Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. Bonjour, guten tag, namaste, konnichi wa, witaj, salut, hoezit, hello, hola, sawubona, as-salamu alaykum, ni hau, molo, dumela…

International Mother Language Day is observed on Saturday, the observance is held annually on February, 21 worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic, cultural diversity and multilingualism. It was first announced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 17 November 1999.

Its observance was also formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages. International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since 2000 February to promote linguistic, cultural diversity and multilingualism.

The date represents the day in 1952 when students from different educational institutions such as Dhaka University, Jagannath University, Dhaka Medical College demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bengali , as one of the two national languages of Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka (near High Court), which is the capital of what is known as Bangladesh today.

The term “mother language” is, itself, a somewhat awkward calque translation of the term used in a number of “Romance languages “such as Spanish, Italian and French, and so on. A more fluent English translation would perhaps be “mother tongue”, though “native language” is the most readily comprehensible term in English.

In linguistics, in fact, “mother language” refers to an ancestral or protolanguage of a particular branch of a language family. The day promotes the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world.

It also promotes unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism. Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations.

We uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants. We advance social justice when we remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability.

The Declaration focuses on guaranteeing fair outcomes for all through employment, social protection, social dialogue, and fundamental principles and rights at work.

All moves to promote the distribution of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.