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TEHRAN – International Mother Language Day is celebrated every year on February 21. It is a source of inspiration to build multicultural and inclusive societies where people of all races, religions, languages and cultures gain respect and can live with dignity.
The United Nations General Assembly has asked member states to “promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by the peoples of the world.”
The day recognizes that languages and multilingualism can promote inclusion, and the Sustainable Development Goal focus on leaving no one behind. UNESCO believes that education, based on the first language or mother tongue, should start from the earliest years, as early childhood care and education are the foundation of learning.
This year’s observance is a call to legislators, educators and teachers, parents and families to expand their commitment to multilingual education and inclusion in education to advance the recovery of education in the context of COVID-19.
Languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social integration, education and development, are of strategic importance for people and the planet. However, due to globalization processes, they are increasingly threatened to disappear completely. When languages fade, so does the world’s rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thought and expression, valuable resources to guarantee a better future are also lost.
43 percent of the estimated 6,000 languages spoken in the world are said to be in danger.
There are multilingual and multicultural societies through their languages that transmit and preserve traditional knowledge and cultures in a sustainable way.
Today there is a growing awareness that languages play a vital role in development, ensuring cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, but also in strengthening cooperation and achieving quality education for all, in construction of inclusive knowledge societies and the preservation of cultural heritage, and in the mobilization of policies will to apply the benefits of science and technology to sustainable development.
Learning more languages is helpful as it offers more windows to the world, as well as allowing understanding, peace and harmony between cultures. However, it cannot be achieved without a solid foundation in one’s mother tongue. The mother tongue is the soul of life.
