2008 International Year of Languages

[Gustavo Lucardi]

The year 2008 has been proclaimed International Year of Languages by the United Nations General Assembly. UNESCO, which has been entrusted with the task of coordinating activities for the Year, is determined to fulfill its role as lead agency.

Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the celebration of 2008, International Year of Languages

Mensaje del Director General de la UNESCO con miras a la celebración del Año Internacional de los Idiomas en 2008

More than 50% of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world may disappear. Less than a quarter of those languages are currently used in schools and in cyberspace, and most are used only.

We must act now as a matter of urgency. How? By encouraging and developing language policies that enable each linguistic community to use its first language, or mother tongue, as widely and as often as possible, including in education, while also mastering a national or regional language and an international language. Also by encouraging speakers of a dominant language to master another national or regional language and one or two international languages. Only if multilingualism is fully accepted can all languages find their place in our globalized world.

UNESCO therefore invites governments, United Nations organizations, civil society organizations, educational institutions, professional associations and all other stakeholders to increase their own activities to foster respect for, and the promotion and protection of all languages, particularly endangered languages, in all individual and collective contexts

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PROCLAIMS 2008 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF LANGUAGES TO PROMOTE UNITY IN DIVERSITY, GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING

2008 International Year of Languages at Wikipedia

2008 International Year of Languages at Facebook

[Veronica]

This is very interesting, I had no idea. I liked the brochure Although, the logo is awful

I saw in the calendar there aren¡t many events, I thought there would be more.

Thanks!

[Mathiasdb]

Que interesante y triste. Vivan los idiomas!

[sabrina]

Si, es una pena que desaparezcan los idiomas y por ende todo el bagaje cultural que conllevan. Por otro lado, hay una buena noticia...En la UBA se enseñan lenguas indígenas...Si!!! es verdad!! Los idiomas son: quechua, mapuche y guaraní...Qué tal??

[Frank van den Eeden]

More than 50% of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world may disappear. We must act now as a matter of urgency. How? By encouraging and developing language policies that enable each linguistic community to use its first language, or mother tongue, as widely and as often as possible, including in education.

Sounds very nice
-almost as nice as a world without polluting factories.-
And equally impractical !

When you want to make a living as a translator – your mother tongue NEEDS to be an important language !
“Wanted : Native speaker of target language, proficiency in source language
Too bad when your native language is not English/Spanish or French...

My mother tongue is Dutch, luckily I was a businessman
and never had to work as a translator,
that would have brought poverty for sure !

SORRY if this seems a bit harsh.

[Gustavo Lucardi]

I believe that you are 50% right Frank, the reality is that you could translate from those languages to your native language too. I think that there is similar work from English to Dutch than from Dutch to English. Am I wrong?

[Frank van den Eeden]

hmmmm...
I wrote that remark 2 years and 10 months ago !

And there may be a 50/50 proportion in translations needed
BUT
every Flemish-Belgian and every Dutchman speaks English rather well and may even be able to make English/Dutch translations
while you will have great difficulty in finding and Englishman who knows Dutch well.
He will have plenty of translation-work.

That's what I mean ...

But it doesn't keep me awake !

Merry Christmas !