International Mother Language Day. Dossier

International Mother Language Day, proclaimed by the General Conference of UNESCO on 17 November 1999, has been celebrated annually on 21 February since 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

1. The date for the Day was chosen to commemorate the events that occurred in Dhaka (now the capital of Bangladesh) on February 21, 1952, when students who demonstrated in defense of their native language Bengali, which they demanded to be recognized as one of the official languages ​​of the country, were killed by police bullets. .

2. In revolutionary Russia in 1917, there were 193 languages, but at the time the agreement on the collapse of the USSR was signed in December 1991, there were only 40. On average, two languages ​​disappeared every year. Currently, 136 languages ​​in Russia are in danger of extinction, and 20 have already been declared dead.
3. Experts believe that for a language to survive, it needs to be spoken by at least 100 thousand people. At all times, languages ​​arose, existed, then died out, sometimes without even leaving a trace. But never before have they disappeared as quickly as in the 20th century.
4. According to UNESCO estimates, half of the world's 6 thousand languages ​​are in danger of extinction.

5. Today there are more than 6 thousand different languages ​​in the world. Among them are the most complex, most common and other interesting facts about the languages ​​of the world.
6. One of the most difficult languages ​​to learn is Basque, it is so complex that during World War II the language was used as a code.

7. Papua New Guinea has the most languages. More than seven hundred Papuan and Melanesian languages ​​and dialects are spoken here. It is logical that it was difficult to agree on which of them would become the state one. Therefore, according to the country's constitution, there is no official language here, and documentation uses English and its local version - pidgin English (half of Papuan "Tok Pisin").

8. The most complete dictionary of the Chinese language contains more than 87,000 characters, each of which represents a different syllable. The most complex is the archaic hieroglyph se - “chatty”, consisting of 64 lines, and of those currently in use - the hieroglyph nan, which contains 36 lines and means “stuffy nose”.

9. The most common sound - no language can do without the vowel “a”.

10. The rarest sound is the Czech sound “RZD”. It is not easy for Czech children - they are the last to learn Russian Railways.

11. The oldest letter is "O". It first appeared in the Phoenician alphabet around 1300. BC and hasn't changed a bit since then. Today the letter “o” is included in 65 alphabets in the world.

12. Nowadays, the most people in the world speak Chinese (Mandarin) - 885 million people, Spanish is in second place and English is only third. Russian language is in 7th place in popularity, it is spoken by 170 million people around the world.

13 . 80% of all the world's information is stored in English. More than half of technical andscientific publications in the world are published on it.

14. The shortest alphabet in the world is that of the natives of the island of Bougainville - only 11 letters. In second place is the Hawaiian alphabet - there are 12 letters.

15. The longest alphabet in the world is Cambodian, with 74 letters.

16. It turns out that Finnish is considered the easiest language. On it, the sound of all letters is always the same - how it is heard is how it is written. Although its grammar is much more complex than English - there are 15 cases alone.

17 . There are now 46 languages ​​in the world that are spoken by just one person.

18 . There are cases of saving languages. The most striking example of a rebirth is Hebrew, which was considered a “dead” language for almost 2000 years. Today, Hebrew is spoken by 8 million people, including 5 million who use it as their primary language.

19 . Today there are 6,809 “living” languages ​​in the world. Most of them are in Asia and Africa.

20. According to various estimates, the literary Belarusian language has from 250 to 500 thousand words. The dialectal language of Belarus is much richer - it has 1.5-2 million words.

Happy Mother Language Day!

Speak it often so it doesn't disappear!

International Mother Language Day 2020 is celebrated on February 21st. The holiday is celebrated by people who study and pass on knowledge about language: teachers of literature, language, writing researchers, library staff, students, teachers and graduate students of philological faculties of higher educational institutions, people passionate about linguistics.

The purpose of the holiday is to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and protect endangered languages. Every year it is dedicated to a specific topic.

history of the holiday

On November 17, 1999, the UNESCO General Conference declared February 21 as International Mother Language Day. The first celebrations took place in 2000. The UN General Assembly supported the initiative to proclaim the holiday in 2002 in Resolution No. Α/RES/56/262. She called on member countries to promote the preservation and protection of the languages ​​of the world's peoples.

The date of the holiday is dedicated to the memory of the tragedy that occurred in Bangladesh on February 21, 1952. Pakistani police shot protesters who advocated for the recognition of Bengali as the state language.

Holiday traditions

On this day, educational lectures, conferences, and seminars are held. Actions are being taken to protect the state language. At UNESCO headquarters in Paris and its branches, exhibitions and presentations dedicated to languages ​​are organized, and festive concerts are organized. Thematic classes are held in educational institutions. Competitions are held among native language experts. The media publishes articles about existing and endangered languages.

Each official UN language has its own holiday. Russian Language Day is celebrated on June 6, English on April 23, Spanish on October 12, French on March 20, Arabic on December 18 and Chinese on April 20. The European Day of Languages ​​is celebrated on September 26, and Common Language Day on August 18.

54% of Internet resources are in English, 6% are in Russian.

There are 7 thousand languages ​​on Earth. One of the reasons for their disappearance is the uneven distribution of the number of carriers. A language becomes extinct if fewer than 100 thousand people speak it.

In 2009, UNESCO recognized 136 languages ​​in Russia as endangered.

The UN General Assembly declared 2008 the International Year of Languages.

Pidgin is a simplified, non-native speech, a means of communication between several ethnic groups.

Researchers claim that a primitive protolanguage appeared 2.3 million years ago in Homo habilis, a highly developed australopithecine.

The history of linguistics began in the 5th century BC. e.

International Mother Language Day, proclaimed by the General Conference of UNESCO in November 1999, has been celebrated every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

Languages ​​are the most powerful tool for preserving and developing our material and spiritual heritage. According to UNESCO estimates, half of the world's 6 thousand languages ​​may soon lose their last speakers.

All steps to promote the spread of mother tongues serve not only to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education, developing greater familiarity with linguistic and cultural traditions around the world, but also strengthen solidarity based on mutual understanding, tolerance and dialogue.

This is what UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura says about this holiday: “By celebrating International Mother Language Day... we pay tribute to the myriad of languages ​​that exist in the world, the cultures they reflect, the creative charge that their development and forms of expression give to people . On International Mother Language Day, all languages ​​are recognized as equal because each is uniquely suited to human purpose and each represents a living heritage that we should protect.”

Recognition and respect of all languages ​​is key to maintaining peace. Each language is unique. It has its own expressions that reflect the mentality and customs of the people. Like our name, we acquire our mother tongue from our mother during childhood. It shapes our consciousness and imbues it with the culture inherent in it.

Even though it is very difficult to penetrate deeply into the culture of another language, knowledge of languages ​​broadens our horizons and opens up a diverse world to us. Meeting people who speak other languages ​​makes it possible to learn about our differences and can dispel fears about the world that give rise to national strife. Make your thinking more free.

If we speak only one language, part of our brain develops less and our creativity loses a lot. There are about 300 words that have exactly the same meaning in all languages: I, you, we, who, what, no, all, one, two, big, long, small, woman, man, eat, see, hear, sun , moon, etc.

But if we take other words, for example, the word patience in Chinese (zhen), then it also means tolerance, patience...

If in French je t "aime (I love you) you can say to a friend, child, lover, then this is unthinkable for other languages, for example, for English or Italian in which there are different words to denote the concept of "love".

One example. There are about 1600 languages ​​and dialects in India, the situation is very complex. The constitution guarantees all citizens the right to "preserve" their languages, and all ethnic and religious minorities have the right to govern educational institutions. In fact, there is a linguistic hierarchy. Minor languages ​​may disappear, replaced by English, which is perceived as a neutral language, a symbol of modernity and good social status.

Every age needs a native language...
(Kenzheev Bakhyt)

Every age needs a native language,
to every heart, tree and knife
we need a native language of purity of tears -
So I will say and I will keep my word.

So I will say and silently, barefoot, I will walk
barren, cloudy country,
to blame your work
the native language has become a cumbersome stone.

From the street, a disabled person pressed his ear to the glass.
Every throat hurts, every eye waters,
if the age decays, and its spring
dries up without comforting us.

The stones will erase the sole, take away your youth,
so that singing reeds grow from the water,
so that in old age he can justify his work
stonecutter's insatiable lace.

Well - tearing off the crust from compressed lips,
overcoming lies and abscesses in the ears,
to every sky - if the century is not loving -
let it slip, repeating the forgotten

In your native language, because again
in every living thing the early morning sleep is deep,
so that hate and love merge
in your narrow pupil into a golden ball.

About your native language
(Galina Purga)

Your tongue is a guide to the mind and heart,
Without it you will find yourself in a dead end.
Your language is your life, your dreams,
You are no longer you without him.

Your tongue is like your own mother,
Which cannot be humiliated, cannot be insulted.
You should thank him, friend.
Because you know how to speak correctly.

Native language is your soul, your world, your ray,
Love him because he is powerful.
Your tongue is a shield, your communication
Don't let him be neglected.

Don't let someone else label your native language.
Your heritage is your land and your language
And don’t let the ignorant distort it,
Don't forget about this, my friend.

Native Russian language

I will not fight with my brother over the language,
We'd better have more vodka and fresh snacks.
But for the first time, a quietly happy mother,
When she just opened her eyes, she told me in Russian.

And so with mother's milk it poured into my blood
The same language is like a gift from ancestors-messengers.
Today I hear the cry of my fellow countryman again and again
About the fact that my native language is only the lot of foreigners.

When the carousel stops spinning,
And I’ll lie down in a cold hole behind the street descent,
They will drive my spirit away from the Ukrainian unfortunate lands
For the fact that during his lifetime he wrote his lines in Russian.

Native language

Everyone is interested in Arabic
everyone was drawn to the east,
Spanish, Polish, Italian,
the train carried everyone to the west

How easy it is to drop everything and hide,
and tell us all later
that happiness is abroad,
and laugh at your own

Now the dialect is already native,
now in a completely different country,
I'm happy for them, but life is not eternal,
and only the native language is in the soul

Native language
(Valery Bryusov)

My faithful friend! My enemy is insidious!
My king! My slave! Native language!
My poems are like altar smoke!
Like a furious challenge - my cry!

You gave wings to a crazy dream,
You have tied your dream in chains.
Saved me in hours of powerlessness
And he crushed with excess strength.

How often in the secret of strange sounds
And in the hidden sense of words
I found the melody of the unexpected,
Poems that took possession of me!

But often, exhausted by joy
Or quietly intoxicated with melancholy,
I waited in vain to be in tune
With a trembling soul - your echo!

You wait like a giant.
I bow my face to you.
And yet I won’t get tired of fighting
I am like Israel with a deity!

There is no limit to my persistence.
You are in eternity, I am in short days,
But still, as a magician, submit to me,
Or turn the madman to dust!

Your wealth, by inheritance,
I, impudent, demand for myself.
I issue a call - you answer,
I'm coming - get ready to fight!

But the winner is defeated,
I will equally fall before you:
You are my avenger, you are my savior,
Your world is forever my abode,
Your voice is the sky above me!

Native language
(Pavlova Lina)

I thank previous eras,
Scientists and poets and people
For the language that you gave me
And they saved it in the most terrible year!

I thank my mother for reading to me
And, revealing the meaning of each fairy tale,
She corrected childhood mistakes
And it awakened my thought to life.

I thank Kuprin, Tolstoy,
Turgenev and Chekhov always,
That my native language was enriched
And they supported me in difficult times.

And if in a misfortune, in the years of hard times,
I haven't hit rock bottom yet,
And if I didn’t close my heart to people,
The merit of the book is that it is my destiny!

And often without even bread,
I opened it with a weak hand
Your friends, guides,
And time transported me to another world.

Native speech, beloved native language,
We draw strength from you throughout all ages.
You, our treasure, our strength,
And you play a role in the life of the lighthouse!

Native language, tell us the words...

Native language, tell us the words:
How to protect you, where to get strength?
Not the inglorious nickname “Mordovian”,
But the name “Erzya” should be worn proudly.

To be a forerunner is an enviable fate,
The Erzyan “istya” breathes the Russianness of truths.
But did you know that they would push you out
From the Volga expanse of the Fatherland?!

In the family of living Russian languages
You are the only one left among the few.
We are at the burial mounds of our forefathers
Let us resume the ritual of strict traditions.

Let the sacred shtatol keep the fire,
Only with Erzyan Mastor does one’s spirit and strength grow stronger.
To the mound hills - bow to the ground,
So that the memory of our ancestors speaks to us.

Istya (erz.) - yes
Erzyan Shtatol - a sacred candle, a symbol of hope, unification and will of the Erzyan people
Erzyan Mastor - land of Erzyan

Extracurricular activity

“Language is the living soul of the people”, dedicated to the International Mother Language Day.

Event goals :

Educational:

introduce students to the history of the International Mother Language Day, consider the problems of languages ​​at the present stage;

develop the ability to understand the problem, express your opinion on this issue; increase cognitive interest in the Russian language and literature;

master types of speech activity (expressive reading).

Educational:

to form a love and interest in the native language and poetry;

learn to respect the language and culture of other peoples;

work to develop a tolerant attitude towards representatives of different nationalities.

“Language is the living soul of the people”

February 21 - International Mother Language Day

Progress of the event

Presenter (teacher) ): Today’s event dedicated to the International Mother Language Day, I would like to start with a statementP. A. Vyazemsky about the language: Language is the confession of the people,

His nature is heard in him,

His soul and life are dear...

and continue with the phrase of the generalUNESCO Director Kontiro Matsuura:

“Languages ​​are, as such, essential to the identity of populations and individuals and to their peaceful coexistence.”

Reader 1

International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of UNESCO in November 1999 and has been celebrated every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

This date was chosen to commemorate the events of February 21, 1952, when in Dhaka, the capital of present-day Bangladesh, students who participated in a demonstration in defense of their native language Bengali, which they demanded to be recognized as one of the official languages ​​of the country, were killed by police bullets.

Reader 2

There are about 7,000 languages ​​in the world today, more than half of which are at risk of disappearing within a few generations, and 96% of these languages ​​are spoken by just 4% of the world's population. Only a few hundred languages ​​play a prominent role in education systems and government, and fewer than a hundred languages ​​are used in the digital world.

The International Year of Languages ​​comes at a time when languages ​​are increasingly under threat. Language opens the way to change and development of human society. The use or refusal to use languages ​​can open or block the future for many members of society around the world.

Reader 3

UNESCO has counted endangered languages ​​in Russia. 136 languages ​​in Russia are in danger, and 20 of them have already been declared dead. Such figures are given in the interactive Atlas of Endangered Languages ​​of the World, published on the UNESCO website.

UNESCO defines the life of languages ​​according to 9 criteria, including the number of native speakers, the transmission of the language from generation to generation, the availability of educational materials, and the attitude towards the language within society. Further, all languages ​​are divided into 6 categories: “safe”, “the situation is of concern”, “the language is in danger of extinction”, “the language is in serious danger”, “the language is in critical condition”, “the language is extinct”.

Reader 4

Music sounds (northern peoples)

If we look at the map of Russian languages, then in addition to 20 extinct languages

(Ainu, Yug, Ubykh) in Russia, another 22 are in critical condition (Aleut, Terek-Sami, Itelmen), 29 are in serious danger (Nivkh, Chukchi, Karelian). 49 languages ​​are endangered, including Kalmyk, Udmurt and Yiddish. The situation of 20 languages ​​causes concern, including Belarusian, Chechen, Yakut and Tuvan. A total of 136... It is worth considering that Udmurt, Kalmyk, Yakut, Tuvan and Chechen are the state languages ​​of the republics of the Russian Federation.

In total, the UNESCO atlas recognizes 2.5 thousand languages ​​out of 7 thousand existing in the world as endangered. There are 199 languages ​​spoken by no more than ten people. In the last few decades, 200 languages ​​have completely disappeared.

Reader 5

Reads an excerpt from a poem by Leonid Kornilov (to Russian music)

…Silence will cross all boundaries.
And half the world will forget the words.
And the moment of silence will last
Maybe a year, maybe a century, maybe two.

I don't need the last word.
And when the blood gushes under the Adam's apple.
Not icons, but books, like faces,
Remain on the height shelves.

In an ancient word, we are merged with the future.
Humanity is our student.
Our reading circle is the earth's orbit.
Our Motherland - Russian language

Leading (to the music of the peoples of the world)

Human language is incredibly diverse. To appreciate this diversity, it is necessary to study more different languages. Over the past decade XX century, it was noted that more than 6,000 languages ​​are spoken in the world. But if you ask ordinary people how many languages ​​currently exist in the world, they will name a much smaller number (from several dozen to several hundred).

Like the animal or plant world, the diversity of languages ​​is in danger. In the near future, neither professional linguists nor ordinary people will encounter native speakers of some languages ​​anymore...

Reader 1

All languages ​​close to extinction can be divided into three groups. The first group will include dead languages ​​- this is when there are no original native speakers (for example, Latin or Sumerian); A dying language is considered to be one whose speakers still remain, but which are no longer taught to children; a living language is one that continues to be taught to children.

A dying language usually disappears after one or two generations, when children whose parents no longer speak their native language learn it from their grandparents.

Reader -2

It is estimated that of all the languages ​​existing in the world today, in a hundred years, 90 percent will either completely disappear from the face of the earth or will be on the verge of extinction.

Languages ​​are dying in all parts of the globe, from the Dyirbal language in the jungles of Cairns to the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, where the last speaker of the local Celtic language died in 1974.

Reader -3

Languages ​​have been dying out throughout known history: Sumerian, spoken in the earliest great civilization of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), died out around the 2nd millennium BC, while its successor, Akkadian (the language of Babylonia and Assyria) disappeared in the middle of the first millennium BC.

In the modern world, the process of dying languages ​​is happening faster. Until today, small linguistic groups have been able to survive by maintaining their native language and mastering the common language of the region. However, due to increased centralization in the 20th century, this is rarely seen

Reader 4

Reading poems by Ivan Bunin to the music of Russian classics

The tombs, mummies and bones are silent, -
Only the word is given life:
From ancient darkness, on the world graveyard,
Only the Letters sound.
And we have no other property!
Know how to take care
At least to the best of my ability, in days of anger and suffering,
Our immortal gift is speech.

Reader 5

Why are languages ​​disappearing these days? Because it is not economically profitable for national governments to serve the population in all languages. The growing popularity of mass media, satellite communications, mass communication are making language communication easier and languages ​​like English are becoming dominant.

Once a person or group of people decides to abandon their native language, inherited from their ancestors, there is little that can be done to save it...

Leading

However, linguistic communities want to preserve their mother tongue, as well as their culture. Linguists can provide valuable assistance in preserving a language: develop a writing system for it; document endangered languages, compile a dictionary, select texts to illustrate various rules (these can be both folk legends and examples of everyday colloquial speech).

Just as you can preserve and revive individual species of plants and animals using their DNA, you can also record phonetics, grammar and vocabulary on film or disk for subsequent generations, restoring the entire language from them. Preservation and restoration of languages ​​is possible and necessary.

Reader 1

The most famous example of language revival is Hebrew (Hebrew). Much of the Old Testament was written on it. For many centuries the language was not used in everyday communication, but survived thanks to the efforts of scientists and the fact that during this time it continued to be used as a language of worship. Since the nineteenth century, Hebrew began to be spoken again...

(Jewish melody plays)

Reader 2

In order not to revive languages, all efforts must be directed towards their preservation. The language of every creative people is a gift from God. There are now more and more linguistic societies in the world that are determined to preserve their native language, as well as other aspects of culture. Each national language is beautiful and unique. Let's listen to the sound of Russian, Armenian, Tatar... How much charm and content, how much age-old wisdom is hidden in their depths...

Reader 3

Reading a poem by a 20th century Armenian poetessSilva Kaputikyan (excerpt)

Armenian music sounds

WORD TO THE SON

The stream barely began to mutter,

Barely above the green valleys

A bird sang between the branches -

You also spoke, my son.

You said the first word

In our ancient language,

With childish lips he fell

To the immortal streams in the spring.

My son, I give it to you

Inheritance. Promise to take care

Like a valuable treasure, like your life,

Armenian native speech.

Our tongue thundered in the deserts,

It rang at the edge of the mountain paths,

Like an arrow, Nut* penetrated the world,

The people of Mesrop* taught him...

Became writing on scrolls,

Became our banner for centuries

And he led the people between the wild rocks

Under the sky in gloomy clouds...

Reader 4

Reading a poem by the Tatar poet Gabdula Tukay (translated by A. Chepurov)

Tatar folk music sounds

NATIVE LANGUAGE

Oh, how good is the native language, the language of father and mother,

I have forever comprehended many things in the world through you!

At first, the mother sang in this language, shaking the ripples,

And then my grandmother tried to calm me down with a fairy tale.

Native language, you helped me understand and joy from an early age,

And the pain of the soul, when the clear light fades in the eyes.

You, my native tongue, helped me say my first prayer:

“Forgive me, father and mother, be generous, my God!”

Reader 5

Reading a poem by the Russian Silver Age poetess Anna Akhmatova

Russian music sounds

We know what's on the scales now
And what is happening now.
The hour of courage has struck on our watch,
And courage will not leave us.

It's not scary to lie dead under bullets,
It's not bitter to be homeless,
And we will save you, Russian speech,
Great Russian word.

We will carry you free and clean,
We will give it to our grandchildren and save us from captivity
Forever!

Presenter: Having listened to the amazing creations of Russian, Armenian and Tatar poets, let's turn to the history of language and literature. Let's show our knowledge and erudition by answering questionsquizzes.

The teacher asks questions:

1. Which organization established the celebration of “International Mother Language Day” on February 21 and “International Russian Language Day” on June 6? (UNESCO)

2. How many languages ​​are there in the world? (more than 6 thousand)

3. How many languages ​​of the world are in danger of extinction? (400, in Europe – 50), in Russia? (136)

4. Who created the Slavic alphabet? (Cyril and Methodius)

5. In what century did the formation of the Russian national literary language begin? (in the 17th century)

6 .Is Russian included in the 6 official working languages ​​of the UN? (included)

7. What is the state language of the Russian Federation? (Russian language)

8 .What poets and writers of the 18th and 19th centuries stood at the origins of the Russian literary language? (A. S. Pushkin, M. V. Lomonosov, I. S. Turgenev, L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, etc.)

9. What proverbs and sayings about your native language do you know?

Express your point of view on this topic. How do you understand the phrase?

“A living language is one that continues to teach children...”

“Language is a living chronicle of the people”

“My personal contribution to the preservation of my native language”

“What do you want to tell me...
How height reigns in space,
So the number of Russian letters in the alphabet
The age of Christ is measured."

Leading: I would like to end today’s speech with the words of an English lexicographer and essayist of the 18th century:“I am always very sorry when another language disappears from the face of the earth, because language is the genealogy of a people,” and I will add on my own behalf: “Take care of your native language, do not pollute it.”