International Mother Language Day

International Mother Language Day
International Mother Language Day
	Shaheed Minar, Dhaka (Martyr Monument) commemorates the 21 February 1952 Bengali Language Movement demonstration.
Official name	International Mother Language Day (IMLD)
Observed by	United Nations
Significance	Promotes the preservation and protection of all languages
Date	21 February
Next time	21 February 2025
Frequency	Annual

International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999,^[1] it was formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly with the adoption of UN resolution 56/262^[2] in 2002.

Mother Language Day is part of a broader initiative "to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world" as adopted by the UN General Assembly on 16 May 2007 in UN resolution 61/266,^[3] which also established 2008 as the International Year of Languages.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, 21 February 1952 is the anniversary of the day when the Bengalis of the then-Pakistani province of East Bengal (which is now the independent state of Bangladesh) fought for recognition of their Bengali language.^[8] It is also observed by the Indian Bengalis of the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Tripura and the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

^ "The General Conference proclaim"International Mother Language Day" to be observed on 21 February". unesdoc.unesco.org. 16 November 1999. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
^ "A/RES/56/262 - e - A/RES/56/262 -Desktop". Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
^ "A/RES/61/266 - e - A/RES/61/266 -Desktop". Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
^ "International Mother Language Day, 21 February". www.un.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
^ "Links to documents". Un.org. 9 September 2002. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
^ Ingles. Cuerpo de Maestros. Temario Para la Preparacion de Oposiciones .e-book,. MAD-Eduforma. 25 September 2006. pp. 97–. ISBN 978-84-665-6253-9.
^ Rahim, Abdur (19 September 2014). Canadian Immigration and South Asian Immigrants. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 102–. ISBN 978-1-4990-5874-1.
^ "International Mother Language Day Celebration". 4 October 2018. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.

[UNESCO-1] "The General Conference proclaim"International Mother Language Day" to be observed on 21 February". unesdoc.unesco.org. 16 November 1999. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.

[2] "A/RES/56/262 - e - A/RES/56/262 -Desktop". Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.

[3] "A/RES/61/266 - e - A/RES/61/266 -Desktop". Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.

[4] "International Mother Language Day, 21 February". www.un.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2019.

[5] "Links to documents". Un.org. 9 September 2002. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.

[Ingles-6] Ingles. Cuerpo de Maestros. Temario Para la Preparacion de Oposiciones .e-book,. MAD-Eduforma. 25 September 2006. pp. 97–. ISBN 978-84-665-6253-9.

[Rahim2014-7] Rahim, Abdur (19 September 2014). Canadian Immigration and South Asian Immigrants. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 102–. ISBN 978-1-4990-5874-1.

[International_Mother_Language_Day-8] "International Mother Language Day Celebration". 4 October 2018. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.

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