Everything You Need to Know About International Mother Language Day
According to Ethnologue, there are currently 7,151 known languages spoken by people around the world. This number constantly fluctuates as more languages are discovered, but the threat of language endangerment is also a real possibility. Of the 7,151 that exist as of today, a mere 23 languages are spoken by more than half of the world’s population. So, how can we continue to honor the mother languages spoken by minority groups? One way is to bring awareness, which is one of the driving forces behind International Mother Language Day.
International Mother Language Day was first introduced by an initiative of Bangladesh. It was approved by the UNESCO General Conference in 1999 and has been observed around the world every year since 2002. Each year, a different focus is brought to light. In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about International Mother Language Day and how to get involved in your community.
What is the Importance of International Mother Language Day?
International Mother Language Day is significant because it aims to help advance inclusion between cultures around the world. This holiday is observed in order to promote linguistic and cultural diversity alongside multilingualism. Tandem is proud to honor cultural diversity through language. That’s why we have over 300 languages you can choose from to learn. From German and Italian to Tok Pisin and Lozi, Tandem aims to connect individuals throughout the world, regardless of their mother tongue. Download our app today and connect with like-minded individuals in your target language.
International Mother Language Day is a way to help preserve differences amongst cultures and languages, which is essential in cultivating tolerance and respect for individuals in different regions of the world. This directly coincides with UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals, which focus on making sure that no one is left behind.
Language is how we communicate. It forms our identities and provides opportunities for social connection. Therefore, UNESCO believes that cultural and linguistic diversity is essential for sustainable societies. However, each year more and more languages disappear. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for certain cultures to integrate, communicate, or understand things that happen outside of their community.
In fact, according to UNESCO, 40% of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand and 43% of languages are considered to be endangered. Of this, less than 100 are used in the digital world, making it nearly impossible for the remaining 7,000 languages to access information online. When you think of how many people this could affect over the years, the importance of holidays such as International Mother Language Day becomes increasingly apparent.
When is International Mother Language Day?
International Mother Language Day is held each year on February 21st. This date was specifically chosen to commemorate individuals killed during the 1952 Bengali Language Movement—a movement that attempted to retaliate against the government’s decision to name Urdu as the official language in modern-day Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).
This decision effectively ignored the entire Bengali-speaking population, forcing them to either learn Urdu and use it in daily life or be excluded from news, politics, and essentially everything happening within their own home country. Thankfully, in 1956, Bengali was recognized as the second official language of East Pakistan before splitting off in 1971 and becoming what we now know as Bangladesh.
To honor these types of struggles, from 2022 to 2032, the focus will be on celebrating Indigenous languages around the world.
How Many Countries Celebrate International Mother Language Day?
International Mother Language Day is a movement that is celebrated and observed throughout the world. However, the initiative is headquartered in Paris, France for now. It’s a holiday known by all UN countries, but the degree to which each celebrates depends on their local government. Some regions have large-scale events and conferences, while others simply observe it on the calendar. Hopefully, as time moves on, more countries will play an active role in honoring this day and what it stands for.
International Mother Language Day was created as an initiative to help increase awareness of language-related issues around the world. If you’ve ever been in a foreign country that has a different mother language than your own (without the aid of technology), you understand the confusion, frustrations, and sometimes anxiety that’s associated with navigating daily life. International Mother Language Day is a way to promote this type of awareness. It’s also part of a larger initiative to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by people of the world.
Tandem is proud to support International Mother Language Day and we encourage all of you to reach out to someone in their native tongue today! As a language app, our values are integrated in cultural diversity, and we strive to do our part in bridging the gap between all of humanity. We understand that speaking a new language takes a little more than courage, but one thing all of our members have is a willingness to get out of their comfort zone.
If you’re not a part of our community already, beginning a new language-learning journey is a great way to celebrate International Mother Language Day and honor the cultural differences of individuals around the globe. All you need to do is download the app, sign up, and match with a native speaker in your target language. Then, just start communicating! You’ll work together to teach each other your mother language while continuing to perfect the pronunciation and grammar needed for fluency.
Tandem works to help our members foster a deeper understanding of language while improving fluency and building long-lasting friendships. To join our community and become part of the movement for maintaining lingual diversity, sign up for Tandem today.
