International Mother Language Day

International Mother Language Day History

International Mother Language Day highlights the importance of maintaining and cherishing one’s mother language, the language typically learned from birth and historically significant to one's cultural identity. The observance also reiterates the universal right to use one’s mother language in educational, legislative, administrative and judicial systems, a right often infringed in multilingual societies.

Established by UNESCO in 1999, International Mother Language Day is grounded in the tragic events of February 21, 1952 in Bangladesh, where students were killed while advocating for the rights of their mother language, Bengali. For the UK, with its rich tapestry of languages and cultures, International Mother Language Day offers an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate this diversity. It also dovetails with the nation’s commitment to multiculturalism and its emphasis on fostering community cohesion, understanding, and respect for all languages and cultures.

In the UK, International Mother Language Day is commemorated through a variety of initiatives. These might include cultural events, language-based competitions, and debates in schools as well as in the wider community. The activities aim to promote the use and preservation of all languages spoken within the country, including less widely spoken and minority languages such as Welsh and Gaelic, highlighting their value to British heritage. International Mother Language Day itself is observed annually worldwide every 21st day of February.

Facts about International Mother Language Day

• The theme for International Mother Language Day in 2025 was Silver Jubilee Celebration of International Mother Language Day. The theme for International Mother Language Day in 2024 was Multilingual education is a pillar of intergenerational learning. The theme in 2023 was Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education.
• According to Ethnologue.com, as of 2024, the most spoken languages around the world are:
  1) English – 1.5 billion people
  2) Mandarin Chinese – 1.1 billion people
  3) Hindi – 600+ million people
  4) Spanish – 550 million people
• Mother languages in a multilingual approach are essential components of quality education, which is itself the foundation for empowering women and men in their societies. — Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General.
• Scottish Gaelic is spoken by about 1% of the Scottish population, predominantly in the Highlands and the Western Isles. It is a minority language, but there are ongoing efforts to promote its use and preservation.
• The English language originated from the Germanic languages, specifically Anglo-Saxon, which were spoken by the Anglo-Saxons, who were Germanic tribes that migrated to the British Isles between the 5th and 7th centuries.

In the News and Trending in the UK for International Mother Language Day

Top things to do in the UK for this observance

• Gather with friends and family to assess your local education system. Does it provide adequate language instruction and second language instruction? Second language acquisition has been linked with critical thinking, creativity and flexibility of the mind.
• Generate awareness for International Mother Language Day by using the hashtags #InternationalMotherTongueDay, #IMLD, #motherlanguage or a hashtag followed by the language of your post (#english, #bengali, #xhosa).
• British Library: The British Library houses a wide array of books and transcripts from various languages around the world.
• Multicultural Language Celebration: Organised in multiple cities including London and Manchester, these are events where people from different linguistic backgrounds gather to celebrate their mother tongues.