Tongue-tied: Language barrier between old and new generations

DIMAPUR — Zanuo Merekesiyie, a 63-year-old grandmother from Teichüma village in Kohima district, lamented that cases of young people who cannot speak their mother tongue are on the rise of late, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to interact or have a conversation with them when they visit the village.

On the eve of International Mother Language Day, which is observed every year on Feb. 21 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism, Eastern Mirror spoke to some elders to hear out their thoughts about dying vernacular languages.

Merekesiyie, who understands neither Nagamese nor English, said that a few decades ago, there were only two or three people in the village who could not speak their own dialect but the number has increased over the years.

She lamented young people, who come to the village during festivals and other programmes, unable to speak their mother tongue. She said that most of the elders in the village do not understand or speak Nagamese and English, so they cannot communicate with many youngsters.

“Since we cannot understand each other due to language barriers, there are instances where we do not talk to each other even while crossing paths,” the grandmother said.

As elders of the village, the first thought that comes to mind when they meet youths who cannot speak their mother tongue is “they might be full of pride,” she said.

One of the reasons why young people fail to learn their native language is that they rarely visit their villages and do not interact with their own people in their mother tongue, she opined.

Saying that parents are also to blame, she advised parents to speak to their children in their mother tongue and ensure that children visit their villages on a regular basis.

“When they visit villages, they will be able to make friends, which in turn will help them to learn their own language,” she said.

She further said that learning the mother tongue should start at home and parents should not speak with their children in Nagamese or English.

For parents who are from different tribes, she opined that it is important to teach the language or dialect of both the father and the mother to their children.

Elders are also worried that the younger generation will lose their culture and identity if they forgo their mother tongue, she said.

“Some years ago, during the festival season, some of my grandchildren from Kohima came to the village. I excitedly asked them how they were, but they could not understand what I was saying, and that made me feel very sad and disappointed,” recalled Imkongnuken Jamir, a 92-year-old grandparent from Chuchuyimlang village in Mokokchung district.

Jamir said that he also had came across many youngsters who did not speak or understand their mother tongue and wondered how people were living without knowing their own culture and language.

He said that in the past, even people living in towns spoke their mother-tongue once they came to villages, and there was no communication problem. But with the growing number of youngsters who cannot speak their own language, the elders who do not know Nagamese or English find it extremely difficult to even have a basic conversation with them.

The nonagenarian opined that one of the best activities young children can indulge in to learn their own language is through the Bible written vernacular languages. If children are made to read the Bible written in their own language, it will help them learn the language, he added.

Pointing out that parents should play a big role in this, he said they should start speaking to their children in their mother tongue as early as 3-4 months and continue as they grow older.

Advising parents to peak only their mother tongue at home, he said that children will eventually learn Nagamese, English, or other languages as they grow up.

“They have to try their best to learn because only when they are able to understand and speak in their mother tongue will they understand their own culture and pass it on to the next generation,” he asserted.