In today’s fast-paced society, our traditional cultural values and identity are at risk. We have to make a conscious effort to ensure that we do not lose touch with our cultural heritage. One of the important features of a cultural identity is the ability to speak one’s mother tongue. One’s mother tongue would be the language spoken by members of the same race. As examples among the Chinese there are several dialect groups such as Cantonese, Teochew and Hokkien. Cantonese and Hokkien being by far the common dialects spoken. However the Chinese people also have the common language of Mandarin. The Indians too have their separate dialect groups such as Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi among others. The Malay language is the same for all Malays except that pronunciation may vary depending on where they are from.
There may be some who may argue that it would be better if everyone spoke the same language so as to promote communication and closer ties between the different peoples of the world. However I feel that although this is a desired ideal, it may be achieved in other ways that do not involve abandoning the art of a language that may have taken centuries to evolve into its present day form that represents the identity of a people or a community.
A mother tongue spoken helps to bind a people together and promote the positive values of a culture. If we are well grounded and know where we come from and what kinds of behaviour are deemed and acceptable in our community we would be equipped to resist external negative influences that may otherwise sway us. Also, having a cultural identity of our own would help us to understand better how other people value their own language and traditions. We would not be so quick to fear what is unfamiliar to us but instead try to understand it.
In this changing world which is drawing closer together through technology in communication, English is generally the language adopted for ease of communication in sectors such as trade and education. However this does not mean that we should neglect our own mother tongue.
depending on relying on
sway shake
understand grasp
