Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Official website of the State –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On February 21, the world celebrates International Mother Language Day – a holiday that reminds us of the value of each culture, history, and identity of billions of people.
How did this day come about?
The holiday's history dates back to 1952. On this day 74 years ago, university students in Dhaka, Pakistan, held a peaceful demonstration to protest linguistic discrimination. They demanded that Bengali be recognized as a second official language. However, the government did not support this idea and, on the contrary, decided to disperse the demonstrators with gunfire. That day, several young people, whose only desire was not to forget their native language, were killed by police bullets.
In memory of this event, in 1999 UNESCO proclaimed February 21 as International Mother Language Day, and just a year later it was celebrated for the first time throughout the world.
Interesting fact: in Bangladesh, this holiday is celebrated as Bengali Language Movement Day. The country holds various events commemorating the anniversary of the beginning of the struggle for their native language. One tradition is laying flowers at the Shaheed Monument, dedicated to the heroic martyrs.
Why is it important to preserve languages?
Language isn't just a tool for communication between people; it's a prism through which we can see the world and similar things in completely different ways. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis posits that language structure influences thinking and perception of the world around us. For example:
The Aborigines of the Australian tribe don't use "left"/"right" for orientation. They orient themselves only by the cardinal directions and say "on the north-east foot." Speakers of languages that have separate words for blue and light blue distinguish their shades faster than those who use a single word. Depending on the language, time is perceived either as distance or volume: long time/a lot of time. The Brazilian Pirahã language doesn't have a concept of exact numbers, dividing them only into "many" and "few." Most languages are egocentric, meaning they name objects relative to themselves ("on my right"), but a third use abstract landmarks—cardinal directions—and speakers of such languages have better orientation.
Today, linguists count more than 6,000 different languages. This is hard to believe, given that 80% of the world's population speaks only 80 major languages, and 40% of these are endangered—spoken by fewer than 1,000 people. According to some estimates, a language disappears every two weeks, and with it, history, culture, legends, ways of classifying the world around us, and uniqueness.
These facts prove that language preservation is our responsibility, one that cannot be ignored. After all, as the proverb goes, "The more languages you know, the more human you are." It's important to maintain this diversity and pass on knowledge to younger generations: speak to children in your native language, inquire about the cultures of small peoples, study the history of your speech, and simply appreciate how amazing it is to know a little more.
Happy International Mother Language Day! Celebrate your uniqueness – it's awesome!
Subscribe to the "Our GUU" Telegram channel. Publication date: February 21, 2026.
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