__NOTOC__
UN English Day is
observed annually on 23 April.
[UN launches new initiative to promote multilingualism](_blank)
United Nations News Centre, 19 February 2010. Consulted on 2011-04-23.
The event was established by UN's
Department of Public Information in 2010 "to celebrate
multilingualism
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
and
cultural diversity
Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different c ...
as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the
Organization
An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...
".
For the English Language Day, April 23 was chosen because it is the date "traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
".
Chindie Language Day, 1 April
/ref>
Other dates were selected for the celebration of the UN's other five official languages.
See also
* International Mother Language Day
International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formal ...
* International observance
Lists of holidays by various categorizations.
Religious holidays
Abrahamic holidays (Middle Eastern)
Jewish holidays
* Chag HaMatzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread – 7 days of consumption of matzo with wine and avoidance of leavened food ...
* Official languages of the United Nations
The Official Languages of the United Nations are the six languages that are used in UN meetings and in which all official UN documents are written. In the six languages, four are the official language or national language of permanent members ...
* UN Arabic Language Day
__NOTOC__
UN Arabic Language Day is observed annually on December 18.News Releas''UN launches new initiative to promote multilingualism'' Consulted on 2010-04-23. The event was established by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizati ...
* UN Chinese Language Day
* UN French Language Day
* UN Portuguese Language Day
* UN Russian Language Day
* UN Spanish Language Day
UN Spanish Language Day is observed annually on 23 April.. Retrieved 2019-04-09. The event was established by the UN's Department of Public Information in 2010, seeking "to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equ ...
* UN Swahili Language Day
* World Book Day
World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing, and co ...
References
External links
UN English Language Day
Official Site
UN marks English Day as part of celebration of its six official languages
United Nations News Centre, 23 April 2010
April observances
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
English language
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