International Mother Language Day is celebrated worldwide annually on 21st February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism.
Let’s understand What is a Mother Language ?
The term “mother language” refers to a person’s native language — that is, a language learned from birth. It is also referred as a first language, native tongue, native language, or mother/father/parent tongue. Renowned researcher Vygotsky claimed that infants are born with abilities like attention, sensation, perception and memory. Our first language, the beautiful sounds of which one hears and gets familiar while in the womb, has an important role in shaping our personality, thoughts and life.
Theme for 2021
The theme of the 2021 International Mother Language Day, “Fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education and society,” 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.
Background
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.
Today there is growing awareness that languages play a vital role in development, in ensuring cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, but also in strengthening co-operation and attaining quality education for all, in building inclusive knowledge societies and preserving cultural heritage, and in mobilizing political will for applying the benefits of science and technology to sustainable development.
Bangladesh was the first country which initiated the idea of celebrating an International Mother Language Day.In Bangladesh, 21st February is the anniversary of the day when the people of Bangladesh (then east Pakistan) fought for recognition for the Bangla language. It is also celebrated in West Bengal, India.
History of International Mother Language day and How it is connected to Bangladesh
21 February was declared to be the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO in 1999. It has been observed throughout the world since 21 February 2000. The declaration came up in tribute to the Language Movement done by the Bangladeshis (then the East Pakistanis).
When Pakistan was created in 1947, it had two geographically separate parts: East Pakistan (currently known as Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (currently known as Pakistan). The two parts were very different to each other in sense of culture, language, etc. The two parts were also separated by India in between.
In 1948, the then Government of Pakistan declared Urdu to be the sole national language of Pakistan even though Bengali or Bangla was spoken by the majority of people combining East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (now Pakistan) The East Pakistan people protested, since the majority of the population was from East Pakistan and their mother language was Bangla. They demanded Bangla to be at least one of the national languages, in addition to Urdu. The demand was raised first by Dhirendranath Datta from East Pakistan on 23 February 1948, in the constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
International Mother Language Day is a national holiday in Bangladesh.
To demolish the protest, the government of Pakistan outlawed public meeting and rallies. The students of the University of Dhaka, with the support of the general public, arranged massive rallies and meetings. On 21 February 1952, police opened fire on rallies. This is a rare incident in history, where people sacrificed their lives for their mother tongue.
Since then Bangladeshis celebrate the International Mother Language Day as one of their tragic days. They visit the Shaheed Minar, a monument built in memory of the martyrs and its replicas to express their deep sorrow, respect and gratefulness to them.
Also read,
How many languages are there in the world?
According to Ethnologue, there are 7,117 languages are spoken today. Roughly 40% of languages are now endangered, often with less than 1,000 speakers remaining. Meanwhile, just 23 languages account for more than half the world’s population.
