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This creative piece couldn’t have come at a better time. People across Asia and Southeast Asia as well as overseas communities of Asian origin will celebrate or observe the Year of the Horse as per the Chinese zodiac/Spring Festival, as well as Ramadan and the related Hari Raya Aidilfitri in February 2026 and March 2026. It is perhaps the only time many of us will use and brush up on each of our own mother tongues, especially when chances of using them at other points in life (outside the confines of your home) are getting fewer and fewer.  

Growing up in a multicultural environment, especially when you’re taught about your hyphenated or multiple identities, made even more layered when you’re of mixed parentage, it’s not uncommon to be asked about your mother tongue(s) and/or languages that you can speak and/or function in. This can certainly work to your advantage, but also work against you.  In the worst possible scenario, you could have been bullied and/or made fun of, or a bully at school, university or the workplace for being incompetent in the language/just to feel a sense of adequacy and satisfaction by bullying someone deemed ‘lesser’ than you.

While the lyrics aren’t the best, particularly if you understand them, the song’s overall meaning is for the most part, positive. Usually, outstanding songs themselves are supposed to read like poetry and this song does that successfully through the rhyming of the lyrics and the words themselves, with ‘puisi’ repeatedly mentioned. Through the lyrics, “Mother Tongue” acknowledges the shame of struggling with one’s mother tongue, making it remarkable and powerful - with a fitting ending that gives the listener a sense of closure, courage and acceptance. Through what is conveyed via the song, a reminder of your roots, this is especially significant to overseas-born communities, regardless of their capacity to function in the mother tongue. Interestingly, the father figure and his role in the family is also briefly touched upon, making it a song that has a balanced perspective.

Signed to the label rising88, Stephanie Poetri Dougherty comes from a musical family - her mother being the Indonesian pop singer, Titi DJ. Dougherty’s father is an American, heading an international school in Indonesia, where the younger Dougherty had also studied.  Dougherty’s mother is also of Indonesian-Chinese-Japanese heritage. Given this mixed background, it’s no wonder there are touches and hints of Indonesian in the song’s verses, making the song have a certain twist, surprise/delight for listeners. It is said that Dougherty is able to speak and/or understand Cantonese, French and Malay, apart from English and Indonesian. Dougherty’s influences include fellow Indonesian singer and labelmate, NIKI, and Finneas O’Connell, who is also the brother of US-based singer-songwriter Billie Eilish.

Dorothy Chan is a US-based scholar, poet and author, born to parents originally from Hong Kong. Chan has been using writing as her outlet of expression and finding her identity as an Asian American.

So, why not embrace and use your mother tongue more this festive season?

“Mother Tongue” is now streaming on platforms, including Spotify and YouTube.

Note: ‘Puisi’ is based on a Dutch loanword, and is used in Malay and Indonesian to mean poetry.