Int\\\'l Mother Language Day being observed in NZ

One thousand origami cranes, Chinese paper cutting and calligraphy are just some of the interactive activities and displays planned for International Mother Language Day on February 21. English Language Partners manager Jessica Yap said groups from various cultures will participate in events at Sound and Vision in the Palmerston North City Library in Palmerston city from 11am to 1pm on Friday. Observed annually since February 2000, International Mother Language Day celebrates and promotes linguistic and cultural diversity. “We feel that different migrants and refugees that come to our classes should celebrate the communities’ languages,” Yap said. “We have a Japanese group displaying 1000 cranes – origami – and we have a group with Tanabata bamboo. “There is Chinese paper cutting, calligraphy and we have a Bhutanese group displaying how to dress in their costumes,” she said. Other activities and displays would centre on travel, food and spices, among others. Manawatu Multicultural Centre co-coordinator Shantona Poduval said multiculturalism in New Zealand was still in its infancy, and ethnic communities needed to do more to pass their mother languages on to their children. “It’s very important because that is their identity,” she said. “If you want to preserve any culture, a dance form, the performing arts, food and everything, there is a particular expression required to explain what those are,” she said adding “People like Koreans and Chinese are great examples. They have big classrooms where they teach their languages to their children, and they are preserving that. Community people are teaching that. But in New Zealand, compared to other places, it’s very minimal right now.” Palmerston North, commonly referred to by locals as Palmerston, or colloquially Palmy, is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand, according to Manawatu Standard.