February 21: International Mother Language Day

February 21, 2020

On February 21, UNESCO is celebrating International Mother Language Day. It is important to celebrate the day as globalization process has put languages under threat and they are disappearing altogether. When languages fade away, the cultural diversity of the world fades away as well.

Highlights

Every year, UNESCO has been celebrating International Mother Language Day since 2000. The main purpose of celebrating the day is to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity. This year the International Mother Language Day is celebrated under the theme

Theme: Languages without Borders

Need

Today, more than 6,000 languages are spoken in the world according to UNESCO. However, out of these 43% are estimated to be endangered.

United Nations

In 2007, the United Nations called upon its members to promote, preserve and protect their languages. It also proclaimed the year 2008 as the “International Year of Languages”.

In India the Day is being celebrated as “Matribhasha Diwas”