Figure this – a little girl who is French by origin but was born and brought up in the U.S.A. visits her ancestral home in the quaint city of Paris. She loves her grandparents dearly and innocently demands her most-liked dessert, creme brulee, and her all-time favourite – ratatouille (inspired by the famous animation film). But there is a hitch. She is chattering in impeccable English while the seniors gaze with utter dubiety as to what their little princess is trying to communicate. Does it ring a bell?

With burgeoning globalization and the doors of the world open to each of us, acquiring a good language skill set has become a mandate. However, because of the undue significance given to our universally approved languages, the most salient means of communication is gradually being petered out – our MOTHER-TONGUE.

In a commonplace scenario, an infant’s first interaction with his surroundings is in his native language. You wouldn’t have to put extra effort into teaching him how to communicate or build simple vocabulary to empower him to express himself lucidly. However, this said, we are slowly losing sight of teaching this essential  communication tool with too much noise and attention to other languages running in the backdrop. Additionally, due to job demands, many expatriates are moving across the globe with their families, which leaves their children a little disconnected from their culture and language.

Why mother-tongue, you would ask? Well, let’s enlist some pointers that would enable us to delve deeper into the realm of our mother tongue:

1. Connectingwith older family members: Across different countries, it is common practice to find senior folks speaking in their native  Hence, when the GenZ interacts with them, there could be a communication gap. The quality and time the two generations spend together are invaluable. For one, love and compassion blossom when they are together. Further, they pass down their wisdom and teach them crucial life skills that would otherwise be bygone.

It would be valid to note that as parents, interaction with children in the mother tongue holds a very significant place in daily conversations, such as establishing routines, playing games, or having fun altogether. Many anecdotes from early childhood are recalled later in life that build loveable memories. Such discussions are catalysts in strengthening the bond among the children and making them confident and emotionally stable individuals.

2. Assistance in learning a different language: Our mother tongue gives us a sound base that helps us acquire nuances of a new language effortlessly. Once acquainted with the basic grammaticalstructure, vocabulary, and syntax, the growth of our linguistics skills becomes a lot  Studies have proved that learning a new language does wonders in improving our cognitive skills as well.

3. Keepingour cultural and historical ethos intact: One would agree that a nation’s traditions and culture are the roots of its civilization. Each society has its deep-rooted past that gives it a distinct  The local dialects are a quintessential tool to hand over a country’s history to the next generation.

4. Promising career and employment prospects :  Many countries comfortably absorb a native language-speaking workforce in the corporate  Alternately, knowledge of numerous languages has a more positive impact on the resume. The demand for off-beat career options, such as tour guides, interpreters/translators, multi-lingual tutors, etc., has grown tremendously.

Imagine this. You were born and bred in India but are planning a cozy holiday in Barcelona. An honest attempt to hone your basic conversation skills in Spanish is what you are trying to achieve just a month before the planned vacation. The first thing you do as soon as you get out from the airport is usher a cabbie out there with a broad smile and say – “Hola! Como esta?.” How would his reaction be? He would effortlessly warm up to you and gladly offer a city tour with extra zeal and warmth. That is the magic of the mother tongue again that is not confined solely to the borders of our country. It is a sad state of affairs when we speak of people who feel ashamed or demotivated to converse in their mother tongue. They might disparage their local dialect in light of other languages such as English, French, or German.

Having said this, we must diligently take up the challenge of fostering love and respect for our local languages through stories, plays, theatre, field trips to historical sites, fun interactive sessions that could include cooking, arts and crafts, games, extempore, role-plays, etc.

Mahatma Gandhi rightly said- ” To lose one’s mother tongue is to lose one’s soul.”