People the world over observed International Mother language Day on February 21, harmoniously and hilariously. What would have passed as an otherwise subdued and erudite topic, the day turned out to be an occasion marked by celebratory fervour, thanks to social media.
While most of the social media posts glorified various mother languages with piety and reverence, several others explored the humour angles for example by substituting the ethnic language with the most common terms and words in everyday life like, 'power supply' or 'wire'.
Many others glorified the language through, poems and songs.
However, the contents that went viral the most were funny gags and memes using the native languages and comparing them with English.
Meanwhile, the online hullabaloo has made it obvious that no one who has gone through them will ever forget the date of International Mother Language Day.
Check whether your mother language has found a place in this list:
International Mother language Day is an idea initiated by Bangladesh and approved by UNESCO in 1999. While the day is observed throughout the world, it is a national holiday in Bangladesh. The day is aimed at promoting awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity as well as multilingualism.
It's celebrated to commemorate events, which date back to 1952 when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan. It was the time rallies and public meetings were organised to obtain recognition for Bengali language.
In a rare incident in history, four people had to sacrifice their lives for their mother tongue, when police opened fire on a such a rally.
Every year, there is a new theme and this year, it is 'Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education.'