Re: Portuguese Language Day (6 May)

Ross Clark <benlizro@ihug.co.nz> wrote:

On 6/05/2024 10:50 p.m., Ross Clark wrote:

"This day was officially established in 2009 by the Community of
Portuguese-speaking Countries, and in 2019 UNESCO made it a world day --
the first time such a status had been given to a language that isn't an
official medium at the United Nations. The case was supportedby two
facts: Portuguese isthe most widely spoken language in the southern
hemisphere, notably in Brazil; and it was a leading language during the
first wave of globalization, introducing loan words into many
languages." (Crystal)
 
No explanation of why this day. Antonio?

 
SORRY! Should be  5 MAY!!
 
Is that easier to answer?

Apparently because it was the day when the ministers of Culture (cringe,
yes) of the CPLP first met officially 🤷

Nobody knows about this day other than the people officially involved with
it.

Personally I find the concept of 'X language day' a bit stupid. What does
it mean for a given language to have a day? Does it mean it's worth more
than the other 7000? I find that very offensive. Does it mean the language
has more global weight? Then it hardly needs a special day, does it.

That's not Ross's fault, of course. I apologise.

 

 
UNESCO, naturally, honours big languages with days. New Zealand has
taken to doing it in weeks, and all the languages so honoured would have
to be called small (if not tiny) on a world scale. It started with Maori
Language Week, quite a few years ago, at a time when the language still
seemed seriously endangered. The week has expanded to a month, but the
language seems to have reached a much healthier state for a variety of
reasons.
 
They have now added Tongan, Samoan, Niuean and some other Pacific
islands from which substantial numbers of immigrants have settled here.
Those immigrant communities have had varying success in keeping their
languages going here.
 
Just recently it was announced that we would have Tok Pisin and Solomons
Pijin weeks in the near future. (I don't know why Bislama was
overlooked.) The actual number of speakers of these in NZ must be even
smaller.
 
Today is the first day of NZ Sign Language Week. NZSL enjoys national-
language status along with Maori, so one can't argue with its inclusion.
One of the special events was an Air NZ flight (maybe just an hour's
sightseeing jaunt) with all deaf passengers and all cabin crew able to
communicate in NZSL.