Long live language. That's the message Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson and city councilor Amarjeet Sohi voiced when they declared Feb. 21 to be International Mother Language Day (IMLD) in Edmonton, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The pair were on hand for the International and Heriage Languages Association's (IHLA) 12th annual Mother Language Day celebrations in an effort to save endangered languages. "Keeping languages alive is important for me richness of our culture and the diversity that strengthens Edmonton," said Iveson. There are nearly 7,000 unique languages spoken worldwide, but according to data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) half of those languages are at risk of going extinct in just a few generations. For example, there are currently over 3,000 languages spoken throughout Africa. This sounds impressive until you realize that there were over 10,000 languages spoken on the continent before colonization during the 19th century. "People who lose their language experience suffering," said Olenka Bilash, professor of second language education at the University of Alberta. Bilash likened the loss of language to the loss of cultural identity. "As a multicultural society, it is very important to continue to preserve and pass on to future generations the language, culture, traditions and customs that we bring to Canada, " said IHLA president Olga Prokhorova. While the City of Edmonton's citizen and new arrival centre in city hall provides services in 150 languages, Bilash said research shows that "most people are still uncomfortable speaking their own language in public spaces." Bliash hopes the official announcement of International Mother Language Day in Edmonton----which _ International Mother Language Day declared by UNESCO in 1999 ---- will be a step toward encouraging more language diversity in order to preserve the cultures tied to them. "Our words define us; our expressions and vocabulary define who we are as people," said Marueen Kubinec, Alberta's minister of culture and tourism. "Our words are living examples, perhaps the best that there are, of human creativity." What can we learn from Kubinec's words ?
Your language is your identity. Native language is disappearing. Alberta is rich in language diversity. Language can be saved by creativity.