International Mother Language Day

In 1917 there were 193 languages in Russia.Each nation is its own unique culture, history, traditions, way of life. And, of course, language. Saving it is a very important task.

In the revolutionary Russia of 1917, there were 193 languages — at the time of the collapse of the USSR, only 40. Every year about two languages disappear.

For a language to survive, at least 100,000 people need to speak it. At all times, languages were born, existed, then died out, sometimes without even leaving a trace. But never before have they disappeared so quickly.

With the advent of new technologies, it has become even more difficult for national minorities to gain recognition of their languages. After all, a language not represented on the Internet for the modern world “does not exist”.

International Mother Language Day aims to protect languages that are disappearing. This is an important and urgent task, because two languages disappear every month in the world.

International Mother Language Day is celebrated annually on February 21. It was established in 1999 by decision of the 30th session of the UNESCO General Conference.