For most people, 21 February is an ordinary day, even though it is cause to celebrate something they use every single day, whether through speech, signing and/or pure thought. Ever since UNESCO proclaimed 21 February as International Mother Language Day in November 1999, the United Nations family observes this day in order to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. 2008 was the “International Year of Languages”; currently we are in the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032). Language is all around. That is because language has been around for as long as humankind itself. Representation of ancient speech is found on the Rosetta Stone, the runic alphabets of Germanic tribes, Ogham texts in Ireland and the Pictish symbols found in Scotland. Language developed in thousands of different variants, broken down into “families”, with as many dialects as there are villages. Language dictates the pace of its speaker, spiced up by every-day life. If the Inuit have more words for white and snow, it can hardly be a surprise that Scottish Gaels utilise an extensive vocabulary when it comes to precipitation. We are what we speak (and write). Bilingual speakers will all know words that are simply impossible to translate without losing some of their meaning. Our native/mother tongue is part of our identity; it shapes us and is very much part of the fabric of our society.
Still very few will realise their mother tongue has its own international day. Yet people find their own language relevant, as the point was duly made by two news items found on the same morning. When an American poked fun at how the British pronounced a certain word, the other side of the Atlantic assembled as one: “If there’s one thing that will make me patriotic, it’s Americans trying to tell English people how to speak English.” If this feature was still coated with humour, the other headline sadly was not. Belgium is a multilingual country with two main languages vying for importance; the country has rules when and where Dutch, French and German must be used. When an enthusiastic railwayman greeted passengers in both Dutch and French, one passenger filed an official complaint, because the friendly – yet bilingual – welcome had been done a mere minute before the train entered the bilingual zone of Brussels. This is the darker side of the power of language: it can divide, set borders, discriminate, dominate and humiliate. According to UN data, there are still some 7,000 different languages worldwide, but at least 45% of those are threatened with extinction, at a staggering rate of losing one every fortnight. A lot of this tragic ruin has everything to do with how language can be abused. When those in power proclaim their own speech superior to any other, this can be to the detriment of that of their smaller neighbour. History abounds with examples of how language conversion was part and parcel of transforming a mixed society into a more standardised one. Methods such as refusing to offer education in a native language, and insisting it is inferior and will hold people back, are equal to chiselling until enough of one’s identity is wiped out and a uniformity is obtained that is acceptable to the ruling majority. Today the “alien” speech of “the other” can lead to intolerance, aggression, frustration and/or panic, or all of the above at the same time.
Language, however, can exhibit a markedly positive trait. It can unite, embrace, respect and provide comfort. The Yearbook of International Organizations of the Union of International Associations contains about 1,150 organizations, conference series and treaties spread over all continents, dealing with language. Some are associations working in a specific field but with a multi-country membership sharing the same speech. Francophone, German-, Spanish- and Portuguese-speakers more often assemble in bigger blocs. Other organizations promote regional and/or minority languages, working to stress the intrinsic value of each and to preserve the uniqueness and sheer survival of a language surrounded by one or more dominant ones. There is a reason why the European Union spends an incredible amount of money on interpreters and translators: it is because German is equal to Danish, French to Greek, or Spanish to Finnish. No language is more important than another; people speaking one are not more important than those speaking another. Among all the attempts to unify and fuse European competencies, language is most certainly not part of this goal, on the contrary. It is a sign of respect to acknowledge the cultural heritage that is embedded in the language each and every one of us speaks. A third group of associations promotes bilingualism. Learning another language is not just about grammar and vocabulary; done thoroughly it is akin to stepping into another framework with its own unique intricacies, design and even rhythm. A foreign language will tell something about the people’s culture, history and tradition. It enriches lives and broadens the mind. It is therefore both deeply tragic and yet entirely logical that it is often monolingual speakers who will object to the “otherness” of foreign speech, marginalising, criminalising or even objectifying its users.
In a world where some find offence in bilingual road signs or warm greetings, a day especially reserved to celebrate one’s own and everybody else’s mother language might not immediately soften the hearts and minds of those unwilling to change. Yet it is a beacon of light, fuelling the fire to sustain a society with a rich cultural diversity.
Liesbeth works as Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook of International Organizations, at the Union of International Associations. A linguist who loves history or a historian who is multilingual, Liesbeth is a Master of Arts in Translation (Ghent), as well as a Master of Letters in the History of the Highlands and Islands (UHI, Scotland).
Issue #15 – February 2025