International Mother Language Institute
Sunday, 21 February 2010
The observance of the Shahid Dibash has gone global since 1999 when the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recognised it as the International Mother Language Day, but it has taken Bangladesh more than a decade to reciprocate the solidarity of the world in a concrete manner. Immediately after the UNESCO recognition of the Shahid Day, the project of establishing the International Mother Language Institute (IMLI) at Dhaka to "conduct research to develop, preserve and harmonise all languages of the world including Bangla" was taken up. The foundation stone of the institute was laid jointly by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2001. The project was scheduled to be completed by 2004. The work of the project remained suspended for six years and was resumed in 2008. The construction of three storeys of the 12-storey building has now been completed. Prime Minister Hasina will inaugurate the building today, February 21. Bangladesh will thus redeem, partially, a pledge it made to the world in honour of the martyrs of the 1952 Language Movement as well as to celebrate language diversity as upheld by the International Mother Language Day.
This Ekushey will be remarkable, domestically, for another reason. While inaugurating the Ekushey Boi Mela on February 1, the Prime Minister announced that the government would revive the project of creating a cultural zone, comprising the Bangla Academy, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and the Suhrawardy Udyan, "to let the future generation know about the original culture and history of the country." In this context, it is well to remember that there was nothing chauvinistic in the Language Movement -- there was no demand for exclusive recognition of Bengali but the demand was to establish the legitimate right of Bengali as the mother tongue of the Bengali people. There are as many as 38 different languages in Bangladesh though 98 per cent of the population speak Bengali. The IMLI, together with the proposed cultural zone, will hopefully help preserve the linguistic diversity of the country.
Internationally, UNESCO chooses a theme for the celebration of the International Mother Language Day each year. This year the theme is: "The importance of multilingualism, foreign languages learning and translation for peace and dialogue within the framework of the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures, 2010." This speaks about the unity of the peoples of the world in the diversity of their languages and cultures. The IMLI exactly aims at achieving that. The objectives of the IMLI include "to collect, preserve, analyse, review and exchange informations regarding various mother languages, alphabets, published books, cassettes, videos and CDs etc"; "to undertake works of translating the writings on science, knowledge and technology into other languages from Bangla and vice-versa"; and "to induce people to learn various languages of the world by organizing cultural functions of different cultures." The inauguration of the IMLI will apparently reflect the UNESCO theme and it will be a milestone in the struggle of the peoples of the world to preserve and develop the 6000-odd languages, many of which are threatened with extinction.
This Ekushey will be remarkable, domestically, for another reason. While inaugurating the Ekushey Boi Mela on February 1, the Prime Minister announced that the government would revive the project of creating a cultural zone, comprising the Bangla Academy, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and the Suhrawardy Udyan, "to let the future generation know about the original culture and history of the country." In this context, it is well to remember that there was nothing chauvinistic in the Language Movement -- there was no demand for exclusive recognition of Bengali but the demand was to establish the legitimate right of Bengali as the mother tongue of the Bengali people. There are as many as 38 different languages in Bangladesh though 98 per cent of the population speak Bengali. The IMLI, together with the proposed cultural zone, will hopefully help preserve the linguistic diversity of the country.
Internationally, UNESCO chooses a theme for the celebration of the International Mother Language Day each year. This year the theme is: "The importance of multilingualism, foreign languages learning and translation for peace and dialogue within the framework of the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures, 2010." This speaks about the unity of the peoples of the world in the diversity of their languages and cultures. The IMLI exactly aims at achieving that. The objectives of the IMLI include "to collect, preserve, analyse, review and exchange informations regarding various mother languages, alphabets, published books, cassettes, videos and CDs etc"; "to undertake works of translating the writings on science, knowledge and technology into other languages from Bangla and vice-versa"; and "to induce people to learn various languages of the world by organizing cultural functions of different cultures." The inauguration of the IMLI will apparently reflect the UNESCO theme and it will be a milestone in the struggle of the peoples of the world to preserve and develop the 6000-odd languages, many of which are threatened with extinction.