The Language Legacy Raising children bilingually. Consider the benefits of youngsters speaking in more than one tongue. Although Antoinette goes to an American kindergarten and speaks English with her father, Bill, most of Antoinette's cassettes and books are in Swiss German, the language of her mother, Elisabeth Suter. Thanks to the efforts of her parents and extended trips abroad, Antoinette is fully bilingual and well versed in much of the culture of her mother's country. Parents who wish to give their children a sense of their family's heritage have a strong tool in the German language.
Language brings context to notions like tradition and culture.
In many respects, language is the very symbol of cultural identity. But for many parents, teaching their children the language of their ancestry is about bringing two cultures together and providing a sense of duality and global awareness unachievable in a monolingual world. In fact, even parents who have limited German proficiency can find ways to at least introduce their children to the German language, and thereby achieve many of the same benefits families who are fully bilingual enjoy. In many families, the decision to raise kids bilingually is largely pragmatic. Especially if either parent comes from a German-speaking country, it becomes important that the children be able to communicate with relatives and friends from abroad.