About Mother Language
The Importance of Mother Language
Photo by Neal Fowler
We all have at least one mother language, a language that has been passed on to us since birth. It is the first language we have learned to express ourselves and gained experiences and knowledge. Languages carry a vast repository of knowledge, information about the natural world around us like plants, animals, ecosystems, and information of cultural traditions and the collective history of an entire people. When a language is lost, much of this knowledge may get lost with it.
In language education research has shown that skills, that have been acquired in the mother tongue can be transferred to another language. Per example learning to read provides a base of knowledge of the world that can be applied to foreign language texts and make them more comprehensive to understand. As a result learning a second language will be accomplished more quickly and effectively when the student is proficient in his or her mother tongue.
Mother language gives us the ability to communicate with our ethnic group in a more distinct and subtile way. It allows us to transport feelings, expressions, experiences and thoughts more clearly, though language itself is never unequivocal.
