Mother tongue, path to cultural richness

February 21 has been named by the UNESCO as the International Mother Language Day.

Naming this day at the UNESCO General Conference in 1999 meant to help linguistic and cultural diversity.

“UNESCO believes in the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies. It is within its mandate for peace that it works to preserve the differences in cultures and languages that foster tolerance and respect for others,” the UN body said.

Almost half of the world's languages ​​are exposed to death. The death of each language means the loss of a collection of culture, history and customs of a group of people.

Iran is also home to various languages thanks to cultural diversity, appreciating each of the languages as a cultural treasure.

From the Caspian Sea to Persian Gulf, from Khorasan to Ilam provinces, there are tens of dialects, customs and ethnicity in Iran; the languages ​​behind which is a rich history and its diversity is unique.

Persian, Azari, Kurdish, Turkish, Turkmen, Armenian, Gilaki, Lor and Lak are among the main dialects of Iran many of which are considered as ancient languages.

The importance of keeping dialects alive is known all over the world however Iran is one of the countries that has been successful in conserving a wide variety of ancient languages.

Over 62% of Iran’s population speak the Persian language and 14% speak Azari as the second most spoken language of the country.

Persian is considered the second Islamic language due to its notable contributions to human civilization in general and the Islamic one in particular and due to the outstanding amount of Islamic traditional heritage in it.

The Persian language is a language of literature, art, science and human tradition. It has, as well, the character of being easy to learn, to influence, and to be influenced particularly when linked to Arabic and other languages.

FM/FM