<p><strong>*Please hit the FOLLOW button to help support my work!*</strong></p>
<p>In January, I sent out <a href="https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/oACoJByrOBb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"><strong>a request</strong></a> asking listeners to send in clips about what language means to them - regardless of if they can speak their native tongues or not.</p>
<p>And <strong>YOU </strong>all delivered!</p>
<p>In <strong>On Losing Our Tongues, </strong>we're hearing diaspora folks from over a dozen unique ethnicities in Asia, Africa and the Middle East share what if feels like to struggle to speak their native language, or to be unable to speak it altogether.</p>
<p>Some themes in this episode include:</p>
<ul>
<li>How monolingual people in the diaspora relate to the English language</li>
<li>Being bilingual in English & Spanish but being unable to speak your native tongue</li>
<li>Having to use Google Translate to communicate between generations of family</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>How immigrants process trauma and share family histories in the face of language barriers</li>
<li>The science behind language erosion and the impact of that on a person's relation to their culture</li>
<li>The story of Bangladesh: the first country to fight a liberation war around language</li>
</ul>
<p>---</p>
<p><em>A very special thank you to everyone who sent in clips or interviewed with me for this episode:</em></p>
<ul>
<li>Abhinav Das, Shukri Ideis, Sophia Fel, Victoria Li, Annie Tan, Tommy Souravong, Farzana Haque, Marzia Chowdhury, Samantha Reyes, Stephanie Botchway, and Zamzam Dini</li>
</ul>
<p>This is an episode made possible from viewers (<strong>*eh hem*</strong> I mean listeners like you ;), so please give this a share to help support my storytelling.</p>
<p>Shukriya, thank you!</p>
<p>---</p>
<p><strong>Listen/read my 4-min story on NPR/WBEZ: </strong><a href="https://chicago2023.nextgenradio.org/chicago-therapist-lola-wang-create-home-lgbtq-communities-color/"><strong>How a Queer Therapist is bringing bilingual (Mandarin Chinese to English) Mental Health Resources to people of color in Chicago</strong></a>!</p>
<ul>
<li>It aired on National Public Radio (NPR) and Chicago Public Media (WBEZ 91.5FM), and is part of a series on what home means to our communities!</li>
</ul>
<p>---</p>
<p>Image credits: Dall-E</p>
<p>Music & Sound credits: CC Creative Commons & freesound (all artists are listed on our website!)</p>
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