A
special day
In 1999, a special day to
promote mother languages was created: International Mother Language Day. The
day was also intended to raise awareness of just
how many languages we have on this planet (around 6,500) and to protect them.
The idea for this special day came from the country of Bangladesh, and 21
February is also the day when Bangladeshis mark the day that the Bangla language
was officially accepted. Bangladeshis celebrate both
days by holding literary competitions and singing songs.
Different
themes each year
Every year, UNESCO chooses a
different theme and holds different events at
its headquarters in Paris, France. For example, in 2005, there was a focus on
Braille and sign languages, and in 2017, a focus on how multilingual education
could help the world to have a better future.
Other countries have also
set up special projects to mark this day. For example, in 2014, the Indian
government released digital learning materials
for schools and colleges in the 22 most widely spoken Indian languages. It is
estimated that there are around 750 languages or dialects
in India, and, sadly, that around 250 more languages have been lost in
the last 50 years.
The
importance of the mother tongue in education
The Director General of
UNESCO, Audrey Azouley, pointed out in a recent speech on International Mother
Language Day that mother languages 'shape
millions of developing young minds'. She believes that children learn best in
their mother tongue, and that it is important that children should have this opportunity. Around the world, 40 per cent of the
population does not have access to education in a language they can understand
or speak. Using certain languages can make it easier, or much harder, to do
well in life.
Language
goes to the heart
Nelson Mandela once said,
'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.' At least 43 per cent
of all languages are endangered, and fewer than
100 of the world's languages are used in the digital world. Most internet
communication is in one of the following languages: English, Chinese Mandarin,
Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Indonesian, Malayan, Japanese, Russian and German.
But everyone has the right to use their own mother language, and to keep
the memories, traditions and ways of thinking that their language represents. And this is what International Mother
Language Day is all about.
VOCABULARY LIST
|
NO |
ENGLISH |
INDONESIA |
|
1. |
Intended |
Disengaja |
|
2. |
Celebrate |
Merayakan
|
|
3. |
Theme |
Tema |
|
4. |
Mother languages |
Bahasa ibu |
|
5. |
Released |
Dilepaskan
atau dipublikasikan |
|
6. |
Dialects |
Dialek |
|
7. |
Opportunity |
Kesempatan
|
|
8. |
Endangered |
Terancam
bahaya |
|
9. |
Represents |
Mewakili |
|
10. |
Memories |
Kenangan
|
