February 21: International Mother Language Day

Céline Arétin, culture, women's issues and environment correspondent, February 21, 2026

Origin and purpose of International Mother Language Day

International Mother Language Day was established by UNESCO in 1999 and has been celebrated every February 21 since 2000. Its origin dates back to the events of February 21, 1952, in Dhaka (present-day Bangladesh), where several students, including Salam, Rafiq, Barkat and Jabbar, were killed while protesting for the recognition of Bengali as an official language in the face of Urdu being imposed by the Pakistani government. In memory of their sacrifice, Bangladesh proposed to UNESCO the creation of a day dedicated to defending mother languages.

Endangered languages

According to UNESCO, more than 40% of the 7,000 languages spoken worldwide are endangered. Some have fewer than 100 speakers, such as Taushiro in Peru, or Aka-Bo in India, which disappeared in 2010. In Russia, Yukaghir survives in only two villages in Siberia. In Australia, where more than 250 Aboriginal languages were spoken before colonization, only about twenty are still spoken fluently today. Finally, in France, languages such as Franco-Provençal and Picard are classified as seriously endangered by UNESCO in its "Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger."

Benefits of multilingualism on the brain

Cognitively, speaking several languages improves memory and concentration. A study by the University of York showed that bilingual people have greater mental flexibility and solve problems more quickly. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have also shown that multilingualism delays the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's by several years. In education, bilingual children develop more advanced learning abilities and a better understanding of grammatical structures. Economically, multilingual people have wider access to the job market, particularly in sectors such as international trade, diplomacy and tourism.

Global initiatives to preserve endangered languages

In New Zealand, the "Te Reo Māori Revitalization" program has integrated the Māori language into education, with television programs and immersion schools called Kōhanga Reo. In Hawaii, the Hawaiian language, once in decline, is experiencing a revival thanks to the Aha Pūnana Leo schools and the University of Hawaii, which offers degrees in Hawaiian. In Mexico, the National Institute of Indigenous Languages is developing educational programs in Nahuatl, Zapotec and Mixe. In Russia, the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan funds dictionaries to preserve the Tatar language.