Hello, my name is Lianda. I am 6 years old. I was born in Holland in the city of Amsterdam. I came to America when I was 3 years old. Back then, I could only speak Dutch language. Soon I had to learn English to communicate with my new friends. I did well. After a few months, I could play and talk with my friends in English. But, I had one problem. I could not communicate with all Eritreans who come to visit us in Tigrinia. So my paretns insisted that I learn Tigrinia as well. They said if you could learn English in a couple of months, you could do the same in Tigrinia. First it was hard but after a while I started to learn more and more words. Now, I can call my grand ma in Asmara and chat with her in Tigrinia. Last year, my parents started to teach me writing Tigrinia.
At the beginning it was fun. but then I thought I will never be able to learn all these alphabets, way too many of them. It was only when I realized that there is a clear pattern to their shape that I thought this is a piece of cake. Now I can write sentences. Though, I still have to learn a lot of words, Tigrinia is fun. Here are my tips:
  • Never talk to your parents in English but only in Tigrinia
  • Ask your parents to buy you a good Tigrinia book and MERHABA CD-ROM
  • If you buy MERHABA, listen to me when you made a mistake.

 

My name is Salina, I am 5 years old. I was born in Holland and I went through the same difficulties as my sister Lianda. I love to play and talk a lot. I talk to my dad always in Tigrinia. It is like when I see his face I switch automatically to Tigrinia. Every day I write 10 sentences in Tigrinia. In the summer time I have to write 20 sentences. Some times I write funny sentences that doesn't make sense just to hit the number 20. Here are my tips that help you learn Tigrinia:

  • Visit Asmara and stay there for a couple of months
  • Get the CD-ROM that teaches you Tigrinia in a fun way
  • Repeat some words that your parents said when they talk to each other
  • Make many Eritrean friends.

 

 

My name is Haben. I am almost three years old. Unlike my two sisters, I was born in Seattle. I love stories and singing. Many people get surprised when I sing the Eritrean national anthem fully. My parents say that my Tigrinia is very clear. I seem to have no problem pronouncing difficult words. I talk to my grand ma and pa in Tigrinia on the phone. With my sisters I talk in English. But not with my Dad and Mamma. They don't like it if I do that. So, I switch to Tigrinia. My tips are:

  • Ask your parents to tell you stories about animals. Also, ask them what they did when they were young. You will love their stories
  • Ask your parents to sing a song for you. Sing with them and soon you will be the best singer in Tigrinia
  • Ask your parents what certain words mean and try to make fun out of it. Good luck!