Media personality Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung has added his voice to the ongoing debate around speaking your mother tongue to children.
Somizi took to social media this week, where he encouraged parents to speak to their children in their mother tongue
In a seven-minute video he posted on Instagram, the star clarified that he was not attacking anyoneâs parenting style.
âThere is nothing wrong with your kids speaking English and going to English schools but I donât think parents realise the kind of damage or missed opportunity they are depriving their children [of], and the power and wealth in knowing your mother tongue,â he said.
The âDinner At Somiziâsâ star recounted how he had spoken in vernac to some children, who were unable to respond because they did not understand the language fully.
He said it should be a childâs decision not to speak in their mother tongue, and not their parentsâ.
âYou speaking and making them know their mother tongue would not take anything away. But, you not speaking to them in their mother tongue will take something away from them. I cringe!â he said.
He added that parents should consider striking a balance between English and their home languages to enable their children to speak both.
âThe thing is they are balanced because at school they speak English and play with other kids. Everything is in English.
âWhen they come home, whatâs wrong with having a balance? I know parents who create a balance at home and speak the mother language and make time for it â which is said that we have to make time for our mother tongues,â he said.
He said a childâs success is not exclusively dependent on which schools they went to or the language they speak.
âIn adulthood, weâre on the same level. Weâre the same,â he said.