Int'l Mother Language Day: 24 languages expected to disappear yearly

BEIJING. KAZINFORM Up first today, you may be surprised to hear that languages all over the world are dying out at an average rate of 24 a year, an astonishing figure.

That brings us to International Mother Language Day, which aims to create awareness of the many languages under threat. Launched in 1999, this year the annual observance falls on Friday, February 21. This is "Voice from Ethnic People", a program aired on China National Radio in various languages including Mongolian, Tibetan, and Uygur. "If someone from an ethnic group hears their mother tongue on the radio, it means a lot to them. Such a program helps boost the national unity of ethnic groups," said Li Xulian, Director of Translation Bureau of Ethnic Languages. Among China's 55 ethnic groups, 53 have their own languages. Translation software for 7 of them has been created, enabling people to use these languages to communicate on the internet. And, measures to protect ethnic languages are also included in some bilingual education programs. "I'm from the Yi minority. I'm learning both my mother tongue and Mandarin," said Qiu Lifang, Yi Minority, Minzu University of China. Although many ethnic languages are still being used, they are steadily losing ground with young people. "Old people can speak our ethnic language, but the sad thing is that basically none of the young people can speak it," said Zhang Lixiao, Daur Minority, Minzu University of China. "People in my hometown, even the older people, they don't speak our own language," said Zhou Weixi, Tujia Minority, Minzu University of China. 60 percent of ethnic languages in China are on the verge of disappearing. Considering that languages not only serve as a tool to communicate, but as a way to pass on history and culture, a project to save such languages is on the agenda. Fortunately, 28 ethnic languages already have their own electronic publishing systems and computer software. Meanwhile, the languages spoken by 96 percent of the world's population only account for 4 percent of the global total. And with so many languages on the brink of extinction, experts say it is imperative to take comprehensive steps to preserve them, CCTV.com reports.