In a friendly meeting with some “international” friends as we like to call it, a half Dutch half French friend was speaking to us in English and then all of a sudden she looked at me and said an expression in pure rhetoric Arabic. Being the only Arabic speaker present, I was both astonished and proud.

She looked at the others and excused herself for switching from English. She explained that among all the languages that she masters she was unable to find the exact expression that describes what she feels other than Arabic. She started learning Arabic 6 years ago and I was really surprised how she was going on so smoothly in it. It is a completely different language alphabetically and phonetically from the Germanic family she already speaks. Her action brought up the issue of languages and the necessity of learning a foreign language. Dutch, German, French, English and Italian and we all speak English which is our common ground.

    We always celebrate this common ground that allowed us to be friends despite all our differences. We often imagine if each and every one of us was just speaking her own mother tongue, we wouldn’t be friends. We started speaking about languages. The 4-year-old daughter of our German friend has not uttered a word since she was born. After all the appropriate examinations, the doctor told her poor little girl is confused between 3 languages and that she doesn’t know which language to start with.

Her parents speak German together, her father speaks Arabic with his family and then they speak English with her mother! It’s unlikely that this happens but it did in this case.

    Our British friend surprised us that her children go to a school where Arabic is the 1st language. To our surprise, this English speaking lady is humbly admitting that her Egyptian children’s mother tongue is Arabic not English. She explained to us that the mother tongue is not the language that you mother speaks but rather the language of your identity and cultural background. For her, English is a special language that they use with her and with her family back in the UK. Your mother tongue is who you are. When you are attached to the language of your culture, religion, nation and environment you develop a deep sense of belonging. “My children are Arabs living in an Arab country so their mother tongue is Arabic. They should be able to speak, write, read and think in their language. They will definitely speak English because of me but when it comes to study, they should master the language of their identity.”

    Her words are so genuine and unbiased. She is a mother who really cares for the good of her children. On the contrary, I see Arab mother who brag that their children cannot speak Arabic though the never stepped out of Egypt! Such mothers are separating and de rooting their children from their origins so they end up a hybrid between both cultures. I cannot believe that she was explaining Quarnic verses that are purely Arabic to her son in English! 

    Learning a foreign language other than your mother tongue or first language or whatever you call it is blessing. I am a translator and I cherish languages. I have speak 4 languages with different levels of excellency so I take pride in being a bilingual yet my roots are not to be extracted by all means.

I owe so much to the languages that bridged the gaps in my life and helped me make a myriad of sincere friends from different ethnicities and cultures. However, I take pride in my Arabic. I never felt ashamed of it or regarded it as a second degree language. Arabic defines who I am as a Muslim, Arab and Egyptian. It is one major key in my identity. The more languages I learned throughout my life the happier I became with all the opportunities that unfolded before me. Yet, to spring forward you have to be on firm ground first. Otherwise, you will break a leg or lose your way!