International Mother Language Day, celebrated every year on 21 February – Unesco

On International Mother Language Day 2018, celebrated every year on 21 February, UNESCO reiterates its commitment to linguistic diversity and invites its Member States to celebrate the day in as many languages as possible as a reminder that linguistic diversity and multilingualism are essential for sustainable development. | Read the full post on the Unesco website >>

How does language influence culture and identity?

One language dies every 14 days. By the next century nearly half of the ~7,000 languages spoken on Earth will likely disappear. But what is lost when a language falls silent? | Read the full story here >>

People and nature blur in the world’s indigenous languages: The perspective that nature and culture are not just interlinked, but that they are inseparable, is shared amongst many native and indigenous worldviews. For indigenous groups, it is often difficult to talk about issues related to nature outside of the context of their people, which is reflected by the way these concepts are translated into language, songs and creation stories: “Nature and people are not two separate things, they are the same: nature is people and people are nature.”

Indigenous dictionary project aims to keep endangered languages alive […]

Half of the India’s 1,600 languages yet to be traced: “Concluding his ambitious marathon Peoples’ Linguistic Survey of India,(PLSI) which took four years of field work preceded by nearly 15 years of conceptualization and planning, Prof Ganesh Devy, the Sahitya Akademi award winner, literary critic and founder of the Tribal Academy at Tejgadh declares that out of 1,600-odd languages listed in the 1961 survey of India, they have been able to trace not more than 850 languages during their survey. The survey was initiated by Vadodara-based Bhasha Research and Publication Centre founded by Prof Devy.” […]
Source: The fight for survival: language and identity
URL: https://www.all-languages.org.uk/features/fight-survival-language-identity/
Date visited:21 February 2019

What is ALL (“Association for Language Learning”)
The Association for Language Learning (ALL) is an independent registered charity and is the UK’s major subject association for those involved in the teaching foreign languages at all levels. The Association for Language Learning (ALL) was founded in 1990 through the amalgamation of seven UK associations of language teachers. | Learn more here >>

Research the above issues with the help of Shodhganga: A reservoir of theses from universities all over India, made available under Open Access >>

An appeal for linguistic diversity as a democratic right – Professor Ganesh Devy at TEDx Mumbai