A language of belonging: Advice for learning the mother tongue of your ancestors

NEW YORK (AP) — Losing a tangible connection to your family’s ancestral homeland can bring unexpected sorrow, whether through the death of an older relative, the sale of a property passed down for generations gets sold or the destruction a handful of surviving heirlooms.Learning a language spoken by their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents is a way some English-speaking children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of immigrants choose to reinforce ties to the old country and nurture their cultural identity.Knowing the mother tongue of one's ancestors could unlock a stack of letters that clarify hazy chapters of family history. Basic speaking skills may lead to meeting cousins in another country. Listening to stories and songs in the original language conveys nuances and meaning that often are lost in translation, experts say.Imparting an ancestral language to their children also is important to some parents. Adults who grew up speaking a language other than English, perhaps