When immigrants come to America to fulfill the “American dream,” they often focus heavily on assimilating into the new culture, especially the language. This rejection of one’s own culture in order to become one with the people surrounding them is prevalent within all types of ethnicities. As generations pass on, the loss of language and culture grows, as the priority to learn one’s heritage language becomes nonexistent.

A heritage language is typically learned by a person from their parents in a country where another language is more widely spoken. Many other third-generation immigrants, especially teens and young adults, feel as though their lack of language brings them shame about being a bad representation of their culture. I personally have felt this; my parents did not prioritize my brothers and me learning Chinese, and I now speak and have the literacy abilities of an elementary student. Though there is no way to not be “enough” of your culture, I think it is truly important to embrace and deepen your knowledge of your heritage. 

There are many benefits to learning your heritage language, but I believe the most important by far is connection. One of the reasons I regret not trying harder when I was younger to learn Chinese is that I feel a disconnect between myself and my relatives, which I’m sure many others can relate to. I don’t have the ability to converse beyond surface-level subjects with my grandparents, and the empty space in conversation leaves me feeling anxious, even when just talking to my family. 

But how do you even begin? The biggest struggle of finally consistently putting in the effort to learn is the discomfort of it all. For me, it’s intimidating to think about failing, or sounding too American and being made fun of for it. While it’s definitely awkward to be bad at something new, I think it is best to recognize what we’re connecting ourselves with. Whether it’s our family, familiarizing ourselves with cultural food and recipes, or just comfortably talking to an uncle or aunt at a family reunion, I think that all of us who have lost our heritage language should reach out of our comfort zones and find it.