A. Discuss these questions.

1         When did the International Mother Language Day celebration begin?
2         What does the abbreviation UNESCO stand for?

3         What is the other name of 21 February?

B. Read more about International Mother Language Day.
21 February is observed as Shaheed Dibosh every year throughout the country in remembrance of the martyrs of language movement of 1952. The comme­moration begins at the early hours of the day with mourning songs that recall the supreme sacrifices of our language martyrs. People wear black badges and go to the Shaheed Minar in barefoot processions, singing mourning songs. They place wreaths at the Minar. Many of them visit the graves of the martyrs at Azimpur graveyard and pray for them. They also attend various programmes organised in remembrance of the language martyrs.

The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) on 17 November in 1999 proclaimed February 21 as the International Mother Language Day in recognition of the sacrifices of the martyrs for the rightful place of Bangla. The day is now annually observed worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

C . Match the words/phrases in the table with their meanings.

D. Read the text in B again and answer these questions.

1. Why is 21 February called Shaheed Diboshl

2. Why do people go to the Shaheed Minor! How do they go there?

3. Why is 21 February now observed throughout the world every year?

E. Complete the passage with suitable words.

On 21 February 1952 _______ was shed at a place between Dhaka Medical College and Dhaka University_______ to establish Bangla as a state———– of Pakistan. All subsequent movements____ origin in the historic language _____ of the supreme sacrifice struggles for independence had their _______ Shaheed Minor is the the mother tongue.

F. Write briefly how you observed this year’s 21 February at your school.


If you want to read the next lesson of this unit please click the link below:
Lesson: 5 | Independence Day