I know two languages: My 'mother tongue' and English. I used to speak my mother tongue until I moved to an English-speaking country at the age of 8. Consequently, my mother tongue is at the level of a typical 8 year old i.e. I'm not very articulate, and I'm unable to express myself clearly and concisely in my mother tongue. When I'm speaking my mother tongue, I find that I use the grammar of my mother tongue, but English verbs and nouns.

Anyway, I have been speaking my mother tongue at home with my parents, and English with my friends, so my baby (fetus) has been exposed to both languages in equal amounts. Which language should I use to communicate with her once she is born? I'm comfortable with 'baby talk' in both languages, but what about when she is older? My mother tongue feels more 'natural', however, my vocabulary is limited, while my grammar is perfect. With English, my vocabulary is wider, but I still do tend to make grammatical mistakes occasionally. Even if I use my mother tongue, it will be interspersed with many English words, because I'm simply not fluent enough. With English, I can clearly communicate without mixing languages - My vocabulary is at the level of a native speaker.

In addition, I will be homeschooling her, teaching her to read and write. I do not know how to read or write in my mother tongue - I don't even know how to read or write the alphabet. With English, I can obviously read and write.

What do you recommend? I want her to grow up speaking both languages fluently - a true bilingual - unlike me, I feel like I only know one and a half languages, not two languages, if that makes sense.

*The reason that I'm illiterate in my mother tongue is because I went to a 'foreign or English school' in my home country. I've been speaking, reading and writing English since I was 5 years old.