Mother Tongue’s Role in Language and Identity Formation

Introduction

Mother tongue is the first language learned and used by the speaker. It can be defined as the language of the mother and the land. Dubbed the first language, regional language, home language, native language, village language, and so on, "mother tongue" is the most widely known concept in the field of language studies. Because mother tongue is the individual's first introduction to the world of communication, individuals are given a personal, local, and national identity through this first communication tool.

In the course of communication, as well as in many facets of human life, language plays a very important role for individuals and, of course, for groups. It is unthinkable that the role and function of language are separated from the existence of humans who are social beings.

With the changing times, the study of mother tongue is increasingly being examined in utmost detail by language experts. The reason is the changing times and the increasingly complex human life in the social environment of multiculturalism and globalization. In essence, having more than 7,000 languages on the face of the earth shows the richness and diversity of human languages. It certainly is the mother tongue of the people in their respective countries. The spread of mother tongues that are not the same as human existence and the range of human social interest means that the use value of each mother tongue in the process of objective cognition and social interaction, including advancing group identity in that direction, entails certain implications. Psychologically, the mother tongue causes cognitive and psychological stances in the personality structure, thinking patterns, and attitudes of individuals. Therefore, if we knew the mother tongue of a person, to some extent, we would be able to predict what his or her intellectual and emotional stances would be.

The Role of Mother Tongue

Languages are acquired naturally by children through exposure and interaction. The mother tongue is the first language that a person is taught or learns from his or her parents. There are many theories supporting why the mother tongue has an impact on the second language, i.e., psychological theories, sociocultural theories, cognitive theories, and information processing. In learning other languages, a number of researchers refer to the importance of the mother tongue. They acknowledged that for a majority of language learners, the mother tongue has a significant impact on phonology, vocabulary, and syntactic structures as well. The mother tongue, as a first language, will influence the proficiency of language learners. It will also lead to educational success. Therefore, it is essential to acquire a strong mother tongue to learn other second languages.

Another academic view also mentions that it is important to have a strong mother tongue. The more parentally supported foundation students have in their first language, the stronger their bridge will be to a second language. Parents should maintain and enrich the home language with their children, so they can help them become successful learners. At the same time, parents should also assist in providing a quality education in English to facilitate their children's receptivity to English. Bilinguals and multilinguals may face certain issues. One of the most prevalent concerns is the potential for bilingual or multilingual children to experience language delays or to develop speech deficits, leading to a subsequent negative impact on their language learning. Those researchers provided that a lack of proficiency in one’s mother tongue might represent potential challenges for those learning that language as a second language or other languages in their childhood years. The theory presented by them revealed the fact that a strong foundation in the first language can facilitate second language acquisition.

Cultural and Identity Significance

Dissimilar to other mediums of human communication, the mother tongue is not only a way to connect with other members of a speech-based community owing to mere correspondence or understanding; the mother tongue is, by and large, synonymous with cultural affiliation. A substantial group of scholars is almost unanimous in their stance that the mother tongue is a medium to convey culture from one age group to the next. It is a significant container of a social group's practices, generally accepted beliefs and truths, collaboration patterns, loyalties and restrictions, ideas, values and customs, etc. Subsequently, individuals not only speak in their mother tongue, but they also hear it spoken, read it, write it, spell it, exercise it, interpret it, and possibly compose in it. Consequently, they begin regarding, thinking of, and relying on themselves by means of their mother tongue; moreover, because of their awareness of their weaknesses in their mother tongue, they begin to ridicule themselves.

The mother tongue often comes first during the introduction of oneself; this is a result of the similarity between the first language and the mother tongue and how it brings the individual closer to their roots. Oftentimes, a person's language is particularly associated with their local culture and environment. When a person speaks their language, they attempt to remember the local customs, activities, and traditions closely connected with their life. Similarly, different ethnic individuals utilize their regional languages as an instrument to develop their connection with diverse ethnic or racial groups. When individuals speak in their regional languages, they directly or indirectly highlight their cultural individuality, standing, and approach. Major languages or dialects with similar cultural distinctions also make it possible to interpret neighboring zones or countries more effectively. It also impacts the social and ethnic or collective identity of people across the globe. When a person misplaces their mother tongue, it has a negative effect on their personality as well as the local language and diasporic migratory population. A dialect or language used by each group is preferred to be known as an indigenous language. Such indigenous, endangered, or tribal languages spoken in rural and seasonal communities typically encode a great deal of wisdom that provides missing links to various activities.

Mother Tongue Maintenance

In an age of globalization and language endangerment, maintaining one’s mother tongue has become a challenging task for communities around the world. Mother tongue maintenance involves ensuring that children are able to access education in their first language and that they grow up in environments where the language is used in multiple domains, including in the home, community settings, the workplace, and the local media. In cases where a language is no longer being learned by young people, mother tongue maintenance would require starting a program of language revitalization based on historical sources and records. Many language communities have initiated such programs with the aim of passing their languages on to future generations. Lack of intergenerational mother tongue transmission does not mean that a language is no longer spoken or has become extinct. Indeed, many speakers—especially in multilingual societies—use more than one language in everyday life, and they may speak one as frequently as the others.

Several societies eager to maintain their languages have developed educational programs to help children attain fluency in them. Community members of endangered language communities are also actively involved in developing dictionaries, hosting language schools, running radio programs, producing storybooks for children, setting up oral history projects, teaching their language to other community members, and producing guides and curriculum materials to share both local lore and language learning strategies. The language revitalization process is complex and requires the dedicated work and coordinated efforts of scholars, community members, families, and even government agencies. Among the challenges communities face when starting a language revitalization project in multilingual societies are complex educational policies that favor dominant languages, economic constraints, social perceptions of low status attached to mother tongue use, and lack of institutional support. Successful language revitalization efforts have been undertaken in various regions around the world. Educational materials and tutorial videos have become prime instruments of many language revitalization programs. In the last decade, “Mother Tongue Learning” sections have multiplied exponentially, allowing users to practice languages from Abenaki to Zulu.

Conclusion

The significance of mother tongue in both language acquisition and identity formation has already been addressed. In the present context, it is crucial to note that mother tongue shapes the initial stage of language acquisition. Moreover, for children speaking the same language at home and at school, mother tongue learning strategies can enable them to learn the second language more effectively. Borrowing phonological, morpho-syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic resources from their mother tongue can help learners partially bridge the gap between their incomplete interlanguage system and native speakers' competence. In conclusion, being a product of social use, mother tongue plays a primary role in facilitating effective communication. Mother tongue is a substantial part of our cultures' memory. Raising bilingual children who can communicate with their parents in their native language will assist them in nurturing family relationships, even when living in countries whose national languages are not their own. In sum, the mother tongue is the basis for second language learning.

Though globalization, minority languages still lack revitalization throughout the world. Thus, further investigation can be conducted concerning the impact of learning the mother tongue on vocabulary size, second language attitude, prejudice reduction, and identity markers at later stages. Some variations concern the mother tongue learning component in immersion programs around the globe. The ways culturally relevant practices in language teaching and learning could foster the interdependency of minority language revitalization and acculturation or increase community members' sense of belonging need to be studied further. Thus, additional research needs to address questions concerning the role of local practices in promoting the articulation of language, culture, and identity. In today's world, language is undergoing dynamic changes at a faster rate than ever before. Some languages will disappear entirely, while others will branch into new varieties. This calls for an appreciation of linguistic diversity in all its forms, with a specific focus on developing an understanding of mother tongues in a global society. Encouragement for minor children is important so that these languages can continue to flourish.

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