People always say being able to speak many languages is a great skill. Many even try and get babies as young as two or three to start a foreign language. Being a Pakistani who has grown up abroad, I have always thought and mostly spoken in English. While that developed my English skills greatly, I struggled to find a balance between English and my two Pakistani tongues. There is the language most are familiar with when it comes to Pakistan, Urdu, but the one that is lesser known and is my mother tongue, Sindhi.
Wanting to have a better connection with it, I decided at a young age I wanted to speak the two languages, Urdu and Sindhi, better. Normally, when we took our annual trip to Pakistan, I always tried to speak as little as possible. But this time I tried interacting with others my age and was made fun of for my accent and lacking vocabulary. So, it was an overall demotivating trip and upset me greatly, as it was the first time I had taken up a project as a kid and I felt like I failed.
After we got back from the trip, I did not realize it at the time but I do now, my mom and my grandparents would only speak in Sindhi to me and over the years this stuck as a habit and I realize it is what developed my speech in Sindhi. While it was a simple thing that we would talk in a particular language, it also created memories I will always treasure, for one my grandfather’s favorite things to do is tell me Sindhi poems. My favorite one will always be this one about studies as it was a simple one I could understand 😂
It was a simple way to learn how to speak the language. But I know it is what has helped me come far. There is, however, still a lot to learn as my parents and grandparents sometimes still use words I struggle to understand and have to ask them. In my opinion however, that is the fun part, I am surrounded by people with great knowledge of the languages and I can ask them and learn in any way I see fit.
That’s such a motivational story! I, too, struggle with my native tongue, Arabic, but what helped me improve was communicating in the language, much more than studying its grammar and stuff during school. You also touched upon the social barriers one feels when unable to properly communicate with others. I think it’s a very significant thing, and truly, we feel so frustrated and isolated when we are unable to communicate with others. It reminds me of a blue whale that sang in a higher frequency than other whales which made it lonelier 🙁
Quite a relatable story, I’m sure many bilingual/ trilingual speakers have faced similar issues. Growing up, it’s understandable that you may focus or speak one language more fluently than the rest depending on where you live, what language you were taught in school and what language your parents communicated with. I feel as if I also struggle with my Arabic. Even though I am able to comprehend and understand what is being said, I cannot always competently articulate in words what I intended. It is never too late to make the effort to learn or acquire any language you please. As Nouran said, the best course of action is applying language to the real word but using it to communicate with other people which will help strengthen your vocabulary/ accent/ fluency.