During half term, on the 21st of February, it will be International Mother Languages Day!
Every year, this special day is celebrated to remember the importance of passing on native languages, and the significance of our mother tongues.
From my perspective, our native languages are a fundamental part of who we are. As someone whose first language is not English, I definitely feel a difference between speaking in your native language and languages that you learn.
When someone speaks in their mother tongue, it is not just about the culture and language – it could many times communicate moods, expressions, and feelings which other languages could not express. There is definitely a naturalness which comes with speaking in the language which you were brought up speaking, as opposed to the intentional learning of a second language.
For me personally, as my native language is Mandarin, I would find it absolutely wonderful if someone took the time to learn it and spoke to me. When hearing your native language in your everyday life in an environment with a different language (in my case, English), there is a solidarity between those who share a native language, like a little piece of home.
I remember one time, when I was very little, when my parents encountered an elderly couple who came from my hometown in China (which was relatively uncommon), and my parents recognised this purely due to the dialect when they were speaking. They went on to talk about their experiences here in England, and it’s wonderful to see exchanges such as these that you wouldn’t otherwise make.
I hope that everyone has a lovely Native Languages Day – have a wonderful half term!
