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.