The Power of the First Language

Many assume that to get a "leg up" in school that a child should learn to read in the language of power. In the Philippines that language is English, and many families are bypassing their mother tongues in order to teach their children to read using that (often) foreign language.

One counterpoint to this (mis)use of language is Mother-tongue-first Education, where educators recognize that is easier to learn to read in one's most familiar language. SIL International has been pioneering these kinds of field programs, including an important one in Lubuagan, Kalinga -- a place I referenced in a previous post.

It isn't just the languages of these reading materials that should be culturally appropriate: even the content of these books should contain activities and objects that the readers know. In the video below, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie describes how she learned to read as a child in Nigeria by means of British books. In her tropical home she did not eat apples, play in the snow, or talk about the weather. But the books she had access to in English were full of children having these experiences. Stories that teach children to read are best understood if the people, houses, animals, and food look like those seen every day.

If the gospel of Jesus Christ is really going to take root across the world, it will need to be deeply embedded in the cultures and languages of those who believe it. Christianity in Nigeria (or the Philippines or Argentina) cannot (should not) look and sound the same as it does in the USA, UK, or Germany. Yet many of the world's churches are learning about the Trinitarian God from foreigners -- singing foreign songs, reading imported books, and imitating Western (usually megachurch-like) liturgies. What will it take for Christians to claim the power of their own stories and sing the truth of our God in their mother tongues?