By Momin Ali | Tweets @MominAli00
The Faculty of Arts, Aligarh Muslim University today celebrated International Mother Language Day (Antarrashtriye Matribhasha Diwas) with the theme of “Towards Sustainable Future through Multilingual Education” at the Faculty Lounge.
Chief Guest of the function, Professor Farhatullah Khan (emeritus professor), Department of English, pointed out that linguists refer to mother tongue as ‘the first language’ as the language acquisition. He said that ‘language is life’ and life is language’. He emphasized on all the languages should be preserved and researched.
He further said that the preservation of languages is the preservation of cultures.
Presiding over the function, Professor Azarmi Dukht Safavi discussed the regional languages of India. “India is a multilingual country and this is the beauty of this country”, she said.
She added that today we celebrate this day, and the credit goes to our country, where different linguistics people live together in a unique integration.
She said that Indians are usually successful in their careers and life in foreign countries because of their multilingual backgrounds. She further urged the youth to learn as many languages as they can
Guest of Honour, Dr Ved Prakash Amitab, emphasized in his speech that the potential of multilingual education to be acknowledged everywhere such as in cultural expressions, in the media.
Professor Shaik Mastan, Dean, Faculty of Arts welcomed the guests by giving their brief introductions to the audience.
Professor Shambhunath Tiwari hosted the program, while Prof Seemin Hasan proposed the vote of thanks.
Momin Ali is a student of MA ELT at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. He is currently serving as Public Relations Incharge at Cultural Education Centre (CEC), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Apart from this, he acted in leading roles in several English as well as Bengali Plays. He is also interested in music, specially, playing instruments such as Harmonium, Flute and Dholak.
