Fiji National University’s Head of School – Communication, Language and Literature, Suzie Aziz.

Being able to speak your mother tongue and English fluently is powerful – socially, culturally, and professionally.

This is the powerful statement made by the Fiji National University’s (FNU) Head of School – Communication, Language and Literature (SCLL), Suzie Aziz in celebration of today’s International Mother Language Day. 

Aziz shared that a mother tongue was more than just a language but an identity, memory, culture, and belonging which carried the stories of our ancestors, values, humor, spirituality, and worldview.

Additionally, she said people must take pride in having their own mother tongue.

She said that when individuals know their mother tongue well, they are more grounded in who they are.

“Research globally shows that strong foundations in one’s first language support cognitive development, confidence, and even the learning of additional languages,” she said.

“In a multicultural country like Fiji, maintaining our mother tongues – whether iTaukei, Fiji Hindi, Rotuman, or other Pacific languages, strengthens both personal identity and national unity.”

She said as a nation built on diversity, Fiji had a responsibility to protect and celebrate its languages.

“Safeguarding our mother tongues is not about resisting modernity, it is about ensuring that development does not erase identity,” Aziz added.

“When we preserve our mother tongue, we preserve history, wisdom, and identity for future generations. Language is not just communication – it is continuity.”

Aziz said the current trend of youth prioritising their mother language was mixed as some young Fijians and Fijians of Indian descent were fluent and proud speakers of their native languages while on the other hand, urbanisation, social media, and the dominance of English in education and professional settings led to the reduced use of mother tongues in some homes.

Meanwhile, at the FNU’s SCLL, educators support initiatives that encourage reading, writing, and creative expression in local languages, aligning with FNU’s broader commitment to community engagement and cultural sustainability.

“As educators, we believe multilingual competence enhances employability, social cohesion, and global citizenship,” she said.

The SCLL also promotes linguistic diversity in various ways:

• Through its language and communication courses, which emphasises cultural context and identity.
• By encouraging research on Pacific/local languages, and literature.
• Through projects that support local storytelling, drama, poetry and creative writing.
• By integrating culturally grounded examples in English and Communication programmes, recognising that multilingualism is a strength, not a barrier. 

Aziz advises parents and grandparents to play that critical role in telling stories, singing songs, sharing proverbs and cooking traditional food in their native language and encourage their children or grandchildren to respond in it.

English is a language that connects us across communities, disciplines, and institutions – but our mother tongues ground us, they anchor our identity, they carry our history and they remind us of who we are.