Well , we are a punjabi family living abroad since ages ... my parents still converse with each other in Punjabi ... i can speak bit of it .. but my sisters cant ....
now the dialemma ... when it came to marriage .. my dad was making a conscious effort to find someone punjabi for me ! I speak english and urdu ... I could have easily gotten married in an urdu speaking family !
nevertheless , he did find a punjabi,urdu,english speaking guy for me ! and now my fiance and my dad like to chat in punjabi and ....... i just look at their faces!!:(
but i feel proud of my fiance coz at the end of the day , I will want my kids to learn punjabi and know more about our roots .. and if both me or my hubby do not know how to speak our mothertongue .... the kids will develop one of their own !!!
so moral of the story is , yes i guess its important that both are from the same culture .. although i do know several people who are successfully in a marriage despite the fact that they could only understand each other in sign language !!!