Dementia Summons Dad’s Childhood Language: Preserving Kashi with Sabrina Hakim

Sabrina Hakim, an Iranian Jewish real estate administrator in Los Angeles, discusses her upbringing in Tehran and her family’s roots in Kashan. Sabrina describes migrating to California in 1978 during political unrest, overcoming initial language barriers in high school, and growing up speaking Farsi. When her father developed dementia and unexpectedly began speaking Kashi (Judeo-Kashani), Sabrina urgently started documenting his native language. She details her collaboration with the Jewish Language Project and emphasizes the vital importance of preserving endangered Jewish dialects to safeguard family history and memory.

Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Watch on YouTube | Transcript | Glossary

Sabrina was born in Iran into a Jewish family. She came to the US at 12 years old and never went back because of the Islamic Revolution. She went to high school and college in the US, studying Communications. Her father and maternal great-grandfather were from Kashan. She had an interest in learning languages but never in Kashi until later in her life.