Every year since 21 February 2000, UNESCO has celebrated International Mother Language Day with a view to promoting linguistic and cultural diversity throughout the world.
This day marks the death of 4 Bengali students in 1952 who were protesting so that Bengla – their mother tongue – would be chosen as the official language of what is now known as Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).
On this day, the value of every language is celebrated and enjoyed. Indeed, according to UNESCO, 50% of the 6,000 languages currently spoken in the world may disappear in the long term. They say that one language ceases to be spoken every two weeks.
Each language involves a way of thinking, a culture and an identity. It is with a view to supporting multi-culturalism, and the mutual respect it implies, that UNESCO celebrates the world’s linguistic heritage.
Discussions focused on “linguistic diversity and new technologies”. According to the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, “We must harness the power of progress to protect diverse visions of the world and to promote all sources of knowledge and forms of expression.”
Even though English has become the vehicle for online communication, it is important for every language to make its mark. Facebook, which was unavailable in France up until three years ago, is now available in over 64 languages. The social networking tool Twitter is currently being translated by the very people who use it and who are themselves part of the micro-blogging network.
To sum up, each language represents a heritage to be preserved as a symbol of a history and a culture, as is the case for monuments.