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Languages that divide; languages that connect, unite
Feb. 21, is celebrated as International Mother Language Day (IMLD). It was first announced by UNESCO in November 1999 “to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and promote multilingualism”.
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Feb. 21, is celebrated as International Mother Language Day (IMLD). It was first announced by UNESCO in November 1999 “to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and promote multilingualism”. (Shutterstock/File)
W
hat was the first language that you heard when you were born? Probably that of your parents’ right? I am ethnic Sundanese Indonesian, so you would think that the first language I heard was either Sundanese or Indonesian.
Wrong. It probably might have been Hindi, or one of the hundreds of languages that exists in India.
India? Yes, because I was born in New Delhi, delivered by an Indian doctor, and it’s quite possible that he said, “It’s a girl!” in Hindi or English — while slapping my bum to make me cry.
But what is certain is that in my first 20 months of life I was surrounded by a multitude of languages: Indonesian, Sundanese, English and at least a few of the hundreds of languages in India.
Being multilingual continued to be an aspect of my life as a diplomat’s daughter. I learned English at the age of 5 when my parents were posted in London, Hungarian when they were assigned to open the Indonesian Embassy in Budapest, and I learned Italian, French and German when I attended Marymount International High School in Rome as a teenager. I also understand some Dutch as my parents, their friends and my grandparents all spoke Dutch, especially when they didn’t want the kids to understand what they were saying!
So what is my mother tongue? Closest to my heart and mind is English, I have to confess, as it was the medium of instruction at the schools I attended as a child and teenager.
But obviously, Indonesian and Sundanese (the regional languages of the inhabitants of West Java, which make up 15.5 percent of Indonesia’s population) are also close to my heart.
