International Mother Language Day
Languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social integration, education, and development, are strategically important for people and the planet. Yet, due to globalization, they are increasingly under threat or disappearing altogether. When languages fade, so does the world's rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression — valuable resources for ensuring a better future — are also lost. Every two weeks, a language disappears, taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. At least 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world. Multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages, which sustainably transmit and preserve traditional knowledge and cultures. International Mother Language Day is observed yearly to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.