International Mother Language Day is observed to promote awareness about linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
Currently, there are about 8,324 languages globally, but many are facing the threat of extinction as a result of globalisation and evolving societal dynamics.
21 February was declared International Mother Language Day by UNESCO on 17 November 1999.
2008 was also celebrated as the International Year of Languages.
The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the given by Bangladesh.
