Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus said, 'When the nation progresses, the language progresses. The respect of the language increases. Despite being dedicated activists of one's own language, it will not be possible to create interest in the language if the nation does not have something to contribute to the world's treasury.'
The chief advisor made these remarks at a four-day program at the International Mother Language Institute on the occasion of the Great Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day.
The chief advisor said, 'We are creating a new world at a rapid pace. The ever-changing technology is mainly responsible for this. With the dominance of technology comes the dominance of language. The language of the country whose technology continues to dominate the world will continue to dominate along with it. The whole world will rush to learn this language.'
The chief advisor also said that after Sputnik flew into space, the whole world jumped to learn the Russian language, and after China came forward in technology, there was a boom in learning the Chinese language. He said, "The world will lean towards the language of the country that leads the world - this is the rule. The world will not have interest in the language of the country that has nothing to offer, or if it does, it will be at a low level. If a nation can lead in any aspect apart from technology, people's interest in the language of that country will increase - no matter how complex that language is."
The Chief Advisor said, 'Literature, technology, science are directly related to creating interest in language. When we speak in our mother tongue, let us remember that mother tongue is the primary language of the people. No matter how harsh that language may seem at first hearing, it can one day transcend its primary level and become a very polite language of many people in many countries. If that language can occupy a strategic or tactical role in the progress of the world.'
Stating that the government is committed to the development and preservation of the mother tongue, he said, "There are reasons for emotion, there are also reasons for great interest. Now we do not know which unknown, nameless mother tongue will completely change the world. If we ignore any possibility, we will make a big mistake."
The Chief Advisor said, the importance of the language movement in the history of the nation's liberation struggle is immense. Through this movement, the seeds of the formation of a non-communal, democratic language-based national entity have been sown. Although the state language movement was initiated to uphold the dignity of Bengalis, its main spirit is to establish independence. It was a movement for the political, economic and cultural liberation of Bengal. Therefore, for Bengalis, it is a firm conviction not to bow down to twenty-one.
Regarding the motivation behind the language movement, he said, "This is not just a day of shedding tears remembering the painful past, but rather an indestructible motivation, a seed mantra to stand against all kinds of injustice, injustice, and conspiracy. We had to sacrifice a lot to get Bangla recognized as the state language. The incident of giving life for the mother tongue is unprecedented in the history of the world."
At the event, some children greeted the Chief Advisor in 10 languages including Bengali, Garo, English, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. They first greeted Dr. Muhammad Yunus without a mic. Later, the Chief Advisor called them back to the stage. He said, 'They greeted him beautifully in their language, but no one could hear them. It seemed they were sad. That's why I said, come again, speak in your language.' Later, the children greeted the Chief Advisor in their own language, and he also responded to the children.
Chaired by Education Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud, Professor Emeritus of Dhaka University Sirajul Islam Chowdhury presented the paper, Director of the International Mother Language Institute Professor Dr. Muhammad Asaduzzaman spoke, and Senior Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Department Siddique Jobayer delivered the welcome speech.
The winners of the Linguistic Olympiad were awarded certificates and the International Mother Language National Medal and the International Mother Language International Medal were presented at the event. This year, the International Mother Language Award went to linguist Professor Abul Mansur Muhammad Abu Musa and translator Joseph David Winter. In addition, the Bangladesh Embassy in Paris received the medal as an institution.
