ended.

He told me he has five songs ready.

Really? Good, he's serving his purpose well enough for now then.

How do you feel about being done with the lyrics for both of Hoshino's songs?

I finished up with the second song today. It feels like I'm just getting by, doing things one step at a time.

It's good to have a range in what you're able to say in songs, but what sort of feeling do you think the songs may have when they're done?

I'd say the one I recorded today has that swing beat pattern like festival drums.  Like heave-ho! Heave-ho![4] *smiles*

That's . . . . . .hard for me to imagine so what sort of lyrics did you write for that?

Fruitless ones[5].

Do they tie in with what you put out before with "Datenshi" and "Luna Park"?

I think I can sum up my position in "Datenshi" by saying I was confronting my own feelings. It's a dark song, so it moves away from that festive direction. It's that depressed feeling of being unable to guess a person's feelings completely. So it's like, ok from now on, I will strip away the mask I wore to protect myself.

Did working on the lyrics for the other two songs go relatively smoothly?

I always worry you know. I change them right up till the very day I'm going to record the vocals for them because there's no way for me to know if they're ok. I have to check them over myself. So I worry but,  I've been trying to tell  myself it's better if I just do what I like.

I still can't really get a full picture of what the album will be like but, how do you think it will turn out to be?

You know I'm not sure, I'll know more once I've heard more of Imai-san's songs.

According to Imai-san, the album's theme will be a word with seven characters. So that means he must have a precise image in mind.

That's his hint?

That's his hint. *smiles*

I haven't had a chance to see the grasshopper lately so I don't know. If we hadn't announced it in Yoyogi . . . . . .I wonder whether or not he'd get anything done by autumn. *smiles*

I hope his progress goes well *smiles*

I hope so too.

You will also be starting a tour in May.

If our old bodies don't give out on us before then. But I want to get through this so we can do it.

Do you feel like you have a lot of emotions you'd like to express with your lyrics?

Yes. From the first listen it was like, "Ah yes, this song will be like this." I knew right away what I wanted them to be about. So now I want to hurry up and sing them.

Lastly, would you please offer a message to everyone looking forward to the tour in May[6].

To all the fan club and mobile members, it's a domestic tour as you know but we're hoping to give it a slightly different feeling than a typical hall tour because we'd like the audience to feel closer. I don't really know if it will work out, but I do hope we can do the concerts. Also, I wanted to thank everyone for wearing things like masks during this difficult time.

   _______________________________________________

[1] I am assuming that NIN stands for Nine Inch Nails.

[2] I had a little bit of trouble here. The word used in Japanese is 'スコーン' can mean the Urdu word 'sukoon'. Sukoon refers to a state of calm in the mind and peace in the heart. Thus I translated it as 'to soothe my heart'. However, the katakana used can also be translated as 'scone'. In which case Sakurai would be saying that there wasn't even anyone in front of him with a scone. That sounded off to me, but I'm including it in a note just in case that is what was meant.

[3] Sakurai translated "LOVE ME" into Japanese here.

[4] He specifically uses the sounds cried out during festivals for the drummers, and the "Heave- ho!" is what is usually cried out by those carrying the portable shrine.

[5] The word used, "不毛" has several different meanings. Without knowing the exact lyrics it is difficult for me to judge which English word would fit best. Thus I chose "fruitless" as it had the broadest range. Other possible meanings include: barren, sterile, stark, bleak, desolate, vain.

[6] Sadly this tour has been postponed due to the Covid-19 virus for everyone's safety.

[starlightshadowsworld]

This.

I am Pakistani.

I was raised in England, I was only taught English.

My parents barely spoke Punjabi or Urdu I only picked up a bit from my grandparents.

I lost that.

And I'm ridiculed.

By them, by family.

By people I don't even know.

Because I don't know my mother tongue.

I can't learn Punjabi.

Because the language they speak is a dialect that has no agreed upon name, not even written down as its oral only.

I am struggling to learn Urdu.

I am ridiculed for my broken words and I can't class myself as anything close to bilingual.

I lost my culture, I lost my home and only now am I starting to find it again.

Please teach your kids their mother tongues.

Also OP there's a YouTuber called Urdu Academy Jakarta doing a teach yourself Urdu series that I'm following.

Just gives you the basics in an easy way.

Please note this is from an Indian who grew in America. Some of these things may not apply to you.

To multilingual parents,

I’m begging you, do not speak to your child in English/whatever the official language is in your country. They will learn that learn that language literally everywhere else. You are their best shot at learning their mother tongue.

My parents stopped speaking to me in Urdu when I was child. My Urdu is now so bad that I cannot call myself bilingual. It’s so bad that I feel ashamed whenever I have to speak it in front of someone who is fluent. It’s so bad that I could not speak my own grandmother because my Urdu simply wasn’t good enough and by the time her English was, we were just awkward relatives. I don’t even remember the last time I spoke to her.

You are your child’s only chance their mother tongue. They’re not going to be able to learn it elsewhere. The Spanish classes in America suck, and those language learning classes can only do so much. Speaking to your child in their mother tongue is the fastest, easiest, and best way to make sure your child has at least some connection to their mother tongue.

And it’s not just the benefits of being bilingual that this is about. It’s about making sure your child can communicate with their relatives. It’s about making sure they don’t lose their culture. And if your child can speak their mother tongue, your grandkids at least have a chance.