Making Language Visible

by  Ruslana Westerlund

Did you know that nearly 40% of the world’s population lack access to education in their own language according to this report from UNESCO? Did you know that February 21st is the International Mother Language Day?  If you follow Reclaiming Education for Social Justice Facebook group, then you should know.  I have been posting about it today all day.  In fact, we started our breakfast as a family talking about it and my son couldn’t believe one could die defending one’s own language.

The significance of this day is marked by an event on February 21, 1952 when several University of Dhaka students were demonstrating for recognition of Bangla, their language to be one of the state languages (along with Urdu).  They were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.  To read more about the significance of this event from the Bengali perspective here.

Since then, a monument has been erected in Dhaka, called Shahid Minar (Shaheed means martyr, and Minar means monument) to commemorate the event of 1952.  People pay tribute to the language martyrs, the students who were killed protesting for their language rights.

To celebrate this day, let’s do what’s within our power to celebrate all the languages of the world and especially those that have been marginalized.  We can do that in our communities, our schools, our work places, and our homes!

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Below is how to say Happy International Mother Language Day in various languages.  I would like to give credit to the Facebook page International Mother Language Day Celebration where people have posted how to say Happy International Mother Language Day in their languages.  Since then, several were added from my friends.

Gezuar Diten Nderkombetare te Gjuhes se Nenes! (Albanian)

(Arabic) يوم اللغة الام العالمي سعيد

শুভ আন্তর্জাতিক মাতৃভাষা দিবস (Bengali)

Feliz dia internacional da língua materna! (Brazilian Portuguese)

Честит международен ден на майчиния език. (Bulgarian)

世界母語日(Cantonese & Traditional Chinese)

Gelukkige internationale dag van de moedertaal. (Dutch)

Hauskaa kansainvälistä äidinkielenpäivää! (Finnish)

Bonne journée internationale de la langue maternelle. (French)

Einen glücklichen Internationalen Tag der Muttersprache. (German)

Antar-rashtriya bhasha divas ki badhaee ho. (Hindi)

Selamat Hari Bahasa Ibu Internasional. (Indonesian)

Buona giornata internazionale della lingua materna. (Italian)

모국어의 날을 행복하게 보내세요 ( Korean)

Sveikinu su tarptautine gimtosios kalbos diena! (Lithuanian)

Feliz dia internacional da língua mãe. (Portuguese)

Szczęśliwego Międzynarodowego Dnia Języka Ojczystego! (Polish)

¡Feliz día internacional de la lengua materna! (Spanish)

Glad inernationell modersmålsdag! (Swedish)

Bітаємо з міжнародним святом рідної мови! (Ukrainian)

Baynal Aqwami yaum e maadri zabaan mubarak Ho (Urdu)