International Mother Language Day

International Mother Language Day History

International Mother Language Day highlights the importance of maintaining and cherishing one’s mother language, the language typically learned from birth and historically significant to one's cultural identity. The observance also reiterates the universal right to use one’s mother language in educational, legislative, administrative and judicial systems, a right often infringed in multilingual societies.

Established by UNESCO in 1999, International Mother Language Day is grounded in the tragic events of February 21, 1952 in Bangladesh, where students were killed while advocating for the rights of their mother language, Bengali. For the UK, with its rich tapestry of languages and cultures, International Mother Language Day offers an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate this diversity. It also dovetails with the nation’s commitment to multiculturalism and its emphasis on fostering community cohesion, understanding, and respect for all languages and cultures.

In the UK, International Mother Language Day is commemorated through a variety of initiatives. These might include cultural events, language-based competitions, and debates in schools as well as in the wider community. The activities aim to promote the use and preservation of all languages spoken within the country, including less widely spoken and minority languages such as Welsh and Gaelic, highlighting their value to British heritage. International Mother Language Day itself is observed annually worldwide every 21st day of February.

Top 8 Facts for 2026 International Mother Language Day in the UK

• The 2026 observance marks the Silver Jubilee of the global initiative, celebrating over twenty-five years since UNESCO first proclaimed the day to protect linguistic diversity and promote the preservation of all mother tongues.
• This year’s official theme is Youth voices on multilingual education, highlighting the pivotal role younger generations play in using digital technology to revitalise endangered languages and defend cultural identity in the classroom.
• The day holds profound historical significance for the British-Bengali community as it commemorates the Bhasha Andolon or Bengali Language Movement of 1952, when students in Dhaka were martyred while protesting for the official recognition of the Bangla language.
• Manchester serves as a primary hub for UK celebrations, hosting Voiced: The Festival of Endangered Languages, which is the first creative festival of its kind in the country to showcase artists and poets working in rare international and regional dialects.
• Cultural institutions are currently highlighting the dramatic resurgence of the United Kingdom's indigenous languages, with recent data showing a significant surge in the number of adults enrolling in courses to learn Welsh, Gaelic, and Cornish to reconnect with their heritage.
• A central feature of the upcoming celebrations is the digital exhibition No Tongues Left To Chant, a collaborative project involving the UNESCO Cities of Literature network that aims to make traditional linguistic knowledge more visible to a global audience.
• The 2026 event also focuses on the Shaheed Minar monuments found in various UK parks, such as those in Altab Ali Park in London or Westwood in Oldham, where communities gather to lay wreaths and perform traditional songs to honour the "Language Martyrs."
• Although over 300 languages are spoken in London alone, the observance highlights the stark reality that forty percent of the world’s population still lacks access to an education in a language they speak or understand.

In the News and Trending in the UK for International Mother Language Day

Top things to do in the UK for this observance

• Gather with friends and family to assess your local education system. Does it provide adequate language instruction and second language instruction? Second language acquisition has been linked with critical thinking, creativity and flexibility of the mind.
• Generate awareness for International Mother Language Day by using the hashtags #InternationalMotherTongueDay, #IMLD, #motherlanguage or a hashtag followed by the language of your post (#english, #bengali, #xhosa).
• British Library: The British Library houses a wide array of books and transcripts from various languages around the world.
• Multicultural Language Celebration: Organised in multiple cities including London and Manchester, these are events where people from different linguistic backgrounds gather to celebrate their mother tongues.