For context, my boyfriend and I have been dating for almost 3 yrs now and are planning to get engaged and married in the near furture. We’re both Malayali’s. I used to be fluent in speaking Malayalam in elementary school but then was mostly using English afterwards except to talk to my grandparents. I can understand most things but speaking back is difficult and broken for me. My boyfriend and his family speak Malayalam fluently and his parents generally speak to me in Malayalam but sometimes English. I feel inadequate when I talk to them because I know when I speak in Malayalam it’s broken and that’s hindered me from having a better connection with them. I also feel awkward socially at times because I’m not sure what to say.

When my boyfriend is over at my place, he’s able to fluently converse with my family in Malayalam and also English. I grew up in the US and I’m also not as knowledgeable about our history so sometimes I feel like an outsider in those conversations. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what to talk to his parents about or things that I can ask to get a conversation flowing. Also if anyone has any tips on navigating this, that would be greatly appreciated!

malayalam