In this context, learning a foreign language has become essential for many people to secure better professional opportunities.
However, it is important to note that learning a mother language, also known as a first language.
Native language, is also important and should not be overlooked.
A mother language is a language a person learns from birth or in early childhood and is typically the primary language used in their home and community.
It is an integral part of a person’s cultural identity and provides a foundation for further language learning.
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International Mother Language Day:
International Mother Language Day is observed annually on 21st February to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and to protect endangered languages.
The day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1999.
The day aims to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world.
As well as to encourage multilingualism.
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History:
The day the people of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) fought for the acceptance of the Bangla language is commemorated on February 21 each year.
India’s West Bengal province also observes it. The declaration was made in honor of the Bangladeshi Language Movement (then East Pakistanis).
The United Nations General Assembly adopted UN resolution 56/262 in 2002, formally recognizing the initiative after it was first announced by UNESCO on November 17, 1999. Mother Language Day is part of a larger campaign “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world,” as stated in UN resolution 61/266, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on May 16, 2007, and which also declared 2008 as the International Year of Languages.
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Significance:
Bangladesh was the country to propose the concept of International Mother Language Day.
On this day the people of Bangladesh fought for the acceptance of the Bangla language is commemorated on February 21 each year.
This is also the goal of this International Day.
Which celebrates the diverse languages of the world, committing to the preservation of linguistic diversity as a shared heritage.
And promoting high-quality mother-tongue education for all.
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Famous Quotes:
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”- Nelson Mandela
Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.”- Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
“Rhythm is our universal mother tongue. It’s the language of the soul.”-Gabrielle Roth
“For us Indians, I don’t think English can ever exude that magic of emotions which our mother tongue can.”- Kailash Kher
“What is a nation without a mother tongue?”- Jack Edward
“Language is the armory of the human mind, and at once contains the trophies of its past and the weapons of its future conquests.”- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The disappearance of several languages puts linguistic diversity in danger. UNESCO estimates that 40% of the world’s population lacks access to education in a language they can speak or understand. Therefore, progress must be made in mother tongue-based multilingual education while keeping in mind its significance.
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The Heart of Culture: Preserving Mother Language, The Heart of Culture: Preserving Mother Language
