Phrasebook

Mother Language Day

Do you love your native language? Then you should celebrate it in the future! And always on February 21! That is International Mother Language Day. It has been celebrated every year since 2000. UNESCO established the day. UNESCO is a United Nations (UN) organization. They are concerned with topics in science, education, and culture. UNESCO strives to protect the cultural heritage of humanity. Languages are a cultural heritage too. Therefore, they must be protected, cultivated, and promoted. Linguistic diversity is commemorated on February 21. It is estimated that there are 6,000 to 7,000 languages worldwide. Half of those, however, are threatened by extinction. Every two weeks, a language is lost forever. Yet each language is an enormous wealth of knowledge. The knowledge of a nation's people is gathered in languages. The history of a nation is reflected in its language. Experiences and traditions are also passed on through language. For this reason, the native language is an element of every national identity. When a language dies out, more than just words are lost. And all of this is meant to be commemorated on February 21. People should understand what meaning languages have. And they should reflect upon what they can do to protect languages. So show your language that it's important to you! Perhaps you could bake it a cake? And put nice fondant writing on it. In your "mother language", of course!