“Sorry, I Don’t Understand:” When Assimilation Means Death Of A Language

Being able to speak a mother tongue when living in Diaspora allows the strengthening of social bonds among immigrant communities as well as the maintenance of strong cultural identities. But what happens to the language when the younger generations do not speak it? How do they connect with their parents and communities? This article explores the impact of speaking Kinyarwanda as cultural and political markers for younger generations of Rwandans in the Diaspora. Drawing on 40 semi-structured interviews conducted between 2019 and 2023, the findings show that most participants who do not speak Kinyarwanda fluently rely on alternative markers of Rwandan identity, such as names, naming ceremonies, food, dance, and political and historical knowledge, while still describing language loss as a source of intergenerational tension. The findings further show that gatekeeping within the diaspora and the continued politicization of Rwandan identity after the genocide shape younger generations’ ambivalence toward both Kinyarwanda and a singular Rwandan identity.