If I am a Malayalee and my husband is a Tamil what would be my children's mother tounge language?

Question

my mother in law so often irriates me by telling me "indirectly" to stop teaching my children my native language. So i'm kinda confused can anyone help me in defining what does mother tounge means??and is it correct for me to say tht my children's mother tounge would me Malayalam?

all your answers are very helpful but i'm still not getting any clues for my question...wht wil be be my children's mother tounge if i'm a malayalee and my husband is a tamil if i took the adv and taught them both the languages which wud be the mother tounge?

Answer 1

Mother tongue is the language most often spoken. You should teach your children both languages. Unless your children speak Malayalam more often and more fluently than the other it is not their more tongue. For example I speak English all day and to everyone I know it is my mother tongue, but I also speak spanish.

Answer 2

I would say the mother tongue would be the language you learned as a child. You could be Chinese, bu live in Great Britain and English would be your mother tongue.

But really that is way beside the point. The world is shrinking. If you can teach your children more than one language that is wonderful!!! Don't let anyone tell you to not teach your children two or more languages!

Look when I was a child in the 50s and 60s living in mid-western United States it NEVER occur ed to me that I would ever communicate with people from France, Spain, Japan etc. By way of the Internet I regularly communicate with people from all over the world. The young people of today consider taking a trip to Europe the way I would have considered taking a trip to Texas when I was their age. Everything that goes on today points to the world shrinking even more. I doubt if I will live to see ti but I am betting that one day the world will be virtually border-less. By teaching your children more than one language all you are really doing is preparing them for tomorrow! In the not too distant future being mulit-lingual will be a really plus and will open doors for them that would other wise be closed.

Answer 3

Funny you should ask that. I am born in China, moved to singapore at 6, now I am in Canada. I speak four labnguages, chinese French, English and spanish. I always considered my mother tongue to be Chinese even though I am much better in english. As for your question, I would say teach your child(ren) the two languages if possible, if not you have every right to teach him in Malayalee and if your hasbund wants, he can do the same in Tamil. But you have every right to teach him Malayelee, remember that.

Answer 4

As u & yr husband have come forward to merge inspite of the geographical locations, naturally a lot of understanding is expected from this relationship.

So, naturally, u teach malayalam to yr children and yr hubby can teach tamil. Knowing more langauages is an asset and there is nothing to worry about it.

Good Luck dear.

Answer 5

You should definitely teach your children at least two or three languages!

My parents, brother and two sisters all spoke two languages until I was born and we moved to the US. Now, I'm the only one who doesn't speak two languages and I have to compete with other people for jobs, etc who speak two or three languages.

I have many friends that speak two or three languages now and they had no problems learning them as children. It's much more difficult as an adult.

Always, be nice (when possible) to mother-in-laws... AND teach your children AT LEAST two languages.

Best wishes,
C

Answer 6

Hindi would be his mother tongue as he is of Indian ethnicity, Tamil would be his mother dialect... but it is NEVER a loss to learn extra languages and dialects. I never realised its value until I started working, then i realised being fluent in my father's and mother's dialect helped me in various groups of people. I myself am multi lingual speaking and writing fluently in 4 languages ( 4 dialects of one of the languages ) and it helped me during my early years in finding jobs, being multi lingual is ALWAYS a plus whichever way you look at it...

Don't stop expanding your child's mind and knowledge, he will appreciate you for it later, as I did my Parents and Grandparents for making sure I learnt my dialects well.

Answer 7

the country you are living in now is the one your children needs to learn most,, but do not forget to teach them also yours and your husbands languages,, knowing different languages is very beneficial,, tell your mother in law to take care of HER family and you will take care of yours!!!!