The world observes International Mother Language Day annually on February 21 to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity and protect mother tongues that continue to disappear due to consistent decline in the number of speakers.
Share
The world observes International Mother Language Day annually on February 21 to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity and protect mother tongues that continue to disappear due to consistent decline in the number of speakers. According to UNESCO, about 2,800 languages spoken by various communities and ethnic groups spreading across the world fall under the endangered category today, facing the risk of going extinct like thousands of others that are no longer spoken anymore. As a repository of tradition, culture, and indigenous knowledge systems, the extinction of a language is not just a linguistic loss; the worldview of a community, its rich history, folklore and values that have been passed down through generations by word of mouth die along with it. The death of a language often results in the loss of culture, erosion of identity, and the disappearance of oral literature, such as folktales and songs. And languages that do not have a script—estimated to be around 3,000-4,000 out of the total 7,000 languages—face a significantly higher risk of being cannibalised by dominant languages. This marginalisation process is accelerated by factors like globalisation, cultural assimilation, urbanisation, etc. Hence, International Mother Language Day holds greater significance today than ever before. For the Naga communities, this occasion serves as a poignant reminder of their declining mother tongues, which have been vital storehouses of their rich cultural heritage, traditions, and history thus far.
With no indigenous script of their own—although many have adopted Latin (Roman) for literature and education—Naga tribal languages and sub-dialects spoken in Nagaland are at risk of being overshadowed by more widely spoken languages such as Nagamese, which serves as the lingua franca today, as well as English and even Hindi. This fear is evident today, as many young people who have moved to urban areas like Kohima and Dimapur are starting to forget their mother tongues. This troubling trend has set alarm bells ringing among the educationists, cultural enthusiasts, and general public alike. Protecting and reviving our native languages is all the more important because of the fact that Naga history is deeply rooted in oral tradition, which relies on word of mouth to pass down cultural practices, rituals, myths, and songs from generation to generation. Any disruption to this flow of information will result in cultural erosion, a distortion of history, blurring of identity and alienation from their roots. To prevent the collapse of culture and traditions, governments and communities must prioritise the preservation of native languages by incorporating them into academic curricula, in line with the three-language policy outlined in the National Education Policy.