India Has Over 19,500 Mother Tongues! Here’s All You Need To Know About International Mother Language Day 2022
International Mother Language Day is observed every year on February 21st to celebrate the importance of linguistic diversity. The day was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999 and was formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 2002. It is part of a broader initiative “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world” as adopted by the UN General Assembly.
It was the initiative of Bangladesh to set up the International Mother Language Day. The day signifies how an intergovernmental body like UNESCO believes in the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies. According to UNESCO, it is within its mandate for peace that it works to preserve the differences in cultures and languages that foster tolerance and respect for diversity.
Linguistic diversity is increasingly witnessing a threat as more and more languages disappear. The UN reports that globally, 40 percent of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand.
Also, there are around 7,000 languages spoken in the world, according to UNESCO. An analysis of the 2011 census in India, released in 2018, however, shows that India alone has more than 19,500 languages or dialects that are spoken as mother tongues. 90% of the 7,000 world languages are used by less than 1 lakh people.
Thus, it is through days like this that native languages are promoted and efforts to preserve them are put in.
However, with a growing understanding of the importance of local languages, particularly in early schooling, and more commitment towards its development in public life, progress is being made in mother tongue-based multilingual education.
The UN has declared the theme of the 2022 International Mother Language Day as ‘Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities’. The UN mentioned in its statement that this year’s theme raises the potential role of technology to advance multilingual education and support the development of quality teaching and learning for all.
The repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the field of education, emphasized how technology is vital for distance learning. The UN acknowledges that technology holds the potential to rectify some of the biggest challenges in the education segment. Hence, this year’s theme aims to focus on how multilingual education based on mother tongue is a key component of inclusion in education.
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