Do We Still Have a Mother Tongue?
(Reflection on International Mother Language Day, February 21)
By: Dr. Ali Aminulloh, M.Pd.I., ME.
Do we still have a mother tongue? Or is it not just language that is slowly disappearing, but the way home?
In an era when children are more fluent in saying “subscribe” than “hatur nuhun,” and more adept at saying “guys” than “sobat,” we are faced with a paradox of our times: the world is increasingly connected, but our roots are increasingly torn apart. We live in an abundance of words, but a dearth of meaning.
In 2026, UNESCO designated the theme for International Mother Language Day: “Youth Voices on Multilingual Education.” This theme is not just a global slogan. It is a silent, yet powerful call: the future of languages lies in the hands of the younger generation.
Young people are not merely inheritors of languages. They are the determinants of their destiny. They will decide whether their mother tongues will continue to breathe in living rooms or remain merely archived in libraries.
Languages No Longer Taught
In many homes today, the mother tongue is no longer consciously passed down. Fathers are Javanese, mothers are Bugis. Fathers are Minang, mothers are Sundanese. The national language becomes a compromise. Global languages become a priority. The mother tongue is slowly being pushed aside.
Children grow up without truly having a first language embedded in their souls. Regional languages may be taught in school, but language is not theory. It is practice. It lives in jokes, in gentle rebukes, in honest anger, in quiet prayers.
The mother tongue should grow at home. But when parents themselves are no longer fluent in their native language, who will teach it?
So we are witnessing a generation that is uprooted. Not completely losing their identity, but not fully possessing it either.
A World Losing Thousands of Voices
The world has more than 7,000 languages. Yet every two weeks, one language becomes extinct. It is estimated that nearly 3,000 languages will disappear before the end of this century.
Indonesia itself has around 718 regional languages, the second-largest in the world after Papua New Guinea. Papua alone has over 400 languages. However, many of these are now spoken only by the older generation.
When the last speaker dies, a world dies with them.
And often, we don’t feel the loss because we don’t consider language a cultural treasure.
Youth and the Digital Space
The 2026 theme emphasizes the voice of youth in multilingual education. The implication is clear: language cannot simply remain in the realm of nostalgia. It must be present in the digital space.
If young people live on social media, then their mother tongue must live there. If young people create content, then regional languages must be part of their narrative. Languages should not only survive on traditional platforms, but also on TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, and modern classrooms.
Currently, around 40 percent of the world’s students have not received formal education in a language they understand well. This means millions of children are learning in a language that is not their mother tongue. This is an irony in the world of global education.
Multilingual education is not a threat to unity; it is a bridge to justice.
Trilogy of Consciousness: Language as Foundation
In the trilogy of consciousness initiated by Shaykh Al Zaytun, namely philosophical, ecological, and social consciousness, the mother tongue occupies a fundamental position.
Philosophical consciousness: Language shapes the way we think. In our mother tongue, we first understand the world.
Ecological consciousness: Many local languages hold irreplaceable knowledge about nature. The names of winds, seasons, plants, and seas often have no equivalent in global languages.
Social consciousness: Language builds solidarity. It creates a sense of “we.” Without the mother tongue, social ties become loose.
When language is lost, consciousness erodes.
Questions We Must Answer
Do we want our children to be rootless global citizens?
Or do we want them to be global people who retain their sense of their homeland?
The mother tongue is not a barrier to progress. It is a foundation. Not nostalgia for the past, but a pillar of the future.
The 2026 theme reminds us: the voices of youth determine the destiny of language. But before they speak, the home must speak first.
Because if our mother tongue stops at home, our children might one day ask:
“What language is our language?”
And we might no longer have the answer.**
Indonesia, February 21, 2026
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