'Am I Filipino or Australian?': What it's like not knowing your mother tongue

Unlike other Filipino-Australians, Sarah Agustin was not brought up speaking Tagalog. And growing up, she discovered that not knowing her mother tongue came along with some barriers.

Sarah Agustin recently finished her 5-week Level 1 Filipino lessons. Source: Supplied by S. Agustin

Highlights

• Lack of exposure to one's cultural background may have its chilling effect.
• For young Filipino-Australians like Sarah Agustin, it is particularly valuable to understand their parents' culture.
• Learning your your mother tongue is essential to better understand one's own identity.

For young Sydneysider Sarah Agustin, there was a time where she was asking about her cultural identity.

"Growing up, I personally was questioning about my identity. Am I really Filipino? Or am I just Australian?," narrates the 2nd year uni student.

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As a child, Sarah has visited the Philippines from time to time to reconnect with their relatives. 

But there was a bit of confusion for her. She wondered why her parents did not teach her to speak their language.

Now as a young lady, she thinks that learning her parents' native language is necessary to better acquaint with her cultural background.

"Growing up it would have been really nice to know Tagalog or understand it first because whenever I go back to the Philippines they’ll ask why don’t you know Tagalog. Why don’t you learn?," shares the only child.

When Sarah was growing up, her parents would only speak to her in English. Source: Supplied by S. Agustin

Despite growing up in a Filipino household, her parents barely spoke to her in Filipino and would only speak English to communicate with her.

"I just didn’t have that exposure growing up. I really want to learn how to speak it, understand it more, so why not take the lessons since the opportunity is right there," she says.

Being actively involved in the Filipino Student Society in her university, Sarah Agustin is starting to meet more and more fellow Pinoys. Source: Supplied by S. Agustin

Sarah Agustin is part of a cohort of students who took part in a Filipino class organised by the Filipino Student Society at her university and being delivered online by May Red Zafra from the Tagalong Learning Incorporated. 

Apart from the weekly online classes, she is also ecstatic to slowly learn more about the other side of her culture with the help of newly found Filipino friends.

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