AILDI celebrated International Mother Language Day on February 18 & 21, 2022.
International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is celebrated annually on February 21. Designated by UNESCO in 2000, IMLD promotes the preservation and protection of all languages. This year AILDI hosted three events in commemoration of the day. On Friday, February 18th, AILDI staff and volunteers from NAMA and the Linguistics department set up a promotional booth on the University Mall. On Monday, February 21st, a new sign in front of the Communication building was unveiled. This new sign is the first to feature the Tohono O'odham language on a permanent fixture. The installation is part of a campus-wide endeavor to include translations from all of the tribal languages in Arizona. Later in the day, a panel of students from the Master of Arts Program in Native American Languages and Linguistics (NAMA) spoke about their experiences with language work in their heritage language. The event took place at the Worlds of Words: Center of Global Literacies and Literatures. The recorded Zoom session is featured below and can also be found on the AILDI YouTube channel.
