world

Native language is a means of communication and a symbol of the culture of a relevant country and nation.

The diversity of language shows that of the history, cultures and customs of countries and nations, and therefore protecting their mother tongue means protecting their history, cultures and customs.

On February 21 1952, the inhabitants of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) held a demonstration to call for including Bengali in official languages of state and government organs.

During the demonstration, five demonstrators were shot to death.

The 56th Session of the UN General Assembly held on February 15 2002 decided to commemorate February 21 as International Mother Language Day to the memory of the inhabitants of the region who died in the struggle to regain the right to use their national language.

It was aimed at preserving the world languages, accelerating the sustainable development of diverse cultures and promoting mutual understanding among the peoples of all countries.

However, not a few languages are now disappearing in the international community and high-handed acts are openly committed to obliterate the languages of minorities.

Typical examples are the Ukrainian puppet clique’s bloody suppression of the region where Russian is used and the Japanese authorities’ moves to disturb national education of Koreans in Japan.

This is a threat to human civilization, a flagrant threat to development of language and culture.

Various activities are being conducted in different countries to preserve and develop national languages on the occasion of International Mother Language Day.

Our country, which boasts a 5 000-year history and culture, uses Korean as its language and is directing great efforts to preserving and further developing the unity, eternity and purity of Korean.

The DPRK set the cultured Pyongyang dialect as model of Korean and national language as it reflects the national character of our people most correctly and adopted “the Law of the DPRK on the Protection of Cultured Pyongyang Dialect” in an effort to establish a social trait of protecting and retaining cultured Pyongyang dialect. 

Meanwhile, books helpful in further enriching language theory and improving the quality of Korean education and linguistic life are actively published and the education sector is intensifying the work to give the rising generations a deep understanding of the advantages of Korean. 

The law on the protection of the overseas compatriots’ rights and interests, which was adopted at the Sixth Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly, legally protects the compatriots’ right to receive democratic national education, including the learning of spoken and written Korean and the history and culture of our country, irrespective of place of residence.

All countries and nations have the right to defend and develop their languages, and when they are thoroughly defended, the culture of mankind will become richer and more beautiful.

Kim Yong Yun, director of the Korean linguistics institute of Kim Il Sung University