נחמיה, פרק י״ג, פסוק כ״ד

The direct consequence of intermarriage often reveals itself in the gradual fading of a community's language and identity. When families blend differing cultural backgrounds without a strong unifying foundation, the younger generation is the first to reflect the shift. Children born to Jewish fathers and foreign mothers were deeply shaped by their surroundings and naturally adopted the native tongues of their mothers [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The primary approach among commentators notes that a significant portion of the youth was affected. Many [רש״י], or at least some [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ], grew up speaking the Ashdodite language of their mothers. A different perspective suggests that the issue was not just how many children spoke a foreign language, but rather the way they spoke. Instead of fully adopting one tongue, these children communicated in a mixed dialect that was half Jewish and half Ashdodite [מלבי״ם].

Consequently, these children lost the ability to speak the Jewish language. Even though they had Jewish fathers, the language of their people was entirely lost to them [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The constant blending of their parents' native tongues left them in a state where they could not speak any language properly or clearly [מלבי״ם].

This cultural erosion was not limited to families with ties to Ashdod. Children born to idol-worshipping mothers from various other nations similarly adopted the specific languages of their mothers' homelands [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Because of the ongoing linguistic confusion in these mixed homes, the children struggled to speak fluently not only in the Jewish language but also in the foreign languages of their mothers [מלבי״ם].