Celebrate your mother language
Celebrate South Africa's language diversity on International Mother Language Day.
WHETHER you are French, English, Zulu, Afrikaans, Portuguese or Chinese, 21 February marks the celebration of International Mother Language Day worldwide.
According to Wikipedia, International Mother Language Day is celebrated on 21 February annually worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
It was first announced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on 17 November 1999 and was also formally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution that established 2008 as the International Year of Languages.
International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000.
The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bengali, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, which is the capital of present day Bangladesh.
On 16 May 2009 the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution, called upon member states “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world.”
