21st February is International Mother Language Day
Mother languages are important for each and every one of us. This is the language which is our first language. We never dream in any other language apart from mother language or our indigenous languages. Languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social integration, education and development, are of strategic importance for people and planet. When languages fade, so does the world’s rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression — valuable resources for ensuring a better future — are also lost.
Every two weeks a language disappears taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. At least 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world. Multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages which transmit and preserve traditional knowledge and cultures in a sustainable way.
There are challenges for mother languages due to globalization. Powerful languages are being spoken and used in many parts which have become threat for many local languages. One of the global events which promoted mother language is celebration of International Mother Language Day which is observed every year to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism on 21st February.
International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999. The UN General Assembly welcomed the proclamation of the day in its resolution of 2002. On 16 May 2007 the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/61/266 called upon Member States “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world”. By the same resolution, the General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism and named the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to serve as the lead agency for the Year.
The day recognizes that languages and multilingualism can advance inclusion and the Sustainable Development Goals’ focus on leaving no one behind. UNESCO believes education, based on the first language or mother tongue, must begin from the early years as early childhood care and education is the foundation of learning. New Education Policy is emphasizing on leaning in mother language in elementary schooling.
This year’s observance is a call on policymakers, educators and teachers, parents and families to scale up their commitment to multilingual education, and inclusion in education to advance education recovery in the context of COVID-19. This effort also contributes to the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032), for which UNESCO is the lead agency, and which places multilingualism at the heart of indigenous peoples’ development.
There is no shadow of doubt that mother languages are fragile resource and loss of any language is a threat in many ways. Together we can make a difference and let us promote the indigenous languages. The linguistic diversity is always important to safeguarding heritage and others and let us not forget our own languages in the time of globalisation.
Ranjan K Baruah
(With direct inputs from UN publication and feedback may be sent to bkranjan@gmail.com )