Who Cares About Mother Tongues? Language Used As Prostitution

Who Cares About Mother Tongues? Language Used As Prostitution

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - Eghty Five

Palash Biswas



A total of 188 countries across the world observed the day with the commitment to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education and raise awareness of cultural traditions based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.
The European Union has a New Year's challenge: to assimilate three new languages in 2007. The EU, already burdened with 20 official languages, officially promotes linguistic diversity but often defaults to English.Bulgarian, Romanian and Gaelic will become official EU languages on Jan. 1, further complicating Europe's ability to communicate.
Since its inception, the EU has been multilingual and working with multiple languages has always proved challenging. The interpreting and translating require large amounts of money and linguistic finesse. But in this Babel-like environment, English often ends up being the language used in official business.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) called here Monday for adopting "national and regional language strategies" to "build a harmonious environment for all the worlds languages" to preserve them from extinction.Director General of UNESCO Koichiro Matsuura issued a statement on the occasion of International Mother Language Day on February 21, in which he indicated that "Education uses less than a quarter of all languages." He stressed the importance of the mother language as it is "in the mother tongue that we utter our first words and express individual thoughts best," and that it is "the medium for learning respect for oneself, ones history and ones culture and, above all, for others and their differences." According to Matsuura, in a world in which the global and the local and entwined and must interact harmoniously, the concepts of "mother tongue" and "multilingualism are becoming structurally complementary." He noted that UNESCO is working on promoting multilingualism especially in "the education system by encouraging the recognition and acquisition in at least three levels of language proficiency for all; a mother tongue, a national language and a language of communication." "The promotion of linguistic and cultural diversity is supported by commitment to dialogue among peoples, cultures and civilizations," he added.

According to Matsuura, over 50 percent of the 6,000 languages spoken worldwide "are likely to die out" while some 96 percent of these languages are spoken by four percent of the worlds population.

He indicated Africa, known as the "cradle of humanity," as one-third of the languages worldwide are spoken there, saying that the African Union (AU) "is endeavoring to implement a regional language management plan designed to harmonize the local and global in the interest of all." (end) si.

This day in 1952, Barkat, Salam, Rafiq, Shafiur, Jabbar made their sublime sacrifice for establishing Bangla as a state language of the erstwhile Pakistan. My father was a participant in this movement.

The Language Movement inspired the Bengali nation to fight against injustices and exploitation unto achieving national independence in 1971.
On this day in 1952, students and the general public in Dhaka took to the streets in protest against the then government's denial of Bangla as the national language and imposition of Urdu as the sole official language of Pakistan.


Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Shafiur, Jabbar and many others sacrificed their lives as the then Pakistani rulers ordered firing on the agitation.The brave children of the soil established mother tongue Bangla as a state language through shedding their blood.


The protest sparked on February 21, 1952 progressed into the long-drawn struggle that eventually led to the birth of Bangladesh.


The Shaheed Minar and its adjacent areas went through a facelift, and roads and medians were festooned with Bangla alphabets and national flag.

The Dhaka University authorities that are supervising the Ekushey February [February 21] programmes have prohibited display of portraits, posters or banners and processions or rallies in and around the Central Shaheed Minar.

In recognition of the Language Movement in Bangladesh, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has declared Feb. 21 International Mother Language Day to promote linguistic and cultural diversity in the UN member-states. The declaration was made on Nov. 17, 1999.

But the questions remain unanswered.

Who Cares About Mother Tongues?

Language is best used as Prostitution.

The West Bengal Government is also very active to express its commitment to Bangla nationality and language. But it has no representation of eightyfive percent enslaved population consisting of Dalits, Tribals, BcC, OBC and minorities. It is evicting the people of Singur, Nandi Gram, haripur, Junput, Kharagpur, Siliguri, Dankuni, Baruipur, Bardwan, Howrah, Murshidabad, Jhatrgram for industrilisation and urbanisation and snatching their livelihood along with cultural heritage and mother language.

One Pabitra sarkar of Bangla Academy Kolkata is dictating spellings of Bangla with CPIM and its Government acceptance. Does the government body of Bangla Academy represent Bangla Nationality. Does Pabitra sarkar represent the Rural, dalit, triabal and Muslim Bengal. West Bengal Bengali population happens to be minority in comparision to Bangaldesh and even in comparision to the dalit bengali refugees resettled outside Bengal and deprived of mother tongue.
Should we read different Bangla literature created in different geopolitics with different diction and spellings?
Language is a continuous process of dialectics between Individual and tradition. but the scientific Nazi, Brahmin Marxist Capitalists seem to be unaware of this.
Bangla language is one of the most spoken languages in the world. Approximately 300 million people in Bangladesh, West Bengal, Assam and the Tripura state of India and some other parts of the world speak the language. Worth mentioning is the great poet and philosopher Tagore (Rabindranah Tagore) who received the Nobel Prize in literature for his Bangla poems ``Geetanjali,¡¯¡¯ or Song Offerings, in 1913.

However, after the partition of the India sub-continent, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and its first Governor-General, while on a visit to East Bengal (present Bangladesh), declared in Dhaka University that the language of the province (East Bengal) wouldn¡¯t be Bengali: ``The state language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu and no other language. Any one who tries to mislead you is really an enemy of Pakistan.¡¯¡¯ Actually, at that time the majority of the population of Pakistan spoke Bengali rather than Urdu. In 1952 the Pakistan government officially declared Urdu as the only state language of Pakistan. People of then East Pakistan (Bangladesh) reacted in protest. Students of Dhaka University and other educational institutes in Dhaka called for demonstrations against the government¡¯s decision and demanded Bengali as the state language on Feb. 21 1952. In response to the protest, the government declared the 144 Act that prohibited any kind of public gathering. Pakistani police responded to the student protests with brute force. Student leaders including Abdul Jabber, Rafiquddin Ahmed and Abdul Barkat were killed. Since then Feb. 21 has been observed as a martyrs day, or ``Shahid dibos,¡¯¡¯ in East Pakistan, present day Bangladesh. As a result of the movement the Bengali language was officially recognized as the state language of East Pakistan in 1956.

Recognition of Bengali as the state language in East Pakistan and the proclamation of Feb. 21 as International Mother Language Day is to be remembered with a legacy of blood. ``Every nation should learn to respect their own languages as well as others, which is the main teaching of International Mother Language Day 2007.¡¯¡¯

Globalisation has imposed spoken English, the official language of Corporate, Nazi, Brhminical Im[perialism.
Indigeneous languages are used only to sponsor the market forces and foriegn investment. Languages and folks have become commodities of saleable Entertainment and best elements of advertizement zingles. English is mixed with Bengali to make it Banglish and with Hindi, making it Hinglish.Cultural identities, tradition, individuality, heritage and creativity vanished. Literature and creative arts associated with language have become the live blue films hardcore or at least soft porn relative for society permissiveness.

In India G 3 technogy is imported to enhance mobile telephony. It is targetted foriegn investment. Cell phone users multiplied ten times in India not for dialogue but to dismiss any scope for dialogue. G3 technolgy is welcome with new multinationals alien to Indian market. It will enable Two Megabite Data Transfer per second to enhance internet, videoand TV show on mobile. Government of India speaks for E Governace which is a total failure as the medium is English which is not interactive with the general masses at all. Government units have been interlinked but it connects only responsible district or state level officials. No grievance is heard at all. All ministers and MPs use internet and they have hardly any space or time to go through the inbox. No mail is answered at all. Vernacular languages which happens to be the mother languages of different nationality in the union , have never become the medium of communication. Even the Education system promots only English and hardly any community has the previlege to get education in his mother alnguage out of his particular geopolitics, the state and society.

Then, all latest technology targets the Great Indian blooming market to entrap the common consumers with maximum inputs of hardcore or soft porn, which is made a very profitable business by our hundreds of TV channels and comercial publications.

Why E governance, the government of India or the state government have not to doanything with governance. The Chief Ministers and all political parties have become the agents of market and they vy for cut money to accumilate election funds and they only address their captive votebank.

The Masses in general, attached with Rural India and mother languages wre being evicted of their base for indiscriminate indutrilisation and urbanisation.
No education is possible in mother language.
No employment is available with mother language.
No communication is sought for in mother language.

Hindi happens to be the national languge in India but Hindi may not be used universally as the government of India could not develop unicode or unifont. Everyone writes in different progrrammes with different font.Thus , the volunteers of Hindi force have to use Times Roman and Word.
Europe Battles English Invasion
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Overrunning the continent's other languages?
Fast becoming Europe's lingua franca, English has invaded other national languages. The trend has some on the continent worried that languages might in the future take second place even within their countries of origin.English has already invaded the languages of Moliere, Cervantes and Goethe, dominating the fields of technology and business and even taking some native tongues hostage.
But purists are fighting back as hybrids such as "surfen" and "downloaden" on the Internet, "emailear" and style terms "looke" or "gestyled" show the creeping advance of English.

Int'l Mother Language Day is observed in Bangladesh along with the entire world even other than the Bangla Nationality. But in India, Bengalies only ovserved the day and rest of Indians generally have been detached.

For me it is very important as I remain a bengali national despite my Indian citizenship. My fore fathers belonged to Undivided Bengal. Different geopolitics could not divide Bangla nationality . Thus , in West Bengal also the day is celebrated with the same commitment and enthusiasm. I am sure it happened any where in the worlrd where ever the Benglies reside.

It seems that Bangladeshi Islamic nationality has taken over Bangla nationality while we analyse different activities of BNP and Al. But today, it leaves no doubt that no geopolitics , no religion and even no globalisation may kill nationality Bangla.

I am proud of my late father Pulin Biswas who had been arrested in a Language procession during Bhasha Andolan in Dhaka. He never allowed us to disassociate with nationality Bangla. Thus, as a student of class eighth I led my Highschool on strike to have Bangla question papers in Bangla script. Though we had nothing against Hindi or english. We just wanted to ensure our identity. My father happened to be the keyman in the management and he did disown me at that point.

International Mother Language Day was observed in Dhaka Wednesday amidst a renewed pledge to establish Bangla in all spheres of national life and promote multilingual culture across the world. Hundreds of thousands of barefoot people, wearing black badges, visited the Central Shaheed Minar in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka since early hours of the day paying glowing tributes to the language martyrs.

Strains of the immortal song resounded through the sprawling Dhaka University campus as people streamed towards the memorial.


Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief Advisor of Caretaker Government Fakhruddin Ahmed led the nation in commemorating the martyrdom of the 1952 Language Movement heroes.

Around 8,000 law-enforcers were deployed in the capital from Tuesday evening to maintain security during the observance of the historic day. No untoward incident was reported.



The Daily Star, Dhaka
Vol. 5 Num 970 Wed. February 21, 2007
Bottom Line
Are we achieving the goal of the language martyrs?
Harun ur Rashid

February 21 is a day of national mourning and reflection. It is the Language Martyrs' Day.
It is fifty-five years to the day that Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and Salam sacrificed their precious young lives for the honour and preservation of our mother language, Bangla.


February 21 is not only the Bangla Language Martyrs' Day in Bangladesh, but is also being observed as International Mother Language Day.

It was in 2000 that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) declared February 21 as International Mother Language Day.

This day has become a milestone in recognition of the right to speak, promote and preserve all mother languages across the world.


Bangladesh can rightly take credit for taking the initiative for the declaration by the Unesco. Therefore, it is a day of pride for all the people of Bangladesh that the supreme sacrifice made on this day in 1952 has eventually led to the recognition of preservation of mother languages worldwide.


What actually occurred on February 21?
The Pakistani rulers wanted to impose Urdu on the Bengali people, although they constituted 56% of the people of united Pakistan.

The people of former East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, strongly objected in 1948 when Mr. Jinnah announced it in the Curzon Hall. Mr. Dhirendranath Dutta, a member of the Constituent Assembly, argued in the assembly that Bangla language ought to be one of the state languages of Pakistan. But all these demands fell on the deaf ears of the Pakistani leaders.


The starting point of the tragedy of February 21 was January 27, 1952, when the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Khwaja Nazimuddin, announced at a public meeting that Urdu alone would be the state language of Pakistan. The students were infuriated at this announcement.


On February 21, 1952, agitated students, both male and female, of Dhaka University decided to violate Section 144 (prohibiting an assembly more than five persons) in order to proceed towards the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly to present their demand.



At 3:30 PM, when they were on their way to the student's hostel of the Dhaka Medical College (where the monument stands), the police open-fire on them, under orders by a Magistrate (a West Pakistani).

Jabbar and Rafiq died on the spot, while Barkat, critically injured, died that evening in the hospital. The two other martyrs died in hospital as well. The rest is history.

Importance of mother languages
Mother language is the language in which a baby child communicates for the first time with its mother and father. It is a language that a person never forgets, wherever that person may live.

The mother language is a prism that determines the first notions of the world to a baby child. The umbilical cord between mother tongue and thought is inseparable.

It is the mother tongue that represents thought, culture and heritage of an individual.


Scottish historian and essayist Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) called language "the body of thought." This implies that if a mother tongue is crushed, thoughts and ideas will inevitably die.


About 6,800 mother languages are thought to exist today. But social, demographic and political factors are all contributing to their rapid disappearance.


Language experts say that half of that number is likely to disappear, as smaller ethnic societies are gradually being assimilated into mainstream national and global cultures.

For example, the language, "Middle Chulym," now spoken by a handful Siberian townsfolks (45 in number), has been integrated into the Russian language, and once the last fluent speaker dies the language will become extinct.


What is lost when a language is lost is another world, according to many language experts.

Valuable ethnographic and cultural information disappear when a language dies, leaving a gap in understanding of the variable cognitive structures, which the human brain is capable of.


Studies of different languages have revealed vastly the different ways of representing and interpreting the world.

For instance, some Native American and Australian aboriginal languages reveal a completely different understanding of the relationship between human beings and nature, and how it affects their lives.


Language experts believe that as mother languages disappear, a few dominant languages will exist, such as English, French, Spanish and Chinese, for commerce, education, science and culture in the world.

The disappearance of mother languages will be a severe blow to linguistic diversity, cognitive science and cultural studies.


Preservation of Bangla language is an issue about which the people of Bangladesh feel deeply, and rightly so.

It represents the thought, culture and heritage of Bangladesh. Anyone who wishes to gain an insight into the conditions of life in Bangladesh, and to peer into social structures, cannot do better than to study Bangla language and literature.


Of all the languages in South Asia, Bangla was the first to develop a literature of a very high order, and still holds the model for other languages.

Bangla writers in the past and present have enriched the language by transfusing Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic and English languages into it.

Bangla was raised to its highest by Rabindranath Thakur (Tagore) when he was awarded, in 1913, the Nobel Prize for Literature.


One must not, however, forget that learning other languages is useful in an inter-connected world, and to be a multi-lingual is an asset for any person.

Since English has become the language for commerce, higher education overseas, and computers, one may not neglect learning it as well.


Have the ideals of the Martyrs' Day been fulfilled?
During almost 36 years of independence, the question for everyone is whether the authorities and civil society have achieved the real aim of the day.

The test is whether all people, irrespective of age and gender, can read and write. Free adult education is necessary for mature people. Free education, together with free learning equipment and school dress for poor children, is imperative.


Another question is whether people at the bottom of the social ladder understand the words used by the news media. There is a view that different words and expressions used by the elite perpetuate the class barriers in society.

It could be argued that one should neither write what one should not speak, nor should speak what one should not write.

Some educationists argue that the gap between the language of books and media and that of ordinary people in the countryside needs to be bridged. So Bangla grammar needs to be simplified.

The time has come for reforming Bangla spelling so as to make it easy for Bangla learners. The bottom line is: does the elevation of literary diction too far above the speech of common people impede learning and writing in Bangla?


Every Bangladeshi has a right to read books in Bangla. But the price of Bangla books is very high because the paper and other materials for publishing books are costly.

The authorities concerned may consider exempting tax and custom duties on printing paper and other materials so as to make books easily available to readers at an affordable price.

At the same time, the publishers must see how books can be made cheaper by selecting less expensive paper, soft cover and simple design.


The Ekushey February book fair at the Bangladesh Academy premises will achieve its purpose if visitors to the bookstalls are able to buy books, not just browse through them. A knowledgeable nation does not grow automatically. It needs to be carefully developed and nurtured.


Another point for consideration is that, given the huge number of visitors to the book fair, the Bangla Academy may seriously consider opening Ekushey book fairs in various residential parts of Dhaka so that all people, especially the elders, could visit, enjoy and buy books.

The long queues at the Bangla Academy book fair discourage many elderly people from visiting the fair.


There is a view that February 21 is observed more with rituals, forgetting its true significance. It does not seem to focus sharply on the causes the martyrs stood for.

Many think that the book fair has turned into a commercial market, exploiting the sentiments of people.

The time has come for reflection and introspection as to how the language martyrs are to be remembered, and their goal achieved.


February 21 is more than a language movement for the people of Bangladesh. Many historians think that February 21 laid the foundation for a separate state on the basis of Bengali nationalism, which was aptly summed up by Bangabandhu Shekh Mujib when he said: "I am a Bengali, my nationalism is Bengali."

Russia: Mother Language Day Underlines Plight Of Indigenous Tongues
By Chloe Arnold

Today marks UNESCO's International Mother Language Day, an occasion that promotes linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. Hundreds of the world's 6,000 languages are rarely heard outside the small areas they are spoken, and half of them are heading for extinction. Northern Russia is home to 41 different ethnic groups, each with its own language. But many of those are in danger of disappearing -- some have fewer than 10 speakers of the language left today.

Dialects are important in transmission of cultural values.

Can you speak your mother tongue? Well, if you can, then count yourself lucky. In a world which is fast becoming a global village, with interracial and intertribal marriages being the major trend, most mother tongues have no place in homes. It is for this reason that an entire day had to be set aside by the international community to sensitise people on the importance of dialects in the transmission of cultural values.

In Cameroon, there is even an initiative to introduce the teaching of dialects in schools. But many people are already questioning how such a project can become reality in a country like Cameroon with over 200 local languages. What ever be the case, all the languages can never be taught in school. If the project of teaching local languages in schools was therefore to materialise, some children will be obliged to learn another dialect besides their mother tongue. And for what purpose? Many people would question.

It is definitely for such reasons that some people are already of the opinion that rather than impose a dialect on children in schools, it is better to teach them a foreign international language which might be useful to them someday in future. Roundup: Arab nations urged to preserve Arabic language for children

A three-day conference on the language of the Arab child in face of globalization, which concluded on Monday, has urged Arab nations to do more in protecting the Arabic language from "language pollution" for their children.

The Arabic language, which has some 260 million speakers in total, is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. It is widely used by Arab people living in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Arabic language, though, has many dialects that diverge widely from one another -- both from country to country and within a single country. Colloquial, or dialect Arabic refers to the many national and regional varieties derived from classical Arabic.

In a new study released on Monday, Arabic language experts warned that words used in advertisements and foodstuff packages had negative effect on the quality of the Arabic language that was used by Arab children.

"Using colloquial Arabic and foreign words written in Arabic letters leads to the introduction of wrong words to the language, something which can harm the language known for its beauty and richness," according to the study.

The study, carried out on Libyan children, expressed regret that Arab children prefer to use slang and foreign words than use classical Arabic.

This trend can harm the Arabic, which has been in use for 15 centuries, the study said, warning against what it termed " language pollution" that is created by cultural invasion of developed countries.

The conference was cosponsored by the Arab Council for Childhood and Development and the Cairo-based Arab League (AL), which boasts 22 Arab member states.

On Sunday, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) called for creating legal regulations to protect Arabic against "language pollution."

ISESCO Secretary General Abdel-Aziz al-Twigri said such a mechanism needs a political decision from Arab governments, according to MENA.

"It is wrong that the colloquial language prevails at the expense of classical Arabic," said al-Twigri.

Source: Xinhua

Nepali Times published this comment:
My tongue or yours?
Language is contentious, and the debate between national languages and mother tongues more so
MARK TURIN
From Issue #336 (16 February 07 - 22 February 07) | T
BIKASH KARKI

International Mother Language Day on 21 February has particular resonance for South Asia. On that day in 1952, a number of Bangladeshi language activists were shot and killed by police as they demonstrated for Bengali language rights.

Established at the 1999 UNESCO General Conference, and first celebrated in February 2000, International Mother Language Day (IMLD for short) was established to promote linguistic diversity and multilingualism. In 2005, IMLD was devoted to Braille and sign languages, last year’s topic was languages and cyberspace, and this year the theme is very pertinent to Nepal: the links between mother tongues and multilingualism.

UNESCO states unequivocally on its website that “all moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance, and dialogue.” While honourable and even noble, this suggestion remains contentious. In Nepal, language policy and linguistic rights are thorny political issues, and recent statements by language activists show a tendency towards isolationism, exceptionalism, and division in the name of inclusion and participation.


After all, there will never be a day when "metta", "boulu", "bassa", "bayangi" or "fulfulbe" will be accepted as lingua franca in an international setting or at a work place!

FBI Translating Over 1,000 Wiretap Conversations a Day

Spurred by adding hundreds of new linguists and help from allies overseas, the FBI is translating a record 34,000 wiretapped conversations a month, bureau officials tell the Bad Guys blog. Long criticized for its lack of language specialists, the FBI, they say, is finally catching up to an unprecedented intake of foreign-language surveillance recordings, electronic data, and text since 9/11.

Most of the wiretaps are tied to counterterrorism and counterintelligence cases, officials say. Since 9/11, the FBI's counterterrorism agents, in particular, have collected a mother lode of intelligence. In a widely overlooked report to the Senate Judiciary Committee in November, bureau officials ticked off their counterterrorism take over the past four years:

Sign Boards

Coinciding with International Mother Language Day, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation will start a crackdown on Wednesday on shop-owners who are yet to use Bengali on their signboards. The CPM-led civic body has made it mandatory for shop-owners to use Bengali on signboards, failing which the trade licence of the shops will not be renewed in the next fiscal.

“We are encouraging shop-owners to write in Bengali, along with other languages like English, Hindi or Urdu,” municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay said.

He and mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya passed the crackdown order on Tuesday.

According to the order, officials will go on a door-to-door check of the signboards in various city pockets, especially in the Dalhousie-Esplanade-Camac Street zone.

Shops without a Bengali signboard will be given a deadline to make amends. To make the process easier, the civic body has announced a few options — the shop-owners may add the Bengali name on the existing signboard or can put up a separate Bengali signboard.


Linkages between Mother Tongue and Multilingualism

International Mother Language Day “Linkage between mother tongue and multilingualism” is the theme of International Mother Language Day in 2007.
Tehran, 20 February 2007 (CHN Foreign Desk) -- In an attempt to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education, as well as preserving languages which are on verge of vanishing, UNESCO has entitled the 2007 International Mother Language Day as the “linkages between mother tongue and multilingualism”.

“Languages play an important role in the integration process in all aspects of public life but especially education. Languages are also the most powerful instrument for preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage,” says UNESCO in its announcement.

According to statistics released by UNESCO among almost 6,000 languages speak in the world, thousands are absent from the public arena and fifty percent are in danger of complete disappearing.

UNESCO is further determined to ensure that these languages can still maintain in use alongside the major international languages which are used for international communication and to create a genuine challenge in all over the world.

With a focus on promoting universally shared values and a culturally sensitive diversification of educational contents and methods, UNESCO is also working to promote the quality of education as a basic right for all people by addressing a broad range of themes, which include respect for cultural and linguistic diversity.

21st of February has been proclaimed by UNESCO as International Mother Language Day in an effort to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. Languages are at the very heart of UNESCO’s objectives. Whatever moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.


Source: UNESCO

MOSCOW, February 21, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Vera Tuzakova sings a traditional song about her tribe, the Selkups, who live in Siberia's Tomsk region. It's a sad song, she says, about how Selkup villages -- Laskina, Mumusheva, and others -- are disappearing, leaving just the birds' nests in the trees.