English Language Day 2023: The day coincides with the birthday and death of William Shakespeare and World Book Day. The English language is one of the most popular languages used around the world. The day prospects the development, history, culture and achievements associated with the language.
English Language Day: History
English is the most widely spoken language or a “world language.” For this reason, it is known as the lingua franca of the modern era. Along with French, English is also the working language of the United Nations (UN). English Language Day is the result of a 2010 initiative by the Department of Global Communications. It established linguistic days for each of the six official languages of the Organization.
English Language Day 2023: Wishes, Messages, Greetings, WhatsApp and Facebook Status, Quotes and More
Under the initiative, UN duty stations celebrate six different days, with each day dedicated to one of the Organization’s six official languages around the world.
The language days are as follows:
Arabic (December 18)
Chinese (April 20)
English (April 23)
French (March 20)
Russian (June 6)
Spanish (April 23)
World Book Day 2023: current theme, history and meaning
English Language Day 2023: Theme
Every year, World English Language Day has a different theme that highlights a different aspect of the importance of the language. The UN has previously declared the themes “English as a global language” and “English and creativity” for this day, which highlight the impact of language on international culture, education and communication, respectively. However, there is still no official announcement regarding this year’s theme.
English Language Day: Purpose behind the celebration
Basically, the main objective of the UN language days is to observe multilingualism and cultural diversity. The days also promote the equal use of the six official languages throughout the Organization.
At the United Nations, Language Days aim to entertain and inform with the goal of raising awareness and respect for the history, culture and achievements of each of the six working languages among the United Nations community.
Various events are organized on this day, including book readings, English contests, poetry and literature exchanges, and other activities that stimulate the English language.
The 2021 day celebrations focus on Africa. English is spoken in about two dozen African countries as an official language or widely used in education, administration, law, business, media, and literature; The top five (by number of inhabitants) bring together almost 500 million people. English is also one of the official languages of the African Union and several subregional organizations in Africa.
The UN and multilingualism
Multilingualism is an essential factor for harmonious communication between peoples. By promoting tolerance, effective and greater participation in all the work of the Organization is guaranteed, as well as greater effectiveness and involvement with better results. As mentioned above, the six official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The working languages of the United Nations Secretariat are English and French. It is used in day-to-day professional exchanges.
Let us tell you that the Secretary-General of the United Nations appointed on September 3, 2019, Mr. Movses Abelian of Armenia (and national of Georgia), Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, as Coordinator for Multilingualism. For this purpose, resolution 69/250 of the General Assembly was implemented. He is responsible for coordinating the overall implementation of multilingualism across the Secretariat.
Gender inclusive language
The main objective is to support United Nations staff to communicate in a gender-inclusive manner in the six official languages of the Organization.
Gender-inclusive language here means that there should be no discrimination against a particular sex or social gender when it comes to speech and writing.
The key role of language in shaping cultural and social attitudes through the use of gender-inclusive language as a powerful way to advance gender equality and eradicate gender bias. Nor does it perpetuate gender stereotypes.
Therefore, English Language Day is celebrated on April 23 to raise awareness about the importance of the language.
Source: un.org
About William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor, popularly known as ‘Bard of Avon’. The widely regarded English-speaking author and greatest playwright has a total of 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, some other verses and much more as his legacy to the world. Most of his work was based on tragedy and experts believe that most of them were cases from his unfortunate life.
He spent his early years in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. He married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18 and the two had twins Hamnet and Judith, in addition to Susanna. He began a prosperous career in London between 1585 and 1592 as an actor, playwright, and co-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford at the age of 49 (about 1613), where he died three years later.
Shakespeare’s writings left a tremendous and lasting effect on theater and literature. He increased the dramatic possibilities of characterization, plot, language, and genre, in particular. Shakespeare continues to hold the title of the world’s best-selling playwright, according to Guinness World Records, and it is estimated that sales of his plays and poems have exceeded four billion copies in the nearly 400 years since his disappearance. Furthermore, he is the third most translated author in the history of literature.
Important days and dates in April 2023
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Source: ptivs2.edu.vn