Mothertongues

Oops! The Festive episode was so jam packed that some items slipped down the back of the sleigh. We had to fit them in so here’s the show, with added Polish traditions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All across Ireland, cultures celebrate midwinter in different ways. Here are just a few of them. Happy New Year from all of us on the Mothertongues podcast and thanks to everyone who’s taken part so far.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eabha is 9 and speaks Dutch with her mum, Maartje. Here she talks flat landscapes, bikes and that tricky sound you need to speak it properly.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Louisa is 7 and, along with her mum Rebecca, she is from Sweden. Although she moved here aged one, she still knows a lot about it and speaks Swedish every day.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Felix is 9. Although his family speaks Romanian at home he goes to a Gaelscoil so he has a head full of language.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Benjamin is 6. His Mum and Dad met in Ireland but she is from Turkey and he is from France. Together, they speak three languages!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saoirse is 7. She has an older brother, Seosamh. Her mum, Penny comes from Taiwan and her dad is Irish. Together, they all speak Mandarin. Almost a billion people speak it as their first language!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah, Omar and Ibrahim have a house full of different languages. Their dad, Mustafa is from Morocco and speaks Arabic, and their mum Iolanda is Italian. They all speak English too!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Niamh lives in Connemara and speaks as Gaeilge every day. She and her mum Fiona talk Communions, Australia and the need for a good “scáth báistí”.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Klara and her mum Agnieszka speak Polish and love to read it too. Her dad even drops in to the podcast to help translate a Polish story!