yes i forgot my first language. I had two first languages. my father's which was gujarati and Swahili which is my mother's. I spoke them both fluently since i learned to say my first word and i knew who to speak which language to. in addition to this i spoke english and two other southern asian languages, so five in total simultaneously as a toddler. same thing happened to me, mum and dad separated when i was 9, stopped speaking gujarati even to my sister, after approximately 2 years, we realised we had forgotten everything but a couple of words. and he is right, now i feel i've lost the connection to my dad's side of the family simply because of the lack of language. i feel i've lost a part of me. and now even my swahili isn't that good because i have swahili people around me to speak to apart from my mum and we don't see eachother everyday. people, don't lose your identity. speak your mother tongue otherwise you'll lose yourself.
Rose Tinted House I can relate when I was 6 I moved to Germany with my parents that are from ruanda and when I came I started speaking only in german because my baby brother was born and after 4-5 years I forgot my ruanda language and swahilli which I cound also speak fluent but now l can't speak a word in swahilli and my ruanda language is terrible I really wanna be fluent again it's terrible!
Ha ha nice joke. Japan is father of IT but. Japanese. Don't. Speak. English. South Korea. Is. Father. Of innovation. Bt they don't. Speak. English. russia is second powersful country in world. ANd they don't speak English. China is next superpower country. And they don't. Speak. English. Spanish. People. Live in America. And they don't. Speak. English. And india is cheaper country. They speak. English.
Sister , I come to importance of mother tongue after read nugi wathiyango de colonising the mind ,his mother tongue is also swahili.I have read his novels translated in english
@@prachipawar4254 I hate hindi first and want to stick together with my mother tounge.. indians uses English language as link to other languages.. that's it
I literally broke down in tears cause of not knowing how to fully communicate in my Yoruba language to my parents properly it really hit me deep cause I felt like I was losing myself but I pray God will lead me to make it all right again
I learnt English as my first language despite being born in an Africa. Other languages were not allowed at school or at home. I learnt the Local languages spoken around me but the words don't sound quite right. As a result, I find myself using English most of the time. However, I feel very awkward and out of place whenever anyone asks if I can speak any local language at all.😟😟😟
At first I was waiting for him to get around to talking about his "mother tongue"; finally I realized that he believes that his mother tongue is French. Obviously his parents/grandparents forgot their mother tongue and never passed it on to him. Hint: It isn't French sweetheart.
Actually the exact definition of mother tongue is "the language which a person has grown up speaking from early childhood." and in this case, he says he grew up with French as his first language therefore i believe he is right and you are wrong
French is not your mother tongue, as an African you look silly saying French is your mother tongue, if you are Ghanaian then you should speak Ankan or an Ghanaian Lang.
With respect, this is a simplistic and race-based approach to language and culture. You don't even know for sure that his parents are Ghanaian. Culture is dynamic and the individual has the right to develop their own unique, perhaps multi-cultural identity. Hantz is not obliged to identify the language of his parents (possibly two languages!) and learn that. He grew up in a bilingual country and has - I would guess - made an effort to learn some Akan and Thai since leaving Canada. But, in the end, he is a global nomad and, regardless of the colour of his skin or his parentage, he has the right to grow into his own unique identity.
Hantz Hessouh I believe the point trying to be made is that majority of Africans speak a language that is foreign to Africa. French did not originate in Africa it was forced upon the people through colonization. After several generations, it becomes the normal language. The point the person is trying to make is that African countries really haven't made their native language of their land dominant. The colonizers language is. I am American so I speak English but my ancestors where enslaved and force to forget their language so they wouldn't revolt. That's why today I try to learn an African language. History really does a good job of explaining how we came to be.
@@makabiakivuvu5726 why would they, I believe their native language would be practically useless and it is just a waste of time. I don't know my native language at all, and I am completely comfortable with that. (I am from Kazakhstan).
❤❤❤❤ my mother tounge Malayalam ❤❤❤..
Im proud..
yes i forgot my first language. I had two first languages. my father's which was gujarati and Swahili which is my mother's. I spoke them both fluently since i learned to say my first word and i knew who to speak which language to. in addition to this i spoke english and two other southern asian languages, so five in total simultaneously as a toddler. same thing happened to me, mum and dad separated when i was 9, stopped speaking gujarati even to my sister, after approximately 2 years, we realised we had forgotten everything but a couple of words. and he is right, now i feel i've lost the connection to my dad's side of the family simply because of the lack of language. i feel i've lost a part of me. and now even my swahili isn't that good because i have swahili people around me to speak to apart from my mum and we don't see eachother everyday. people, don't lose your identity. speak your mother tongue otherwise you'll lose yourself.
Rose Tinted House I can relate when I was 6 I moved to Germany with my parents that are from ruanda and when I came I started speaking only in german because my baby brother was born and after 4-5 years I forgot my ruanda language and swahilli which I cound also speak fluent but now l can't speak a word in swahilli and my ruanda language is terrible I really wanna be fluent again it's terrible!
Ha ha nice joke. Japan is father of IT but. Japanese. Don't. Speak. English. South Korea. Is. Father. Of innovation. Bt they don't. Speak. English. russia is second powersful country in world. ANd they don't speak English. China is next superpower country. And they don't. Speak. English. Spanish. People. Live in America. And they don't. Speak. English. And india is cheaper country. They speak. English.
Sister , I come to importance of mother tongue after read nugi wathiyango de colonising the mind ,his mother tongue is also swahili.I have read his novels translated in english
@@prachipawar4254 I hate hindi first and want to stick together with my mother tounge.. indians uses English language as link to other languages.. that's it
@@prachipawar4254 Indians only speak english because they were colonized by the british, the wouldn't speak it otherwise.
Thank you so much for this talk, Hantz! I teach ESL at an international school, and will share this with my students! Be well.
I literally broke down in tears cause of not knowing how to fully communicate in my Yoruba language to my parents properly it really hit me deep cause I felt like I was losing myself but I pray God will lead me to make it all right again
I love The Yoruba language
My mother language is who are I I will keep I will do my best to keep my Arabic clean and deep 💚❤💚🌱
salute those heroes who sacrificed their lives for the sake of Mother tongue...
on 21 February
💜 love you Bengali language...
What about mother culture and religion?
Could we offer our mother tongue subtitle for this inspirational TED talk by amazing Hantz, thanks.(From Taiwan)
So great!!
tysm! this will help me with my debate research :D
Attractive voice
I like this
Teach these things to Indian people
All
Yes in many countries France, Germany,China,Japan,Russia,Korea etc have everything in there language
Sorry But English have become a elite class and if you say something in Mother Tongue with fair amount of english, You are layman, Ugliest and etc..
I learnt English as my first language despite being born in an Africa. Other languages were not allowed at school or at home. I learnt the Local languages spoken around me but the words don't sound quite right. As a result, I find myself using English most of the time. However, I feel very awkward and out of place whenever anyone asks if I can speak any local language at all.😟😟😟
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I wish it was a bit longer
add "writing" to the list
❤❤❤❤❤👍
I dont have a native language Unfortunately
What do you mean?
Of course you do, it’s german
Social media
As a mixed race person I don’t know what my native language would be
At first I was waiting for him to get around to talking about his "mother tongue"; finally I realized that he believes that his mother tongue is French. Obviously his parents/grandparents forgot their mother tongue and never passed it on to him. Hint: It isn't French sweetheart.
Actually the exact definition of mother tongue is "the language which a person has grown up speaking from early childhood." and in this case, he says he grew up with French as his first language therefore i believe he is right and you are wrong
Shut up Wasabi
French is not your mother tongue, as an African you look silly saying French is your mother tongue, if you are Ghanaian then you should speak Ankan or an Ghanaian Lang.
With respect, this is a simplistic and race-based approach to language and culture. You don't even know for sure that his parents are Ghanaian. Culture is dynamic and the individual has the right to develop their own unique, perhaps multi-cultural identity. Hantz is not obliged to identify the language of his parents (possibly two languages!) and learn that. He grew up in a bilingual country and has - I would guess - made an effort to learn some Akan and Thai since leaving Canada. But, in the end, he is a global nomad and, regardless of the colour of his skin or his parentage, he has the right to grow into his own unique identity.
Hantz Hessouh, All African countries have to change their languages from the colonizer's to their own native langs.
Hantz Hessouh I believe the point trying to be made is that majority of Africans speak a language that is foreign to Africa. French did not originate in Africa it was forced upon the people through colonization. After several generations, it becomes the normal language. The point the person is trying to make is that African countries really haven't made their native language of their land dominant. The colonizers language is. I am American so I speak English but my ancestors where enslaved and force to forget their language so they wouldn't revolt. That's why today I try to learn an African language. History really does a good
job of explaining how we came to be.
Frankie Meehan i agree with you. If someone lived in quebec, his first language wuld easily be french
@@makabiakivuvu5726 why would they, I believe their native language would be practically useless and it is just a waste of time. I don't know my native language at all, and I am completely comfortable with that. (I am from Kazakhstan).