On February 21, something happens in schools, in libraries, in families, sometimes without even realizing it. This global event is never just a fixed ritual; it raises the question of the right to speak, the right to inherit. The issue of the survival of minority languages is at the forefront. Nothing erases this observation; International Mother Language Day belongs to everyone, not just specialists. The global agenda recognizes it, year after year, because every speaker counts, every voice has its echo.
A word tenderly whispered by a grandparent, an accent lost in a schoolyard, a question asked, almost naïve. Why is there this shiver, this need to return to the words of the morning, to the words of childhood? Nothing is fixed here, you probably agree, this February 21 disrupts ordinary habits. International Mother Language Day forgets no one; its message transcends generations, shakes certainties. Languages fade away? False, they resist, and you see this energy not only in books but in the street, in the kitchen, in the classroom, among neighbors sometimes in disagreement, united by the necessity to understand each other.
The significance of International Mother Language Day and its various origins
Some reminders shake us; it is enough to take a look at the dates, the places, the stories. On February 21, 2000, a decision by UNESCO, but that is not really where it all began. Head to Dhaka, 1952, cold morning, students from Bangladesh dressed in white, slogans choked in their throats. Do you know the rest? Brutal repression, indignation crossing borders. Years go by, the memory does not fade. UNESCO takes up the torch, marks International Mother Language Day on the official calendar, mobilizes awareness. Do all cultures react in the same way? Absolutely not, and perhaps that is where the question becomes acute.
February 21 returns; the scene repeats itself, seemingly identical, and yet everything changes. The memory of Dhaka inhabits this date; it tirelessly reminds us that the right to one’s mother tongue remains a question of collective dignity. International Mother Language Day exists to prevent forgetfulness, to mark with vivid ink the disappearance of inner worlds. When a language slips into silence, it takes away much more than a lexicon; it unravels entire genealogies, opens a breach. Nothing anecdotal in this celebration; everything announces the risk of marginalization, the danger of silence. UNESCO tirelessly reminds us that linguistic diversity should occupy the center, not the periphery.
| Name of the UNESCO Day | Date | Celebrated Value | Global Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Mother Language Day | February 21 | Linguistic and cultural diversity | Forums, school competitions, workshops |
| World Day for Cultural Diversity | May 21 | Promotion of cultures and identities | Meetings, exhibitions, conferences |
| International Day of World Heritage | April 18 | Protection of cultural sites | Guided tours, public debates |
| International Literacy Day | September 8 | Access to reading and writing | Public readings, educational campaigns |
Global Goals on Linguistic Diversity
Far from a mere commemorative gesture, there is a vast political objective. International Mother Language Day imposes itself to awaken awareness, recognize linguistic minorities, affirm the equality of speakers. From Paris to Montreal, from Dakar to Hanoi, UNESCO amplifies initiatives, shakes up school habits, reminds us that you cannot save a language without its familial roots. Every year, in schools sometimes lacking resources, children discover their language not as a secret of the home but as a recognized, affirmed right.
The task is not limited to preserving a forgotten speech. Preserving multilingualism is a daily struggle; it is about giving a voice back to minorities, putting pride at the center. Have you ever seen the face of a child pronouncing their name in the inherited language? Something shifts; the world expands. This strength, spoken of by researchers, teachers, parents, remains the true challenge. Cities vibrate, “patois” live, schools transform, or attempt to do so.
The stakes of preserving the mother tongue in a changing world
Current events catch up with commemoration; everything accelerates, internationalizes, globalizes. We often talk about globalization, but this word says nothing about the violence suffered by certain linguistic communities. Many of them simply disappear, silently.
The risks of language disappearance today
Almost 40% of existing languages are at risk of disappearing before the end of this century, according to UNESCO. This figure resonates violently; it exposes the fragility of an entire collective heritage. Why this danger? Wars, of course, certain misguided educational policies, the cultural domination of major powers. Africa, Southeast Asia, South America concentrate the most vulnerable hotspots. The loss takes away not just words; it tears away ways of thinking, ways of loving, dreaming, and positioning oneself in the world.
A quick look at the numbers is chilling; Asia alone has more than two thousand threatened languages. Africa exceeds six hundred, Europe reaches only about fifty, but no area truly escapes erosion. In every schoolyard, somewhere, a child puts their mother tongue in their pocket, out of shame or necessity. An old man forgets to whom he can say hello in the language of before. Is it really inevitable?
The benefits of multilingualism for learners' education
The issue goes beyond the strict boundaries of linguistics. Educational environments are taking it up; they present concrete arguments. Teaching children in their mother tongue opens the door to academic success, self-confidence, and increased concentration.
The CNRS and UNESCO state unequivocally that success more often comes through the inherited language than through an imposed language. Barriers fall, reading takes hold, the feeling of existing strengthens. Researchers from the OIF explain the mechanism; multilingualism does not block anything; it opens up, amplifies the taste for learning, reduces dropout rates in rural or Francophone areas. The walls of the classroom recede, curiosity circulates, belonging grows. A teacher from Mayotte summarizes this logic very well: “Students who revise their mother tongue, whether they are Comorian, Shimaore, or Swahili, then naturally open up to French and other languages. Their curiosity grows, their world expands. This pride transforms the classroom.”
Celebrations and initiatives in France and around the world on February 21
People often wonder if this event simply summarizes the spirit of global fraternity. The school, the library, the town hall, everything becomes a space for encounters, transmission, and reinvention of self.
Examples of events and manifestations during International Mother Language Day
February 21 is not just a date on the calendar; it is a wake-up call. French schools no longer hesitate to schedule poetry contests, exhibitions, readings where all languages take the floor. Associations bring together parents; grandparents tell stories in front of the class; the library becomes a listening room for forgotten dialects. What is happening in the cities? Translation workshops are being set up in Marseille, Paris, Lille; the whisper of languages no longer stops.
Across the globe, Montreal shines, Dakar dances, Hanoi warms up. Festivals celebrate plural voices; musicians and storytellers break down borders. UNESCO coordinates major discussions, offers digital workshops, attracts youth media. This moment of listening, every February 21, reinstalls sharing, listening, and meeting around living diversity. Nothing dusty in this commemoration; everything surprises, everything revitalizes.
Actors engaged in promoting mother tongues worldwide
UNESCO, aided by the International Organization of La Francophonie, leads the battle on the ground of linguistic rights. Governments intervene, local communities organize, NGOs multiply networks, often in a collaborative spirit. Bilingual teachers, artists from the diaspora, activist collectives take up the torch, meteors of a day or sentinels of always.
Civil society remains at the forefront. Groups organize popular celebrations, circulate the taste of dialect among newcomers. Bilingual publishing now appeals to young parents; a new era of transmission emerges through books, songs, and sometimes blogs. The initiative becomes a reflex, from the storytelling workshop in Aubervilliers to the Kabyle festival in Marseille. Emotion prevails; we listen, we compare, we laugh at accents; everything becomes a concert. Already, a storytelling workshop is being organized, mixed pronunciations; the sound intoxication wins over children, parents, and sometimes an unknown person appears, and everything starts again.
Resources to support and promote the mother tongue around you
There is no fatality; transmission is built, digital invites itself, collective creativity takes off.
Educational and digital tools available to preserve the mother tongue
- UNESCO provides an interactive portal on endangered languages, regularly updated, a precious source to visualize fragile areas
- Applications like Duolingo, Kitikiti, or Cantook Education support all ages, offering resources in Arabic, Creole, Basque, accessible in most school networks
- Municipal services, neighborhood councils, and sometimes family associations increasingly offer free or nearly free resources
Educational documentation is now available in multilingual variants; daily transmission changes dimension. Access is no longer an exception. Everyone, parent, young adult, child, can grasp the outstretched hand.
Tips for maintaining the mother tongue daily, at home and in the community
After all, institutions are not enough. What remains? The ordinary gesture, the discreet ritual, the word slipped at the edge of the table, in a text message, in a whisper addressed to the elder. Sing, tell stories, cook in the original language; children's curiosity explodes, the elderly find laughter. Do not wait for the official celebration. Opportunities abound; you just have to seize them, without seeking perfection, without calculating merit.
An Alsatian reader confides that he rediscovered the colors of his mother tongue during a neighborhood celebration; he marvels at seeing his son respond in Alsatian to his grandmother after much hesitation. Precious, unexpected, unforgettable. He concludes that transmission has no price.
So come back to this February 21. International Mother Language Day is not addressed to an elite or a lost generation. Reintroduce this daily reflex, awaken the word, even if stammered, even if imperfect. Every word whispered in a mother tongue becomes resistance against forgetfulness. Sometimes, it just takes a joke, a riddle, a morning song. And you, what word would you like to transmit? Observe; the answer may be found in the morning dialogue, the evening nursery rhyme, or the smile of the child who has just heard, for the first time, their language reclaim its place.
