Mama Tongo

Odi odi! Welcome to Mama Tongo.

My parents are from Suriname, but they never taught me Sranan Tongo. At family gatherings, I would nod along to words I didn't know (yet). The language was always there, all around me, but never *my*.

What really struck me: many Dutch Surinamese people do not speak their mother tongue for various reasons. Partly because they were not raised with the language at home. Often, there was a taboo at home against speaking Surinamese to your parents or elders: out of respect, due to the history of slavery, or because parents did this consciously, hoping that the next generation would learn to speak better Dutch.

That void became this app. Mama Tongo, which stands for mother tongue, is the app I wish I had had myself: short lessons that feel like home, without school pressure, with the culture simply included, from the market in Paramaribo to Keti Koti.

Do you also have a home language like that that you never learned? Then this is for you. Wi o leri makandra: we learn it together. 💚

J.S.B., Creator of Mama Tongo

Start for free
Chapter 1 is completely free. All 10 lessons, including the quiz boss at the end. Learning Sranan Tongo starts with words you might already know from your childhood: mama, oso, switi. This way, you can immediately feel if Mama Tongo suits you, without paying a cent.

Learning that feels like a game
- Short lessons of a few minutes, whenever it suits you.
- A daily streak to keep you going.
- XP, missions, and eleven mascots to collect.
- Every lesson builds sentences that your (grand)parents will recognize.

Learning Sranan Tongo doesn't feel like homework here. You just do a lesson in between other activities, and your streak ensures you come back tomorrow.

The culture included
Language and culture belong together. In Discover, you’ll find stories, music, and fun facts: from the Paramaribo market to Keti Koti. You learn not only what you say, but also where it comes from.

The Language Guide
Need to look up a word quickly? The Language Guide is your reference guide in Sranan Tongo, always within reach. Type a word in Dutch or Sranan Tongo and you’ll jump right to it.

All Yours
Choose light or dark mode, set your own notifications and when, and log in with Google or Apple so your progress is secure and transfers to any device.

MamaTongo Pro
Want to continue past Chapter 1? MamaTongo Pro unlocks all 15 chapters and 150 lessons, everything in Discover, the complete Language Guide, and your own notes for each chapter. Pro is available as a monthly subscription for €9.99 or an annual subscription for €89.99 (which renew automatically until you cancel in your Google Play settings), or as Lifetime for a one-time payment of €129.99. Prefer to try it out first? There is a one-time trial week for €4.99: seven days covering everything up to and including chapter 5. You can always start for free and choose later.

What it's worth
An online Sranan Tongo course easily costs €195, or €335 for a classroom session, if there is space. Lifetime access to Mama Tongo costs less than one such course, and you keep it. No subscription that continues, no waiting list, no fixed evening of the week.

Are you going to Suriname?

The Vakanti travel guide is a separate purchase (€14.99, one-time): tips from Surinamese people themselves and from visitors, from the market to the interior. It is not included with Pro, except for Annual and Lifetime: it is included for free with those. For everyone who recognizes the language of home, but never learned it.

Follow Mama Tongo on Instagram and TikTok: @mamatongo_

Kon na mi.

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