About International Mother Language Day:
- It is observed globally every year on February 21 to recognise and promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
- According to UNESCO, International Mother Language Day was recognised on the initiative of Bangladesh and has been observed throughout the world since the year 2000.
- The theme for 2024 is "Multilingual education is a pillar of intergenerational learning".
- Significance
- According to UNESCO, globally 40 per cent of the population does not have access to an education in the language they speak or understand.
- So, as a commitment towards understanding the importance of the mother language or mother tongue, UNESCO decided to observe the day.
- It underscores the role of languages in promoting inclusion and achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
- Issues: Every two weeks a language disappears taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage.
- At least 45% of the estimated 7000 languages spoken in the world are endangered.
- Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world.
