“Every two weeks a language disappears taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. At least 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world,” the United Nations points out in its website.
Since 1999, the world body has been celebrating International Mother Language Day on February 21 to revitalise languages that are in danger of disappearing while acknowledging the strength of those that are widely used, and hoping for the latter to leverage the former in providing a multilingual culture and education.
The commemoration, begun at the initiative of Bangladesh, is today a major campaign that has helped revive classic and indigenous languages. It recognises that languages and multilingualism can advance inclusion, and UNESCO has been encouraging and promoting multilingual education based on mother tongue or first language. Studies show that children who masters their mother tongue first is able to excel academically and socially since it helps them “to bridge the gap between home and school, to discover the school environment in a familiar language, and thus, learn better”.
In the Indian state of Kerala, we have the well-known example of Pallikoodam (which simply means school) in Kottayam established by the late Mary Roy, mother of Arundhati Roy, which not only changed its original English name but also adopted Malayalam as the medium of learning in its primary wing. Children in this elitist school are not at any disadvantage as they transition to ICSE Board thereafter.
Such initiatives are heart-warming, and we need visionary educationists to provide people access to an education in a language they speak or understand. Progress is being made in multilingual education with growing understanding of its importance, particularly in early schooling, and more commitment to its development in public life.
The theme of the 2023 International Mother Language Day “is Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education” which according to the UN “contributes to the development of inclusive societies that allow multiple cultures, worldviews and knowledge systems to coexist and cross-fertilise”. It will help population groups that speak non-dominant languages, indigenous languages as well as minority groups to preserve their own languages and thrive in them.
The Indian Union with states formed on the basis of the mother tongue of the regional population is one of the best examples of unity in diversity. However, we should also remain vigilant against language chauvinism and the unwillingness to accept or adapt to an alien language or dominant languages of the world.
Loving your language in Dubai :
Dubai is called a melting pot of cultures where over 200 nationalities cohabit and work together in harmony. They bring with them their unique languages with community groups and gatherings helping them to keep in touch with their language and culture. A concert, a poetry recital or skit in one’s native language during community celebration of festivals is an opportunity to bond with the language or the nostalgia it rekindles. Signboards in shops selling indigenous products almost always have the name of the shop in the mother tongue of the proprietor, giving one a sense of the home away from home that Dubai is. Community organisations in the emirates also organise free classes to impart literacy in the mother tongue among the younger generation.
Expats and citizens by and large use English as the language of communication in the UAE but Arabic has also thrived with many residents making an effort to learn the language for business purposes or just for the love of it. So this International Mother Language Day, while remembering to reinforce your love for your mother tongue, why not make an effort to sign up for an Arabic language course as a mark of respect and love for your adopted land? This will be a small gesture to promote the linguistic and cultural diversity that the UAE strives to uphold in a climate of tolerance.