The word “mother tongue” refers to a nation’s home language. In India, it varies region-wise and represents its culture and identity. Mother tongue refers to the parent language from which another language descends. Mother tongue and first language have no significant differences because both refer to a person’s native language. It refers to the language that a baby learns at birth, known as the birth language, and it plays an important role in our lives for several reasons.
With English having emerged as the global language of communication and one in which business is primarily transacted, its importance is on the rise, and rightly so. After all, you cannot afford to be left behind, irrespective of your skills, only because you do not know a specific language. Research data shows that English is indeed the fastest-growing language in human history. It is estimated to be spoken by a whopping 1.75 billion people worldwide.
This, however, does not take away from the significance of the mother tongue. After all, it is typically the first language that a baby learns, offering him or her a sense of belonging and identity. Let us look at some of the reasons that the mother tongue remains relevant in today’s world.
Table of Contents
The Relationship Between Language and Identity
Our mother tongue is the key to shaping our identity and culture. It connects us to our heritage. With the use of the mother tongue, individuals can not only maintain their sense of self but also maintain a connection to their roots, values, customs, and more.
Communication
A grasp of the mother tongue ensures robust communication between families and communities. With people being able to express themselves clearly in their mother tongues, there is a sense of bonding and connection. The mother tongue is particularly helpful in intergenerational communication since it binds generations together. It also ensures that wisdom and stories are effectively passed on from one generation to another. It also ensures that the older generations are included in every discourse and that their knowledge does not fall through the cracks.
Academic Success
When children learn in their mother tongue, they can understand the subject easily. When teaching in a language other than the mother tongue, children, on the other hand, must contend with both-the subject and a foreign language. With the mother tongue enabling a better understanding of the subject , the child’s confidence also shows an upward trajectory. Of course, once the foundation is laid in the child’s mother tongue, the child can quickly graduate towards learning other additional languages.
Preservation of culture
By keeping the mother tongue alive, one is also keeping a whole culture alive. In the absence of these efforts, not only is the language at risk of extinction, but cultural practices will also be lost, thereby reducing cultural diversity.
Additionally, languages are a source of creative inspiration for poets, writers, and the like. Each language has a body of literature, which is a result of artistic expression. Preserving the mother tongue also means preserving the body of literature and further fueling creative expression.
Inclusivity
The use of the mother tongue plays a big role in ensuring that many more people can participate in public discourse and decision-making. To say that the use of indigenous languages promotes inclusivity would not be an exaggeration.
A feeling of honor
Finally, knowing your mother tongue fills you with pride. Not only do you take great pride in contributing to keeping a rich legacy alive, but you also feel connected to your cultural roots and your ancestors.
To Sum Up
The use of the mother tongue in the education system ensures that every child, irrespective of his or her background, can access quality education. What we can, in effect, do is empower children and unlock their potential. Research has also shown that learning in one’s mother tongue goes a long way in better cognitive development and academic achievement.
This is not to say that the role of English needs to be reduced in the education system. After all, knowledge of this near-universal language enables us to become world citizens and participate in development around the world. In today’s globalized world, English is essential for international commerce and communication.
It is precisely for this reason that the National Education Policy (NEP) focuses on multilingualism. It talks of using the familiar mother tongue in junior grades to ensure inclusivity in the overall education system. This can go a long way in reducing school dropout rates and ensuring that education does not remain the privilege of a select few.
Stay tuned to this space for more informative articles. At Pragyanam, one of the top schools in Gurgaon, we are committed to your child’s holistic development. Students at Pragyanam excel at academics and are equipped with the much-needed life skills that enable them to easily navigate the many twists and turns of life.
