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My mother tongue and I don’t speak to each other
I can speak some Malay, Mandarin, Korean and German – but not Malayalam.
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Growing up, the writer never thought speaking her mother tongue was a flex.
ST ILLUSTRATION: CEL GULAPA, MIEL
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There are many identities that I’ve embraced over the years: journalist, new host of a podcast show, an aunt, and being an independent woman.
But there is one that I was born with that sometimes sits uncomfortably with me: I’m a Malayalee, but at 36, I still can’t speak my mother tongue.
