Your "Home Language": Not Daggy, But a Forgotten Treasure

Have you ever had a moment like this?

You call your family and instinctively want to speak Standard Mandarin, because it feels "more formal". At a get-together with mates, you hear someone speaking a dialect and quietly label it as "daggy" or "old-fashioned". Or even, when asked, "Do you speak your home language?", you might sheepishly reply, "A little bit, but I'm not good at it anymore."

We seem to have tacitly accepted a truth: that Standard Mandarin is "the language", while our mother tongues – those home languages we've heard since we were little kids, full of warmth and familiarity – are merely "dialects". A secondary, less important existence, it seems.

But is that really the case?

A Story About a "Secret Recipe"

Let's look at this problem differently.

Imagine your nan had a "secret recipe" for braised pork belly, passed down through the generations. The taste of that dish is one of your warmest childhood memories. Later, your parents' generation grew up and moved to different cities, like Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Chengdu. They made slight tweaks to Nan's recipe based on local tastes: the Shanghai relatives added a bit more sugar, making it sweet; the Guangzhou relatives incorporated Chu Hou paste for a richer flavour; and the Chengdu relatives tossed in some doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorns, making it numbing, spicy, fresh, and fragrant.

These adapted versions of braised pork, though distinct in flavour, all originated from Nan's "secret recipe". Each one was delicious and carried the unique stories and emotions of its family branch.

Now, imagine a big chain restaurant comes along and launches a standardised "national braised pork". It tastes good, it's uniform nationwide, convenient and quick. For efficiency and consistency, this "standard version" is promoted everywhere – in schools, companies, on TV.

Gradually, people start to believe that only this "standard version" is the real deal, the one that's truly presentable. And those sweet, salty, or spicy "family heirloom versions" cooked at home? They're seen as mere "home cooking", not "professional" enough, perhaps even a bit "daggy". Over time, the younger generation only knows the taste of the standard version, and Nan's secret recipe and all those creative adaptations slowly get lost.

Sounds like a real shame, doesn't it?

In fact, our "dialects" are those unique, character-filled "family heirloom braised pork" dishes. And Standard Mandarin? That's the efficient, standardised "national version".

Minnan (Hokkien), Cantonese, Wu (Shanghainese), Hakka… these aren't just "regional variations" of Standard Mandarin. They are languages that, throughout the long river of history, developed in parallel with Mandarin, also originating from ancient Chinese. They're like the different, thriving branches on a big family tree, not just little twigs sprouting from the main trunk.

Calling Minnan a "Chinese dialect" is like calling Spanish or French "Latin dialects". From a linguistic standpoint, the differences between them have long reached the level of distinct "languages" rather than merely "language" and "dialect".

What Do We Lose When a "Dish" Disappears?

When a "family heirloom dish" disappears, we lose more than just a taste. We lose the image of Nan busy in the kitchen, that unique family memory, an emotional connection that simply can't be replicated by a "standard version".

Similarly, when a "dialect" declines, we lose far more than just a tool for communication.

In Penang, Malaysia, the local Minnan language (known as "Penang Hokkien") is facing just such a predicament. Generations of Chinese immigrants there used their language to blend with local culture, creating unique vocabulary and expressions. It wasn't just a means of communication; it was a vehicle for their identity and cultural heritage. But with the widespread use of English and Standard Mandarin, fewer and fewer young people can speak it fluently.

The disappearance of a language is like tearing the last page out of a family history book. All those witty remarks, ancient proverbs, and the unique sense of humour that could only be expressed perfectly in that language – they'll go with it. And that emotional bond between us and our ancestors will blur as a result.

Reclaiming Your "Secret Recipe" is Something to Be Proud Of

Luckily, more and more people are starting to realise the preciousness of these "family heirloom recipes". Just like those young folks in Penang who are working hard to document and promote Hokkien, they're not just clinging to old ways; they're safeguarding a treasure.

We don't have to choose between our "home language" and Standard Mandarin. It's not an 'either-or' battle. Mastering Standard Mandarin allows us to communicate with a broader world, while reclaiming our home language helps us understand more deeply who we are and where we come from.

This is a cooler kind of bilingualism – being able to handle the formality of the official language, while also embracing the intimacy of your ancestral tongue.

So, next time you're on the phone with family, try having a yarn in your home language. Next time you hear someone speaking a dialect, try to appreciate its unique beauty. If you've got kids, teach them a few simple phrases in your ancestral tongue – it's as important as teaching them their own names.

That's not "daggy" – that's your roots, your unique cultural imprint.

In this age of globalisation, it's easier than ever to connect with the world. But sometimes, the greatest distance is precisely the one between us and our closest culture. Luckily, technology can also be a bridge. For instance, when you want to share family stories with relatives overseas but worry about the language barrier, chat tools like Intent with built-in AI translation can help you break through that initial hurdle. It's not about replacing the language itself, but about building that first bridge of communication, allowing those lost "family secret recipes" to be shared and heard again.

Don't let your most precious "family heirloom recipe" get lost in your generation.

From today, proudly tell people: "I speak two languages – Standard Mandarin, and my home language."