This must be a real one -- I got an email a couple of days in advance
from ELAR (Endangered Languages Archive) in Berlin. They have some talks scheduled, if you're in the area.
Devoted to keeping and cherishing the languages we still have. Observed
by UNESCO since 2000.
But why this day?
In 1948 the Pakistani government declared Urdu the sole national
language. This was not popular with East Pakistanis, who wanted Bengali
to have the same status. Protests were organized; at one of these, on 21-2-1952, police opened fire on university students in Dhaka and killed
five people.
"This was a rare incident in history, where people sacrificed their
lives for their mother tongue....Bangladeshis celebrate the
International Mother Language Day as one of their tragic days. They
visit the Shaheed Minar, a monument built in memory of the martyrs and
its replicas to express their deep sorrow, respect and gratitude to
them." (Wikipedia)
https://www.un.org/en/observances/mother-language-day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mother_Language_Day
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)