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Events

Mother Language Day

Mother Language Day

#Culture and lifestyle

#Yerevan

#Winter

#UNESCO

#Activity

#History

Wed, Feb 21

date:

February 21, 2024

location:

Across Armenia

entrance fee:

Free

image

In November 1999, UNESCO announced the 21st of January as the International Mother Language Day to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. You can visit The Yerevan Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) to know more about the Armenian alphabet history and its inventor, Mesrop Mashtots. Mashtots was a composer in the Sasanian Empire and an early medieval Armenian linguist. Armenians consider him as a Saint. His invention of the Armenian alphabet is what made him most famous. This crucial development in 405 AD strengthened Armenian nationalism. Some academics also credit him with developing the alphabets for Georgia and the Caucasian Albanian language. The opening line of Solomon's Book of Proverbs, «To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding. » was the first sentence in Armenian recorded by St. Mesrop after he invented the letters, and it served as a powerful impetus for the development of the nation's spirit. The invention of the alphabet marked the beginning of Armenian literature.