On the occasion of the International Mother Language Day, which is celebrated this Sunday, February 21, the Office of Linguistic Normalization of the Valencia City Council launches the “It is unique in the world” campaign. It is a video that tells the story, anonymous but shared, of some inhabitants of Valencia who discover the “unique vision in the world” that the Valencian represents within the multi-colored picture of languages in our city.
For the councilor of the Resource Management area, Luisa Notario, “Being bilingual is a privilege and a source of opportunities since it is a gateway to having access to all the cultural wealth that these two languages encompass, to those two worldviews, therefore undoubtedly favors empathy and understanding of the other. “
Through seven voices in different languages (Valencian, Spanish, Romanian, Arabic, French, Italian and Basque), the video highlights the use of one’s own language to guarantee its survival and social presence in a setting in which linguistic diversity has come to stay. For this reason, history encourages the recovery of Valencian as a mother tongue to reverse the linguistic interruption of families that, despite knowing Valencian, have stopped transmitting it and using it with subsequent generations. Likewise, Valencian speakers are encouraged to share this unique vision in the world with the new Valencians who come from other cultures and corners of the planet. How history shows, it is never too late to recover the language and give it away; it all starts with a simple “good morning!”
“On World Mother Language Day, the Valencia City Council launches a very clear message: take care of our mother tongue, because it is valuable, use it, because it is unique.” This is how Luisa Notario expressed it today, who recalled that “I myself, who have Spanish as my mother tongue, am very proud of the language my parents transmitted to me, and I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to learn Valencian, a language that I esteem and that I also make mine “
This campaign comes on the anniversary of the Social Media Cabinet. A year ago, I opened the windows of Instagram, Youtube and Spotify, which were added to that of Facebook. In these 365 days, it has made more than 300 publications of very heterogeneous content in order to spread Valencian to all corners of the city and share it with all citizens: more than 30 music lists on Spotify (thematic, for moments and by genres), about thirty videos about literature on YouTube, educational resources to learn Valencian in a simple and fun way, games and hobbies, information of interest, campaigns to promote Valencian and even humor in Valencian.
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