International Mother Language Day, 21 February

[Harold Schiffman]

International Mother Language Day, 21 February

In 1999 UNESCO proclaimed 21 February as The International Mother
Language Day, to be observed throughout the world. The day is
celebrated to promote mother tongues and encourage linguistic
diversity and multilingual education. Activities during the event aim
to increase the awareness about linguistic and cultural traditions
throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding,
tolerance and dialogue.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and
developing our observable and unobservable heritage. Today, about half
of the 6,000 or so languages spoken in the world are under threat.
This is an opportunity to begin exploring the value of linguistic
diversity as part of the International Year of Languages.

Mother-Tongue Dilemma - UNESCO Newsletter, July 2003

Studies show that we learn better in our mother tongue. But then it
has to be taught in school, which is not the case of all minority
languages. More convinced than ever of the value of multilingualism,
certain countries are trying to promote learning in a number of
languages. However, the political and economic obstacles are enormous.
Encouraging education in the mother tongue, alongside bilingual or
multilingual education, is one of the principles set out by UNESCO in
this position paper.

The International Association for the Improvement of Mother Tongue
Education (IAIMTE) welcomes all researchers, teachers, teacher
educators, methodology teachers involved in the teaching of language
and literature to join the association for free and to participate in
conferences, book publications, newsletters and the IAIMTE journal L1
- Educational Studies in Language and Literature to exchange the
experiences and to learn from other educational cultures.

Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages (FATSIL)

The Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages is
the national body for community based Indigenous language programs in
Australia. The organisation was established in 1991 in response to the
Australian Language and Literacy Policy, to promote the maintenance,
retrieval and revival of Indigenous languages, through the support of
community based language programs. Research papers are accessible from
the site, in addition to a newsletter and other resources.
N.B. There is a National Indigenous Languages Forum 2008 in Canberra
on Thursday 21st - Friday 22nd February 2008. Details on the website.

http://blogs.educationau.edu.au/ksmith/2008/02/15/international-mother-language-day-21-february/


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