essay about language month

Buwan ng Wika: Celebrating Filipino Language Month

In many ways, language is both a culmination and an expression of culture. It allows for not only effective communication, but also communication that’s relevant in a given place, time, and context. 

In this article, you’ll learn how people in the Philippines celebrate Buwan ng Wika (Filipino Language Month) and gain some insight into the importance of the Filipino language. 

Let’s get started.

1. What is Filipino Language Month?

For the entire month of August in the Philippines, people celebrate Buwan ng Wika , or Filipino Language Month. This holiday seeks to shed light on the importance of the Filipino language and the pagkakaisa (“unity”) it brought to the country. While the status of the Filipino language in the Philippines is debated, it serves as a marker of pagkakakilanlan (“identity”) for many! 

Before we cover how Filipinos celebrate Filipino Language Month, let’s see a few facts about Buwan ng Wika and the Filipino language. 

1 – Filipino or Tagalog? 

First, let’s clear the air. Are we talking about Filipino or Tagalog here (or any of the other 120+ languages spoken in the Philippines )? 

Many people are unsure of the difference between Tagalog and Filipino, and for good reasons. The thing you need to remember is that Filipino is basically a standardized version of Tagalog , making the two languages extremely similar, with nuanced differences. 

Buwan ng Wika celebrates the Filipino language specifically, though you should also note that most Filipino people speak Tagalog as their second language (and nearly a quarter speak it as their first). 

One of the Philippines’ official languages, Filipino has had a major role in unifying the bansa (“country”) through a more standard language. 

2 – History and Meaning of Buwan ng Wika

Buwan ng Wika was first celebrated in 1946 as a week-long holiday that coincided with the birthday of a famous Tagalog literary artist, Francisco Baltazar . This holiday lasted from late March to early April, though the dates were changed four times! 

In 1997, then-President Fidel V. Ramos signed a Proclamation that the holiday would now be a month-long celebration in August. This new timeframe allowed the holiday to coincide with the birthday and death anniversary of former President Manuel L. Quezon , who’s often labeled “The Father of the Filipino Language.” 

2. Celebrations and Events for Filipino Language Month

On August 1, there’s often a flag-raising ceremony and a speech about the relevance and significance of the Filipino language in modern times. The rest of the month is filled with tons of educational activities and events, usually geared toward children and younger generations. Each year, there’s a new Buwan ng Wika theme, focusing on a specific aspect of the language or kultura (“culture”). 

If you decide to visit the Philippines in August, definitely plan on attending one or more of the special events that take place throughout the country. 

1 – Buwan ng Wika Dance Competitions & Events

In different parts of the country, you’ll likely find a variety of dance competitions and events throughout August. During these events, many Filipinos and Filipinas enjoy doing a fun katutubong sayaw (“folk dance”), though there are also recent trends toward more modern dance styles. 

2 – Balagtasan (“Poetic Debate”)

During Buwan ng Wika, spoken poetry showings and poetic debates are common throughout the Philippines. How better than through a well-crafted tula (“poem”) in one’s language to show appreciation for it? 

In addition to these poetry readings and debates, many students are encouraged to participate in essay competitions. The topic of the essay usually correlates to the year’s theme. 

3 – Exhibits & Parades

There are many art and culture exhibits promoting the Filipino language, culture, and panitikan (“literature”) throughout the country. In addition, there are many parades during August that showcase different aspects of Filipino culture. 

4 – School Programs

Many schools like to get involved with the Buwan ng Wika celebrations, using games and fun lessons to teach students about the Filipino language and culture. 

3. Kuwentong-bayan (“Folk tale”)

Oral storytelling has played a huge part in many cultures, and this is certainly true of the Philippines. There are numerous folk tales of Philippine origin , and during Buwan ng Wika, it’s not uncommon for people to tell these stories among themselves or for an audience. 

You may be familiar with the adage, “Haste makes waste.” Well, there’s a Filipino story with the same general message about the importance of taking your time. 

In this story, a man needs to travel a long distance on horseback with several coconuts in tow. Along the way, he meets a boy and asks him how much longer he’ll need to travel until he reaches the house. The boy tells him that if he travels slowly, he’ll get there early; if he travels quickly, he’ll get there late. Not understanding, the man sped up his horse only to have the coconuts fall off; he gathered them up again, and sped up the horse to the same effect. Because he didn’t take his time, he didn’t reach the house until after dark. 

4. Essential Vocabulary for Filipino Language Month

What better way to celebrate Filipino Language Month than by memorizing a few words? Here’s a list of some of the words from this article! 

• “Language” — Wika [n]
• “Word” — Salita [n]
• “Culture” — Kultura [n]
• “Literature” — Panitikan [n]
• “Poem” — Tula [n]
• “Legend” — Alamat [n]
• “Folk tale” — Kuwentong-bayan [n]
• “Folk dance” — Katutubong sayaw [n]
• “Essay” — Sanaysay [n]
• “Poetic debate” — Balagtasan [n]
• “Unity” — Pagkakaisa [n]
• “Country” — Bansa [n]
• “Identity” — Pagkakakilanlan [n]

Remember that you can find each of these words with audio pronunciations on our Filipino Language Month vocabulary list ! 

Final Thoughts

The development and adoption of the Filipino language was certainly a positive turning point for communication in the Philippines, making Buwan ng Wika a meaningful month for the country. 

What are your thoughts on this holiday, and the Filipino language in general? Does your country have a special holiday to celebrate its official language? Let us know in the comments! 

To continue learning about the Filipino language and culture, check out these free resources from the FilipinoPod101.com blog:

• Internet Slang Words in Filipino That Pinoy Millennials Use
• Learn How to Talk About Your Family in Filipino
• 20 Filipino Angry Phrases, Plus Popular Tagalog Swear Words
• A Guide to Delivering the Perfect Compliment in Tagalog
• Essential Vocabulary for Life Events in Filipino

Whatever your reasons for wanting to learn Filipino or explore life in the Philippines, know that FilipinoPod101 has your back! Create your free lifetime account today and take advantage of our numerous learning tools: themed vocabulary lists, spaced-repetition flashcards, video and audio lessons, and so much more. 

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National Language Month – August 2024

National Language Month is observed in August every year to honor the day the language of the Philippines came into existence and became the primary language of the country. The celebration of National Language Month begins today with a flag-raising ceremony. The yearly event was introduced via trial Proclamation No. 1041, which was signed on February 15, 1997. National Language Month also honors former President Manuel L. Quezon, who was born on August 19, 1878, and is regarded as the Father of the National Language.

History of National Language Month

According to Proclamation No. 1041, signed by former President Fidel V. Ramos on July 15, 1997, August is ‘Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa,’ or National Language Month. The anniversary falls on the birthday of the late President Manuel L. Quezon, recognized as the ‘Father of the Philippine National Language,’ who was born on August 19, 1878.

This highlights to Filipinos the necessity of cherishing one’s native language. We are referred to as stinky, decaying fish if we neglect or forsake them. Language is indeed the heart of a nation; it is a part of one’s identity, and it connects individuals. It’s a tool for us to convey our feelings and thoughts, and there’s nothing more valuable than speaking in your mother tongue and communicating with those who speak the same language.

More than 170 different dialects are spoken in the Philippines, with each region having its distinct dialect expressing its personality and culture. Filipino culture is as varied as its dialects, with diverse traditions, customs, food, and even religions. Ones from the North would speak a distinct dialect than people from the South. As a result, during the Spanish colonial period, no language could unite the entire country. When the Americans arrived and the Philippines became part of the Philippine commonwealth, the 1937 Philippine Constitution declared Filipino, a Tagalog-based variety, to be the official language.

Since then, the Philippines has observed National Language Month in August. In 1997, what began as a one-week festival in 1954 was expanded to a month-long celebration. The festival coincides with the birthday of the Philippines’ second president, Manuel L. Quezon, who is known as the “Father of the Filipino Language” because it was he who unified the country’s various languages. But it’s not just the Tagalog-based Filipino language that’s being praised. National Language Month also commemorates the various indigenous languages in the Philippines to promote, conserve, and encourage the usage of native dialects.

To commemorate the occasion, numerous activities will be held in schools on August 19, which is National Language Day. Filipino declamation competitions, collective oration contests, Filipino essay-writing contests, and the wearing of cultural costumes are examples of these.

National Language Month timeline

The Philippines becomes an independent nation.

Filipino, being the language of most national leaders at the time, including President Manuel Quezon, is declared the official language of the people of the Philippines.

In Grades 1 and 2, vernaculars are employed as languages of instruction; English is the only medium of instruction; and Filipino, the national language, is taught as a topic.

Filipino, which had been the national language, becomes an official language alongside English.

National Language Month FAQ s

What are the languages in the philippines.

The Philippines is home to eight major dialects. Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Tagalog, and Waray are all popular dialects.

What is the longest Filipino word?

With 59 letters, the longest published Tagalog word is ‘pinakanakakapagngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngitngit.’ This compounded term implies to continue fabricating a deception that provokes intense rage while claiming not to.

Is Tagalog or Filipino better to learn?

Because Tagalog is more commonly spoken throughout the Philippines, it is the most practical option for most visitors. This was the first language of Manila and southern Luzon, and most Filipinos, even Bisayans, understand it.

How to Observe National Language Month

Research the language.

You'd be amazed to learn how many common Filipino words have roots in a foreign language. On Philippine Language Month, try identifying these words and learning more about their origins.

Read about some Filipino authors' work

Reading your favorite Philippine language books and authors is the perfect way to commemorate the day. You can also watch Filipino movies.

Volunteer as a language coach

Volunteer to help out at a language learning class. You can teach the language to newbies of different ages and help them improve their speaking skills.

5 Interesting Facts About The Filipino

Tagalog and filipino are not the same.

Many people mistakenly believe that Filipino and Tagalog are the same languages but they are not.

Influence of a foreigner

Najeeb Saleeby, a Lebanese-naturalized American citizen working in the United States to educate Filipinos on self-government, proposed the establishment of a national language from among the existing languages spoken in the country.

A Spanish attraction

As a result of more than 300 years of colonization, approximately 33% of Filipino words are descended from Spanish.

Their identity is defined by their language

As a result of history, the Philippines has been influenced by colonists, resulting in a blending or even a loss of identity.

Some Filipino words have repeated syllables

For some, the Filipino language may be a tongue twister, and many people appear to find it difficult to learn.

Why National Language Month is Important

Celebrating filipino history.

The history of the Philippines’ language is extensive. Learning about the language's past also helps us grasp the politics that have influenced the present world.

Celebrating art and culture

The Filipino language is also used in music, cinema, literature, and other forms of art. National Language Month also recognizes the importance that language has had in the advancement of arts and culture.

Multilingualism is essential

National Language Month is a celebration of multilingualism and acceptance of diversity. The day serves as a reminder to appreciate various groups and cultures, as well as to work together. Language can serve as a link between worlds.

National Language Month dates

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Essay about Language Month And Language Month Activities

Table of Contents

Essay about Language Month

Language month: a celebration of linguistic diversity.

Introduction:

Language is the medium through which humans communicate, express their thoughts, and connect with one another. It shapes our identities, influences how we perceive the world and reflects our unique cultures. Recognizing the significance of language, various countries and organizations around the world have designated a special time called “Language Month” to celebrate linguistic diversity. This essay will describe and explore the essence of Language Month, highlighting its importance in fostering understanding, preserving heritage, and promoting inclusivity.

Paragraph 1:

Language Month is a period dedicated to celebrating the richness and diversity of languages spoken globally. It is a time to recognize that there are thousands of languages around the world, each with its own unique characteristics and cultural significance. From ancient and endangered languages to those spoken by millions daily, this celebration aims to shed light on the beauty and complexity of these diverse tongues.

Paragraph 2:

One of the primary objectives of Language Month is to foster understanding and appreciation of linguistic diversity. Through various activities and initiatives, individuals are encouraged to explore languages different from their own. Language workshops, cultural events, and exchange programs are all integral components of Language Month celebrations. These activities not only promote the learning of new languages but also create opportunities for cultural exchange and intercultural dialogue.

Paragraph 3:

Furthermore, Language Month plays a crucial role in preserving linguistic heritage. Many languages are in danger of extinction due to globalization, migration, and the dominance of certain widely spoken languages. By dedicating time to honoring and highlighting these endangered languages, Language Month draws attention to their importance and strives to preserve them for future generations. It provides a platform for linguistic communities to revitalize their languages through language classes, storytelling, and writing workshops.

Paragraph 4:

Another significant aspect of Language Month is its role in promoting inclusivity. Languages hold immense power and influence, shaping our identities and fostering a sense of belonging. Celebrating Language Month encourages marginalized linguistic communities to embrace their languages and feel a sense of pride in their diverse heritage. It helps combat linguistic discrimination and encourages acceptance of different ways of communication, making society more inclusive and respectful of linguistic differences.

Paragraph 5:

Language Month also emphasizes the importance of multilingualism in today’s interconnected world. Language skills are essential not only for effective communication but also for economic, social, and educational opportunities. By encouraging the learning of multiple languages, Language Month equips individuals with the tools to engage with people from diverse backgrounds, breaking down barriers and building bridges between cultures.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Language Month serves as a vital reminder of the immense value of linguistic diversity. It provides a platform to celebrate, learn, and preserve languages, promoting intercultural understanding, inclusivity, and respect. In a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected, Language Month plays a crucial role in fostering global citizenship and appreciation for the beautiful tapestry of languages that enrich our lives. Let us embrace linguistic diversity and celebrate Language Month as a reminder of the power, beauty, and significance of language in shaping our world.

Essay About Language Month Activities

Language Month is a month-long celebration of language and linguistics observed annually in many countries around the world. It serves as a platform to highlight the importance of language diversity, promote language learning, and celebrate the rich tapestry of cultures that exist within our global community. Throughout this special month, various activities are organized to foster appreciation for different languages and encourage linguistic exploration. This essay describes some of the exciting Language Month activities that take place, creating a vibrant atmosphere of multiculturalism and language learning.

One of the primary Language Month activities is language fairs and exhibitions. These provide an opportunity for individuals of all ages to explore different languages and cultures through interactive displays, workshops, and demonstrations. Language enthusiasts gather to showcase their native languages, offering attendees a chance to learn basic phrases, greetings, and popular conversational expressions. From Mandarin to Arabic, French to Swahili, visitors can immerse themselves in the sounds, scripts, and nuances of diverse linguistic traditions. The language fairs also encourage attendees to engage in cultural activities, such as traditional dance performances, music recitals, and gastronomic delights, enhancing the overall experience.

Another captivating Language Month activity is language-themed film festivals and documentary screenings. These showcase a multitude of films that depict the power and beauty of language. People gather in cinemas or open-air venues to watch carefully curated movies from different parts of the world, each with its own distinct language and flavor. These screenings provide a glimpse into the lives of speakers of various languages and through compelling narratives, help viewers develop a deeper understanding of different cultures. Afterward, language enthusiasts engage in lively discussions, sharing their interpretations and insights about the films, fostering a sense of unity through language appreciation.

Language competitions and linguistic quizzes are also popular during Language Month. Both students and adults participate in language quizzes, testing their knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, idioms, and cultures. These friendly competitions encourage participants to explore beyond their linguistic comfort zone, motivating them to learn new languages and broaden their horizons. The quizzes not only ignite a sense of healthy competition but also serve as an educational tool to raise awareness about lesser-known languages and encourage their preservation.

Language immersion camps are another captivating language month activity. These camps provide participants with a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a specific language for an extended period. Attendees interact with native speakers, participate in language-based activities, and engage in conversations entirely in the target language. These camps not only enhance communication skills but also foster cultural appreciation and understanding. Participants leave the camp with improved linguistic competence, a deeper connection to the language, and a broader perspective on the world’s linguistic diversity.

Lastly, language month celebrations often culminate in multicultural language festivals. These grand events bring together people from various ethnic backgrounds, showcasing their languages and cultures through mesmerizing performances, vibrant costumes, and traditional art exhibits. The festivals create an atmosphere of unity and inclusion, promoting intercultural dialogue and fostering connections among individuals from different linguistic communities. Attendees get to witness the beauty of cultural diversity, appreciate the richness of human expression, and embrace the importance of preserving and learning different languages.

In conclusion, Language Month activities provide a remarkable platform for promoting language diversity, linguistic exploration, and cultural appreciation. Through language fairs, film festivals, language competitions, immersion camps, and multicultural language festivals, individuals can foster a deeper understanding of different cultures and languages. These activities encourage people from various backgrounds to come together, celebrate their linguistic heritage, and promote the preservation and learning of languages. Language Month serves as a reminder that language is an essential aspect of our identity, connecting us to our roots while opening doors to new horizons.

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Language month in the Philippines

(Image credit: Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino)

August is celebrated in the Philippines as Buwan ng Wika (language month).

This celebration began in 1946, shortly after the then Philippine President Manuel Quezon declared Tagalog as the basis for the creation of a national language (later termed Filipino). Initially, the annual events celebrated the unification of the archipelago of 183 languages through the national language. More recently, the focus has been on recognizing and celebrating the many languages of the Philippines.

This year’s theme declares Filipino at mga Wikang Katutubo sa Dekolonisasyon ng Pag-iisip ng mga Pilipino (Filipino and other Indigenous languages for the decolonization of the Filipino people’s way of thinking). This theme is an extension of UNESCO’s declaration of 2019 as the Year of Indigenous Languages and points to the upcoming decade of action for the world’s Indigenous Peoples and Languages.

The Special Broadcasting Services (SBS) in Australia, particularly it’s SBS Filipino segment, also celebrates Buwan ng Wika. It’s a way to pay homage to Filipino migrants in Australia.

For this year’s Buwan ng Wika, I have been interviewed by Nikki Alfonso-Gregorio about naming practices in the Philippines. You can listen to the interview here .

Before colonization, only given names were common and surnames were not formalized. These given names were based on nature, and cultural and spiritual beliefs. This is still true of given names today, although other themes have been added, including those that reflect love of God, love of family, love of literature and the entertainment industry, and love for creativity.

Family names arrived in the Philippines with the Claveria decree of 1849, which required Filipinos to adopt family names. To learn more, head over to the SBS website .

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Author Loy Lising

Dr Loy Lising is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University and a Fellow with the Higher Education Academy. Previously, she was Lecturer and Program Director for the Master of Crosscultural Communication program at the Department of Linguistics at the University of Sydney. She is a sociolinguist whose research interests focus on multilingual practices in multilingual ecologies employing both ethnographic and corpus approaches. She has lectured, published, and consulted in this area.

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English Language Day

English Language Day is celebrated on 23 April. Read about where English came from, how it came to be spoken all over the world and how it is changing.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the article and do the exercises.

Preparation

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What is English Language Day?

English Language Day was first celebrated in 2010, alongside Arabic Language Day, Chinese Language Day, French Language Day, Russian Language Day and Spanish Language Day. These are the six official languages of the United Nations, and each has a special day, designed to raise awareness of the history, culture and achievements of these languages.

Why is English Language Day celebrated on 23 April?

This day was chosen because it is thought to be Shakespeare's birthday, and the anniversary of his death. As well as being the English language's most famous playwright, Shakespeare also had a huge impact on modern-day English. At the time he was writing, in the 16th and 17th centuries, the English language was going through a lot of changes and Shakespeare's creativity with language meant he contributed hundreds of new words and phrases that are still used today. For example, the words 'gossip', 'fashionable' and 'lonely' were all first used by Shakespeare. He also invented phrases like 'break the ice', 'all our yesterdays', 'faint-hearted' and 'love is blind'. Can you guess what they mean?

The origins of English

The story of the English language began in the fifth century when Germanic tribes invaded Celtic-speaking Britain and brought their languages with them. Later, Scandinavian Vikings invaded and settled with their languages too. In 1066 William I, from modern-day France, became king, and Norman-French became the language of the courts and official activity. People couldn’t understand each other at first, because the lower classes continued to use English while the upper classes spoke French, but gradually French began to influence English. An estimated 45 per cent of all English words have a French origin. By Shakespeare's time, Modern English had developed, printing had been invented and people had to start to agree on 'correct' spelling and vocabulary.

The spread of English

The spread of English all over the world has an ugly history but a rich and vibrant present. During the European colonial period, several European countries, including England, competed to expand their empires. They stole land, labour and resources from people across Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania. By the time former British colonies began to gain independence in the mid-20th century, English had become established in their institutions. Many brilliant writers from diverse places across Africa, the Caribbean and Asia had started writing in English, telling their stories of oppression. People from all over the world were using English to talk and write about justice, equality, freedom and identity from their own perspectives. The different varieties of English created through this history of migration and colonisation are known as World Englishes.

International English

More than 1.75 billion people speak English worldwide – that's around 1 in 4 people around the world. English is being used more and more as a way for two speakers with different first languages to communicate with each other, as a 'lingua franca'. For many people, the need to communicate is much more important than the need to sound like a native speaker. As a result, language use is starting to change. For example, speakers might not use 'a' or 'the' in front of nouns, or they might make uncountable nouns plural and say 'informations', 'furnitures' or 'co-operations'.

Are these variations mistakes? Or part of the natural evolution of different Englishes? 'International English' refers to the English that is used and developed by everyone in the world, and doesn't just belong to native speakers. There is a lot of debate about whether International English should be standardised and, if so, how. What do you think? If you're reading this, English is your language too.

http://www.un.org/en/events/englishlanguageday/

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Who do you speak English with?

Language level

English is a basic need for every human to learn now a days. this created a history in India by IT companies as basic language to enter in to IT companies. Many countries speak English as well as if we reach other countries we can easily survive by knowing English.

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I speak English with some of my friends, and most of my English teachers. I’d say my English level is pretty high for someone that lives in Turkey, so I’m pretty happy about that.

I agree with that. The main goal for people for which english isnt their mother language is to communicate with other person, they dont want to sound like native speaker. We live in times when anybody looks on your english level and how your words in english sounds. As I mentioned, they crucial reason to learn english is to make a deal, not to change a mother language on English.

I hope to improve my English skills about listening,reading,speaking and writing in order to get a good salary job when I go back to Shanghai. I must be work hard than young,practice practice and practice until I can use English with confidence!

Now I try to learn English. I practise english everyday. I practise speaking, listening and writing on this website. I think that this website is useful and help me a lot in studying English. I think that B2 level is suitable for me. I can understand what I read, but sometimes listening is a bit difficult for me. I have to listen the audio twice at least to understand it.

I generally speak English with my friend. when I started learning the English language it was difficult for me. in my starting journey, I spoke English in front of the mirror and with objects. I didn't make it a proper sentence so it's hard to speak in front of anyone. after one year of my journey, I tried to speak with my best friend he always supports me whenever I did mistakes he corrected my mistake. still, I'm learning English because every language takes time

Amazing! I like learning English and it makes me feel good.

Actually I don have a lot of people who speak English with, because I live in a Spanish-speaking country, but my wife and I try to communicate each other in English dayly. We chat and text all the time, and at the end of the day we speak a little. This way we improve our knowledge.

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National Language Month in the Philippines

Filipinos have this famous saying:

“Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, mahigit pa sa hayop at malansang isda” “Who does not love his own tongue is far worse than a brute or a stinking fish.”

This serves as a reminder to us, Filipinos, of the importance of valuing one’s native language. If we forget or abandon it, we are compared to a stinking decaying fish. Language is the soul of a nation; a part of one’s identity; and it binds people together. It’s a tool to express our feelings and thoughts and there’s nothing more precious than speaking in your own native tongue and communicating with people who share the same language.

The Philippines has more than 170 languages and dialects, each region has its own different dialects with each dialect reflecting its own identity and subculture. The Filipino culture is as diverse as its dialects, with different traditions, beliefs, food, and even religions. The people from the North would speak different dialects from the peoples of the South. Thus, during the Spanish colonisation, there was no language that would unify the whole country.

When the Americans came and the Philippines was under the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the 1937 Philippine Constitution identified Filipino, a Tagalog-based dialect, as the national language.

Every August since then, the Philippines celebrates National Language Month. What started as a one-week celebration in 1954 was extended to a month-long celebration in 1997. The celebration coincides with the birthday of the second president of the Philippines, Manuel L. Quezon, who is considered as the Father of Filipino Language because it was during his term that he unified the different dialects in the Philippines.

However, it’s not only the Tagalog-based Filipino Language that is being celebrated. To promote, preserve, and encourage the use of native dialects, National Language Month also celebrates the different indigenous dialects in the Philippines.

To celebrate the event, various activities are being held in schools on 19 August which is the National Language Day. These include Filipino declamation contests, group oration, Filipino essay-writing contest, and the wearing of national costumes.

Buwan ng Wika

“Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, ay mahigit pa sa hayop at malansang isda”

“Who does not love his own tongue is for worse than a brute or stinking fish”

Ito ay nagsisilbing paalala sa atin ng kahalagahan ng pagbibigay importansya sa sariling wika, at kung wala ito, mawawalan tayo ng sariling pagkakakilalan at ang mas masahol pa ay tayo ay maihahalintulad sa malansang isda: nabubulok.

Ang lengguwahe ay ang diwa ng isang bansa.  Ito ang nagbubuklod sa atin at isang paraan upang maiparating natin ang ating nararamdaman at kaisipan.  Wala ring hihigit pa sa pakiramdam na tayo ay makakapag-usap sa mga taong kahalintulad natin sa lengguwahe.

Ang Pilipinas ay mayroon 130-187 na dialekto. Bawat isang rehiyon ay mayroong ibat-ibang mga dialekto at bawat isang dialekto ay sumasalamin ng kaniyang pagkakakilanlan at kultura. Ang kulturang Pilipino ay kasing-lawak ng kanyang mga dialekto. Bawat isa ay may sariling sinusunod na tradisyon, paniniwala, pagkain at maski relihiyon. Ang mga taong mula sa hilaga ay iba ang salita sa mga taong mula sa timog. Kaya naman noong panahon ng mga Kastila, walang lengguahe na magbubuklod sa buong bansa.

Noong dumating ang mga Amerikano at ang Pilipinas ay sumailalim sa Commonwealth, itinalaga ng 1937 Philippine Constitution na ang opisyal na lengguahe ng bansa ay Filipino, na hango sa Tagalog na dialekto.

Magmula noon, tuwing Agosto, ipinagdiwang ng Pilipinas ang Buwan ng Wika. Ipinagdiwang ito sa loob ng isang linggo noong 1954 ngunit noong 1997,  sinimulang ipagdiwang ito ng buong buwan. Ang pagdiriwang ay isinabay sa kaarawan ni Manuel L. Quezon, na kinikilalang Ama ng Wikang Filipino sapagka’t  sa termino niya bilang presidente nagkaroon ng pagkakaisa ang mga dialekto ng Pilipinas.

Ngunit hindi lamang ang wikang Filipino na hango sa dialektong Tagalog ang ipinagdiriwang. Upang itaguyod, mapanatili at himukin ang paggamit ng mga ibat ibang dialekto ng Pilipinas, ipinagdiriwang din ng Buwan ng Wika ang mga katutubong dialekto ng Pilipinas.

Sari-saring mga aktibidad ang ginagawa upang ipagdiwang ang Buwan ng Wika, tulad ng mga declamation contests, group oration, pagsulat ng mga essay sa Filipino at pagsuot ng mga katutubong damit tuwing 19 ng Agosto na syang tinaguriang Araw ng Wika.

Learn some basic Filipino words by watching these short instructional videos.

Counting in Filipino

Learn how to count and show your family and friends that you can count in Filipino

Expert level : Teach someone older how to count in Filipino

Learn the colours in Filipino

Learn the different colours in Filipino and practice what you learned by naming the colours inside your house.

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• Filipino eMagazines and newspapers are available through PressReader. Read  Filipino language newspapers .

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Language festival: a celebration of cultural and linguistic diversity

The festival launching on 17 October aims to build on the growing momentum behind language learning

Cultural diversity and learning will be celebrated this month in the UK’s second annual national Language Festival .

The festival, which launches on 17 October, brings together students, teachers and the wider public in an exploration of a multilingual society.

It comes amid renewed concerns that not enough pupils are taking qualifications in foreign languages. Entries for A-level French and German fell by more than half between 1996 and 2012, while the numbers taking a language GCSE also plummeted. In 2001, eight out of 10 teenagers took a language GCSE, but this had dropped to 40% by 2010.

A rash of government policies have been introduced to tackle the problem – including changes to league table measurements that encourage schools to teach students languages at GCSE level. Such initiatives have had some effect, but are yet to filter through to A-level students or university education.

In September, the government introduced a new curriculum to target the problem, which included making languages a compulsory element of primary school learning, but the impact has yet to be seen.

Olivett Asare, event manager at Language Show Live , which is launching the event in Olympia London, says: “Languages have never been so important for the UK - for the economy, for students and for professionals who are looking to compete in a global economy.

“We’re not really competing with the rest of Europe at all. With the rise of languages such as Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin, the idea that if you speak English you’ll be OK is redundant.”

But he adds that there has been some progress: “I think the tide is turning with languages. We’ve started to see the right messages and the right kind of support for languages being encouraged.”

Asare hopes the festival will help build on a growing momentum behind language learning, and the importance of recognising the country’s diverse communities.

“A festival like this brings out the wealth of languages that are spoken in the UK,” he says. “Even just in London, 300 different languages are spoken. Hopefully this will galvanise people’s interest.

“Last year, in the main arena of the festival, we had Japanese drumming, belly dancing, Russian folk singing and martial arts. This year we’ve got a languages in literature forum, where we’re looking at how languages connect to literature, and we’ve got a technology zone, examining how people are learning languages with new technologies.”

Professor Roger Kain, vice-president for research and higher education policy at the British Academy, says the festival will be aimed at anyone with an interest in languages, with a special focus on immigration at the public event and conference.

Kain says the festival aimed to “promote greater cultural awareness and tolerance among individuals and wider society”. He adds: “As the world becomes more interconnected, foreign language skills are vital for ensuring that our education and research base is globally competitive.

“This year’s festival includes online resources and activities, as well as events exploring the cognitive, economic, social and cultural benefits of a multilingual society.”

The festival will include a series of events and comment, plus online Q&As and a social media campaign. Schools, students, teachers and parents have been invited to get involved with the language festival.

If you are interested in language learning, get involved with the discussion on #languagesdebate or find out here how you can take part in the Language Festival this month.

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National Language Month Celebration: Success Amidst Pandemic

by [email protected] | Aug 6, 2022 | Lingayen , Student Events | 0 comments

The Pangasinan State University (PSU) successfully conducted last year’s celebration of the National Language Month (Buwan ng Wika) with the theme: “Filipino at mga Wikang Katutubo sa Dekolonisasyon ng Pag-iisip ng mga Filipino”. The celebration emphasized the importance of the Filipino language and other cultural languages in raising the awareness of Filipino people in being free from colonial influences.

The limited circumstance caused by the pandemic didn’t become a hindrance for the students, teachers and every Filipino in honoring the country’s national language. Given the situation, the social media became the main platform of the said event. One of the main highlights of the celebration was the Tertulyang Pang-wika held last August 23, 2021. The PSU together with the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF), catered this event through a webinar via zoom and facebook live. Dr. Arthur P. Cassanova, Chairman of KWF was the speaker of the said event. In his talk, he emphasized the role of the national and cultural languages in our society. He also inculcated that colonial mentality should be washed away from the heart and minds of every Filipino. Hence, we need to develop our own identity and culture.

A culminating activity called “Bigkis” was also held last August 31, 2021 organized by the teachers and students of Pangasinan State University that graced the victorious celebration of the National Language Month.

Prior to the said events, the Pangasinan State University Lingayen Campus conducted various activities and competitions for the celebration of the National Language Month. Through the collective efforts done by the Kapisanan ng mga Mag-aaral sa Filipino, the activities were successfully administered via social media platforms such as Facebook. Significant and trivial information were shared online to raise the awareness of the students with regards to the national language (Filipino), cultural languages or dialects, as well as the cultures of the Filipino as a whole. These include SIWALAT SALITA- Ilocano and Pangasinan vocabulary; WIKAALAMAN – tackled the history of Filipino language; BONIKEW at BUBURTIA – Pangasinan and Ilocano riddles; and TIKTOKAWIKAAN – tiktok videos about the national language. The students were also able to show their skills and capabilities in different competitions such as TULATHALA (poem writing), BAYBAYIN BUHAYIN (slogan making through baybayin), TINTALATA (essay writing) and MEMESTORY (memes that shows culture and realities in Filipino society). The winners of the said competitions were given prizes and certificates of recognition. It was indeed a successful celebration of the National Language Month.

The students, as well as the teachers were still able to actively participate despite the limited situation faced by the schools and universities. This only proves that the Filipino language and culture will always have a place in the hearts and minds of every Filipino. The annual month-long conduct of Buwan ng Wika is not just a mere celebration but rather, it is about understanding and appreciating the worth of our culture and national language. Having said that, may we always find courage to stand for our identity.

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Essays About Language: Top 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

Language is the key to expressive communication; let our essay examples and writing prompts inspire you if you are writing essays about language.

When we communicate with one another, we use a system called language. It mainly consists of words, which, when combined, form phrases and sentences we use to talk to one another. However, some forms of language do not require written or verbal communication, such as sign language. 

Language can also refer to how we write or say things. For example, we can speak to friends using colloquial expressions and slang, while academic writing demands precise, formal language. Language is a complex concept with many meanings; discover the secrets of language in our informative guide.

5 Top Essay Examples

1. a global language: english language by dallas ryan , 2. language and its importance to society by shelly shah, 3. language: the essence of culture by kelsey holmes.

• 4.  Foreign Language Speech by Sophie Carson
• 5. ​​Attitudes to Language by Kurt Medina

1. My Native Language

2. the advantages of bilingualism, 3. language and technology, 4. why language matters, 5. slang and communication, 6. english is the official language of the u.s..

“Furthermore, using English, people can have more friends, widen peer relationships with foreigners and can not get lost. Overall, English becomes a global language; people may have more chances in communication. Another crucial advantage is improving business. If English was spoken widespread and everyone could use it, they would likely have more opportunities in business. Foreign investments from rich countries might be supported to the poorer countries.”

In this essay, Ryan enumerates both the advantages and disadvantages of using English; it seems that Ryan proposes uniting the world under the English language. English, a well-known and commonly-spoken language can help people to communicate better, which can foster better connections with one another. However, people would lose their native language and promote a specific culture rather than diversity. Ultimately, Ryan believes that English is a “global language,” and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages

“Language is a constituent element of civilization. It raised man from a savage state to the plane which he was capable of reaching. Man could not become man except by language. An essential point in which man differs from animals is that man alone is the sole possessor of language. No doubt animals also exhibit certain degree of power of communication but that is not only inferior in degree to human language, but also radically diverse in kind from it.”

Shah writes about the meaning of language, its role in society, and its place as an institution serving the purposes of the people using it. Most importantly, she writes about why it is necessary; the way we communicate through language separates us as humans from all other living things. It also carries individual culture and allows one to convey their thoughts. You might find our list of TOEFL writing topics helpful.

“Cultural identity is heavily dependent on a number of factors including ethnicity, gender, geographic location, religion, language, and so much more.  Culture is defined as a “historically transmitted system of symbols, meanings, and norms.”  Knowing a language automatically enables someone to identify with others who speak the same language.  This connection is such an important part of cultural exchange”

In this short essay, Homes discusses how language reflects a person’s cultural identity and the importance of communication in a civilized society. Different communities and cultures use specific sounds and understand their meanings to communicate. From this, writing was developed. Knowing a language makes connecting with others of the same culture easier. 

4.   Foreign Language Speech by Sophie Carson

“Ultimately, learning a foreign language will improve a child’s overall thinking and learning skills in general, making them smarter in many different unrelated areas. Their creativity is highly improved as they are more trained to look at problems from different angles and think outside of the box. This flexible thinking makes them better problem solvers since they can see problems from different perspectives. The better thinking skills developed from learning a foreign language have also been seen through testing scores.”

Carson writes about some of the benefits of learning a foreign language, especially during childhood. During childhood, the brain is more flexible, and it is easier for one to learn a new language in their younger years. Among many other benefits, bilingualism has been shown to improve memory and open up more parts of a child’s brain, helping them hone their critical thinking skills. Teaching children a foreign language makes them more aware of the world around them and can open up opportunities in the future.

5. ​​ Attitudes to Language by Kurt Medina

“Increasingly, educators are becoming aware that a person’s native language is an integral part of who that person is and marginalizing the language can have severe damaging effects on that person’s psyche. Many linguists consistently make a case for teaching native languages alongside the target languages so that children can clearly differentiate among the codes”

As its title suggests, Medina’s essay revolves around different attitudes towards types of language, whether it be vernacular language or dialects. He discusses this in the context of Caribbean cultures, where different dialects and languages are widespread, and people switch between languages quickly. Medina mentions how we tend to modify the language we use in different situations, depending on how formal or informal we need to be. 

6 Prompts for Essays About Language

In your essay, you can write about your native language. For example, explain how it originated and some of its characteristics. Write about why you are proud of it or persuade others to try learning it. To add depth to your essay, include a section with common phrases or idioms from your native language and explain their meaning.

Bilingualism has been said to enhance a whole range of cognitive skills, from a longer attention span to better memory. Look into the different advantages of speaking two or more languages, and use these to promote bilingualism. Cite scientific research papers and reference their findings in your essay for a compelling piece of writing.

In the 21st century, the development of new technology has blurred the lines between communication and isolation; it has undoubtedly changed how we interact and use language. For example, many words have been replaced in day-to-day communication by texting lingo and slang. In addition, technology has made us communicate more virtually and non-verbally. Research and discuss how the 21st century has changed how we interact and “do language” worldwide, whether it has improved or worsened. 

We often change how we speak depending on the situation; we use different words and expressions. Why do we do this? Based on a combination of personal experience and research, reflect on why it is essential to use appropriate language in different scenarios.

Different cultures use different forms of slang. Slang is a type of language consisting of informal words and expressions. Some hold negative views towards slang, saying that it degrades the language system, while others believe it allows people to express their culture. Write about whether you believe slang should be acceptable or not: defend your position by giving evidence either that slang is detrimental to language or that it poses no threat.

English is the most spoken language in the United States and is used in government documents; it is all but the country’s official language. Do you believe the government should finally declare English the country’s official language? Research the viewpoints of both sides and form a conclusion; support your argument with sufficient details and research. 

Check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays .If you’re stuck picking your next essay topic, check out our guide on how to write an essay about diversity .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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Buwan ng Wika or Linggo ng Wika: What do we celebrate?

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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

The latest ruling in terms of assigning a National Language celebration in the country,  Proclamation 1041 , says we should have a month-long celebration. 

Signed by President Fidel Ramos in 1997, the proclamation sets a  Buwan ng Wika  celebration every August. This celebration is to coincide with the birth anniversary of former President Manuel Quezon, known as Ama ng Wikang Pambansa , who was born on August 19, 1878.

Before the 1997 proclamation, however, the celebration was limited to a week. For the longest time, the country celebrated Linggo ng Wika,  which started August 13 and ended on August 19, Quezon’s birthday.

In 1955, President Ramon Magsaysay signed Proclamation 186 , which set  Linggo ng Wika  every August 13 to 19. He moved the celebration from the March-April schedule originally set by President Sergio Osmeña in 1946 and 1954.

Magsaysay moved the dates since the original celebration is a period “outside of the school year, thereby precluding the participation of schools in its celebration.”

In 1988, President Corazon Aquino signed Proclamation 19, which ratified the celebration of the Linggo ng Wika every August 13 to 19. The week-long celebration was observed until Ramos extended it to a month starting 1997. – Rappler.com

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Welcome to the United Nations

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ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY

21 Feb 2020

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Tijjani Muhammad Bande, President of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

21 February 2020

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be here today to take part in the celebration of the International Mother Language Day, which has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

As an important aspect of our respective cultures, mother languages proudly occupy a very prominent place. They are the first media that translate the meaning of the world and facilitate children’s understanding of their environment.

I thank the United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for launching the global celebration in 2000. I also thank all member states of the General Assembly for resolving, through successive GA Resolutions, to promote, preserve and protect all languages across the globe, including those facing extinction. 

In the same manner, I thank the distinguished Permanent Representative of Bangladesh for providing the leadership that has climaxed with today’s celebration. I would urge that we continue to promote mother languages as part of our work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Quality Education and Inclusion are some of my priorities for the 74 th Session. While quality education is critical to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, inclusion lays emphasis on those aspects of human development that are fundamental to fostering unity in diversity, collaboration, understanding and partnership. The recognition and promotion of mother languages gives minority language speakers greater sense of belonging.

Excellencies,      

At the beginning of this Decade of Action and Delivery for Sustainable Development, promoting linguistic and cultural diversity contributes to our overall delivery of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, and ensuring that no one is left behind.

The theme for this year’s commemoration, the promotion of cross border and shared languages, has further reinforced obligations to promote multilateralism as the basis for fostering solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.

Globalization has become an integral aspect of our present-day reality. With increased migration, promoting mother languages helps to create positive intercultural impact and enhance economic development, especially as people are connected though common heritage and resonating a distinct unity of purpose.

This also highlights the importance of fraternity of languages and cultures in building more peaceful, tolerant, and inclusive societies. Indeed, absent multilingualism, there will be little left for meaningful multilateralism.

Considering this declining pocket of cultures on the verge of extinction, I am of the view that the global community must redouble its efforts to promote mother languages. Recent researches have pointed to the declining usage of many mother languages, particularly as people adopt more widely spoken languages around the regions they find themselves. This is accentuated by the growing trends of digitalization and internet, as well as influence of social media.

We need to rededicate and recommit to the teachings of mother languages in schools in order to address the suppression of cultural identities and heritage.  We have technologies that can help us revive and even develop languages. We should deploy them to those ends.

I am glad to say that in this respect, the UN has clearly provided the lead by underscoring in 2018 that linguistic diversity and multilingualism are a must for sustainable development at this time when many languages are dying at an alarming rate.

President of the UN General Assembly

I leave you with a quote from the renowned United States linguist, Anthony Aristar who remarked that:

“…. A language is not just words or grammar, it is a web of history that binds people together, all the knowledge they imparted to their descendants …. and when a language dies, it is the same as when species dies”. 

I urge you to take this instructive viewpoint as an inspiration to uphold and protect our mother languages from extinction.

I thank you.

United Nations

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Why I Write: An Essay on Language, Writing and Identity

Author’s Memo

This autoethnographic essay offers a musing on the intricate relationship between language, writing and identity through an autoethnographic account of my reading and writing experience from childhood to present day, and from China to the UK via Australia and Germany. It explores how language and writing shape our identities, and how identities are negotiated in social and cultural contexts. Although we are born into languages and social structures beyond our individual control, we can still exercise some agency in choosing how to use the language, what identities we prioritise and how we live our lives. Through language and writing, I have been able to negotiate my own identity in relation to social structures and historical circumstances. Perhaps it is this recognition of individual agency that offers us a sense of hope during and through uncertain times.

Why do I write? I write academic articles and scholarly books as part of my job. But what has attracted me to writing other genres such as poetry, short stories, and creative nonfiction? The most straightforward answer is that my writing is driven by the desire to express myself, especially when living in a foreign country as a member of the queer Chinese diaspora and to help pull myself through a global pandemic. But I can also recall other reasons and scenarios that have led me to unexpected directions in my writing career. My love for books and my passion for writing probably started when I was as a child, in Inner Mongolia.

Writing in a Cold Climate

I grew up in Inner Mongolia, the Chinese part of the Mongolia on the China-Russia border. I remember the Gobi Desert which stretched for miles without end. Not many plants grew there except for the jujube trees and goji berry plants. Children loved climbing up the jujube trees in autumn to get delicious jujubes. I remember the Yellow River whose muddy water, mixed with sand and earth, glittered under the sun.

On the river there was a power station designed by Soviet Union experts but completed by the Chinese after the Soviet Union experts had retreated due to the break-up of the Sino-USSR diplomatic relationship in the 1950s. I remember the tall oil rigs whose spires reached high into the sky and I also recall a dark-lit rock sample storage house which an old man I called yeye (grandpa) kindly let me into; he told me fascinating stories about these magical stones from the depth of the earth.  

‘I grew up in Inner Mongolia, the Chinese part of the Mongolia on the China-Russia border.

My parents were han migrants to that region. They worked for a state-run oil exploration company and, like other workers, would follow the country’s instructions to go wherever crude oil was available. The adults had come from different parts of the country, and they spoke different dialects and accents. But the children had mostly adopted putonghua , or standard Mandarin, as their first language and lingua franca . Not to pick up a dialect or accent was the advice given by my parents although they spoke putonghua with accents.

My family didn’t have relatives in Inner Mongolia, and that saved me the trouble of learning the complex Chinese vocabulary for uncles and aunts. The four-people family – consisting of my parents, sister and myself – lived alone and lonely without an extended family, in Inner Mongolia; that was a special life experience. In a sense, we were modern nomads growing up in a multicultural, migrant community, having no strong sense of hometown and learning to make home where life took us. These childhood experiences and attitudes toward home would later inform my life trajectory and attitudes towards the home.

‘The four-people family – consisting of my parents, sister and myself – lived alone and lonely without an extended family, in Inner Mongolia; that was a special life experience.

My parents were ordinary workers, and both had only finished secondary school. There were not many books at home at the beginning. The only books I could find was Mao’s red book or the collected works of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, which no one at the time had any interest in reading. The Culture Revolution had finished, and Mao had passed away before my birth, so I was spared from the highly ideological education my parents once had.

My father subscribed to Dazhong dianying (Popular Cinema), a monthly film magazine with some coloured, glossy page inserts. My mother was a self-made tailor and would make some of our clothes based on the cut-outs from the Shizhuang (Fashion) magazine. At some point, the family also subscribed to Shaonian wenxue bao (Children’s Literary Monthly) to support my interest in literature. My parents were not well-off, but they did what they could afford to give me and my sister a decent literary education outside the school system.

‘There were not many books at home at the beginning. The only books I could find was Mao’s red book or the collected works of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, which no one at the time had the interest of reading.

As I entered secondary school, I started to read books in my spare time. I tried the ‘Four Chinese Classics’ – four novels considered to represent the highest achievements in classical Chinese literature and I wasn’t interested in, or couldn’t understand much of, the other three books, but the story about the Money King in Journey to the West immediately captured my attention. I imagined myself developing a magic power to fly in the air, to shapeshift at my own free will, and to fight monsters and help poor people and I was also fascinated by Western literature translated into Chinese. The local Xinhua Bookstore had a ‘foreign literature’ section, and that was where I spent most of the weekends and my pocket money.

Over time, I completed an eclectic reading list, such as And Quiet Flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, How the Steel was Tempered byNikolai Ostrovsky, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, The Gadfly by Ethel Voynich, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo, The Red and The Black by Stendhal, The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe , The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

‘My greatest achievement was the acquisition of the four-volume Chinese translation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace from a schoolmate’s parents.

From today’s perspective, this would seem a strange reading list for a teenager, but it represented what I could find at the time. My greatest achievement was the acquisition of the four-volume Chinese translation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace from a schoolmate’s parents. I didn’t quite understand why they gave me the books, but they simply said I could keep them, knowing that I loved books. I was beyond excitement. For weeks I would sit in bed overnight with an electric torch, moved by the love story between Pierre and Natasha. The book was printed in traditional Chinese characters, frequently interrupted by dialogues in French, but that didn’t affect my enthusiasm. I couldn’t understand the historical background depicted in the novel but that didn’t matter. It was Pierre and Natasha that I cared about the most.

‘… ‘Four Chinese Classics’ – four novels considered to represent the highest achievements in classical Chinese literature.

I was terribly shy and introvert at the time and stuttered when I spoke in class. One of my schoolteachers even suspected that I had a speech problem. Also, I suffered from a strong inferiority complex. By that time, I had already realized that my family was poor, and we couldn’t afford, nor should I ask for, many things that other school children possessed. The pair of sneakers I wore was old and yellow, and every weekend I had to paint the surface with white chalk because the PE teacher required pupils to wear white sneakers.

My maths was terribly bad. Reading and writing was the only thing I could do well, and that would give me some confidence. When other kids were playing games, I was reading books. This probably didn’t help my eyesight, as I had high myopia and had to wear thick glasses. But it did give me access to a fantasy world where I could forget who and where I was.

‘When other kids were playing games, I was reading books… But it did give me access to a fantasy world where I could forget who and where I was.

At the same time, I started to write poems and essays. I sent some of my poems and prose to local newspapers and youth literary magazines. To my surprise, some of them got accepted and subsequently published. I even started writing a novel centering on the life of a middle-aged man. I didn’t know why I had decided to write about him, but I suppose most of the novels I had read had a middle-aged male character. As a teenager, I was probably trying to imagine what I could be when growing up. I didn’t finish the novel, largely because I didn’t have the life experience, and the writing skill, required to tell the story. My biggest achievement at the time was to win the third prize of a national writing competition for young people.

The writing brief was to narrate the journey of a letter, perhaps because the competition was sponsored by the China Post. I wrote about the transnational journey of a letter, told by the letter from a first-person point of view. The letter traveled by train, ship and air from China to waiguo (an unnamed foreign country) – except that I had never been on a ship or a plane before. I remember attending a prize awarding ceremony in front of the whole school on a chilly Spring morning a few months later, wearing my mother’s handmade sailor-style jacket, and reading out a speech thanking everyone else but myself. My hands and voice were trembling because of the cold and nervousness. That was my first public speech in front of a large crowd. I was eleven years old at the time.

‘The writing prize gave me more confidence in writing; it made me treat writing more seriously.

The writing prize gave me more confidence in writing; it made me treat writing more seriously. It also led to opportunities such as being appointed as an editor of the school newspaper and being invited to contribute to the local newspaper. Making penfriends by exchanging handwritten letters was popular in the 1980s China. I made a penfriend with a boy of my age from South China’s Jiangsu Province. We both loved writing, and each handwritten letter was a thick pile of three to five pages long. I forgot what we wrote at the time, but it felt liberating to be able to write freely with a stranger from another part of the country and share things we wouldn’t even tell our parents.

The two of us corresponded with each other for three years until we both went to college. I also had letter correspondence with an editor of a youth literary journal. From his name and handwriting, I imagined it must be an old man. He encouraged me to keep writing and shared with me his writing experience. In one of the letters, he wrote that he liked Anna Akhmatova but not Vladimir Mayakovsky. I knew about neither writers nor what they represented. I hadn’t thought about how an editor in Beijing would have the time or the patience to write to a teenager in Inner Mongolia, but was grateful for his encouragement.

‘… it felt liberating to be able to write freely with a stranger from another part of the country and share things we wouldn’t even tell our parents.

I finished my secondary school as a rebellious young man, wanting to escape from home as soon as possible. A graduation present I got was a copy of Puskin’s The Captain’s Daughter from a Manchurian girl, not realising it was perhaps her way to express love. I attended a senior high school in another Inner Mongolian town, where I met more local students. There I developed a friendship with a boy who was interested in football and poetry. His heroes were Diego Maradona and Lord Byron. He wrote beautifully in Chinese in Byronic verses. We started to write hand-written letters to each other, even though we were in the same class and saw each other every day.

They were not love letters but had a sentimental, romantic undertone. I poured out my hearts and feelings in those long letters of five to ten pages long each on schoolwork paper. We stopped writing letters when he had a girlfriend, a talented girl in our class who spoke good English. I felt jealous and betrayed. I didn’t know why. Nor could I explain the nature of our relationship which certainly felt stronger than friendship. At that stage in life, I had learned about love from literature, but I hardly knew what it meant in real life. No one could tell me that two men could also fall in love with each other. This was about to change when I went to university in a bigger city and learned to surf the Internet.

From Literature to Journalism

Before high school graduation, I had already figured out that I wouldn’t want to become a full-time writer. People had warned me that being a writer was a precarious career choice and that it would be best to choose a career by which one could make a living. I loved foreign language and literature, and I thought I could study English to become a teacher of English in the future. So I chose the foreign language major when I applied to universities. I wasn’t admitted by Inner Mongolian Normal University I had applied for in the first round. I studied hard for another year, took the college entrance examination again, and eventually got an offer from Xi’an Foreign Languages Institute (later called Xi’an International Studies University) the following year.

At university, I started with a Japanese language major for a couple of weeks but soon switched to English Education because the latter course was state-funded, charging a small tuition fee and offering a generous stipend and better job security. It was the best choice for me and my family at the time as I didn’t want to get my parents into a large debt before graduation.

‘Before high school graduation, I had already figured out that I wouldn’t want to become a full-time writer.

At Xi’an Foreign Languages Institute, I embraced the study of literature. I took courses on world literature, British literature, American literature, English poetry and of course Chinese literature. My favourite class was the world literature class which expanded my horizon beyond the Western literary cannon; it also taught me different ways of doing literary criticism. Before my final year I had already decided that I wanted to study an MA in English literature.

Meanwhile, a fellow student told me that he would be applying for a second BA course in International and Intercultural Communication. He asked if I would be interested in coming along with him. We applied for the course and travelled to Beijing to take the entrance exam. When the exam result was announced, I got an offer, but he didn’t. It must have been my writing skill, both in Chinese and in English, that helped me get the place.

Now I was faced with the difficult choice of whether to do a MA in English Literature as I had originally planned, or if I should go to Beijing and do a second BA course. I chose the latter, because it was my dream to go to Beijing, and to study at Peking University, one of China’s best and most liberal universities. Communication studies was a relatively new field of study and it sounded more interesting than English literature.

‘Communication studies was a relatively new field of study and it sounded more interesting than English literature.

As one of the most liberal places in China, Peking University didn’t disappoint me. The programme introduced me to the field of journalism and communication, which meant that students had to face real-life problems in Chinese society. My world, which used to be full of the beautiful verses of Shelly and Keats, suddenly opened up to a real, much harsher world. I started to see social inequalities and injustices around me, in Chinese society and in the world. I was asked to respond to them, with pen and computer keywords. It was also at this time I learned to use the computer and surf the Internet. The university’s bulletin board system was full of interesting, political and social discussions every day.

I also discovered queer websites and read queer online literature such as Beijing Story (later adapted into a gay film called Lan Yu ). By that time I had known that I was gay, but I did not have the courage to come out. A male student living in the same dorm once made a casual remark about the ‘abnormality’ and ‘sickness’ of gay people. His derogatory language and disgusted facial expression stuck in my mind for a long time. 

‘I started to see social inequalities and injustices around me, in Chinese society and in the world.

At Peking University, besides my own courses, I also roamed around schools and departments and audited lectures including Dai Jinhua’s lecture on cinema, Qian Liqun’s lecture on Lu Xun, Ye Lang’s lectures on aesthetics and the philosophy of art, and Zhu Qingsheng’s lectures on contemporary art. I even took a drama class and a class on Beethoven. These classes expanded my horizon and developed my interest in arts. Before graduation I had already decided that I wouldn’t want to be a journalist. China’s state media and the censorship system offered little hope for journalists with ideals and dreams. There were brave journalists in China fighting within and against the system with admirable courage and perseverance. But I wasn’t sure if I could be as courageous as them. Becoming a journalist seemed an unattainable dream for me.

‘The programme introduced me to the field of journalism and communication, which meant that students had to face real-life problems in Chinese society.

After graduating with a journalism degree, I went to Nanjing for a semester to do a MA certificate in American Studies on a joint programme co-organised by Nanjing University and Johns Hopkins University. The course didn’t interest me that much as I later found out it was more about economics and international relations. Perhaps they were what the programme convenors thought Chinese students would have interest in. But my life experience there was unforgettable. The course put Chinese and international students in the same residence (unlike other Chinese universities which would put them in different dormitories) and created plenty of opportunities for cross-cultural communication.

A good friend of mine was an American student who has interest in Bei Dao’s poetry. We organised a poetry slam which few people attended. After the first semester, I left the programme, partly because it didn’t interest me that much, and partly because I got a job offer in Beijing and the employer was urging me to start work as soon as possible. I returned to Beijing, not expecting that I would be plunged into a SARS epidemic, an air-borne viral infection, that Spring and Summer. During the lockdown, I re-read some contemporary Chinese novels such as those by Lu Yao, Jia Pingwa and Yu Hua.

‘This was also a time when I began to explore my own sexuality and got to know more about Beijing’s queer community.

I worked as a lecturer of International and Intercultural Communication at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts for five years. I was once put in the position of programme director. At the academy, I started to develop an interest in classical Chinese opera and read on Chinese art history and theory. I also realised how Western my previous education had been and started to reflect on the Western hegemony of global knowledge production.

This was also a time when I began to explore my own sexuality and got to know more about Beijing’s queer community. I carried on with the habit of reading but did not have much time to write. Even when it came to boring, bureaucratic work such as filling out forms and writing reports, I was aware of my passion for writing. I was perhaps waiting for the right time and space to release the words from my mind.

Coming Out in Australia

Five years of working experience at a theatre academy made me realise that I needed more time for reading and writing. A full-time job as a university lecturer offered me some financial security but not necessarily the time for reading and writing. It was also a time when I increasingly felt the tension between my gay identity and a Chinese society where being gay could not be accepted. I applied for a graduate programme in Australia, with the University of Sydney, and was lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship. Life took an unexpected turn as I embarked on a PhD study in Australia at the age of thirty.

At Sydney I started with a research topic on a popular Chinese television programme but changed my topic to Chinese queer culture after a semester. Three factors were fundamental to the change: firstly, I hadn’t been aware that queer studies was a perfectly legitimate field of study until I met other queer scholars in Sydney; secondly, in the first semester of my PhD, I met the famous Chinese queer filmmaker Cui Zi’en who was visiting Sydney and screening his films at the time.

It was fascinating to hear from Cui Zi’en about what was going on in the Chinese queer community and I felt this would be an important and interesting topic for me to study; thirdly, I had been doing things to live up to other people’s expectation for thirty years, and it seemed time for me to do something for myself, and write about something where my genuine interest and passion lay. I also felt confident that I would be in a good position to research the topic and would be able to do it well.

‘It was also a time when I increasingly felt the tension between my gay identity…

In the next four years I travelled between Australia and China, conducting my fieldwork and writing my thesis. I was fortunate to have witnessed the ‘golden era’ of Chinese queer activism in the late 2000s when there was plenty of creative energy in China’s queer communities. Many interviewees I met would later become long-term friends. The fieldwork also turned me into a committed academic activist, using my writing to document Chinese queer history. At Sydney I read widely on gender and cultural theories, and became a Foucauldian scholar.

The department I was in, Gender and Cultural Studies, had a very supportive staff and student community. A lot of ideas and inspirations emerged in post-seminar conversations as we were drinking in pubs. Teachers from the Chinese Studies department and Asia Studies department who guided me to read works in China studies and strongly supported me. It was in this process I critically reflected on my past obsession with Western culture and high culture and started to treat Chinese experience and everyday life more seriously.

The Call of Otherness: Love and Poetry

‘i was fortunate to have witnessed the ‘golden era’ of chinese queer activism in the late 2000s when there was plenty of creative energy in china’s queer communities..

I started to write in academic English at the time. My teachers such as Catherine Driscoll, Elspeth Probyn and Meaghan Morris had an important impact on my writing style, as their writings encouraged me to write in an auto-ethnographic, critical and affective mode. As a result, I never really developed the type of dense and abstruse writing style infamously associated with academic writing.

Instead, I tried to foreground my own subjectivity and theorise my own experience. I also endeavored to write for a wider readership by using simple language and adopting a clear writing style. I decided to give up writing in Chinese and use English as my primary written language. Writing in English felt liberating for me as I didn’t have to worry about the conventions in Chinese language or pretending to be intelligent or philosophical. In a way, writing in English felt like a form of masquerade, through which I could write about China without having to worry about censorship and self-censorship.

Besides my PhD study, I also ventured into Sydney’s gay scene and explored my own sexuality. I met some wonderful people who accepted me into their lives. I felt comfortable and was able to come out, although I could also feel the prevalent racism towards Asians in the Australian gay community, the increasing Sinophobia in Australian politics and society, as well as the tension between my Asianness and queerness. Before graduation, I had made up my mind that I wouldn’t go back to China, even if that meant that I had to drift around the world. Just at that time, an opportunity came up for me to do a six-month fellowship in Germany, at the Free University of Berlin. I embraced the opportunity without hesitation.

Lost in Languages

For a queer person like me, Berlin offered an unprecedented degree of sexual and personal freedom. Also importantly, there was an overall lack of misunderstanding of, or even a lack of effort to understand, China in German society. This somehow felt liberating to me after all the heated political debates about China that had pervaded Australian media. Being Chinese, I felt invisible in German society.

But my ‘honeymoon’ with German society and the ‘poor but sexy’ Berlin didn’t last long. I soon came face to face with racial stereotypes and racist attitudes towards Asians in German society at large and in the gay community in particular. To integrate better into German society and make my life easier, I decided to learn the language. I started attending German lessons, five evenings a week, and three hours each time, all conducted in German.

Soon I was able to carry out daily conversations in German, and many newspaper headlines also started to make sense. I love learning languages and enjoyed the challenge of taking a crack on a difficult language in my mid-thirties. It was reassuring to see my progress every day. It also felt good to surround myself with people from different countries and cultures who, like me, had made their way to Germany by different means, trying to start a new life in the country. 

‘As Chinese, I felt invisible in German society.

As I deeply focused on learning German, I developed depression, or depression-like symptoms, in the cold climate and in a foreign country. I found that both my Chinese and English skills had receded. In fact, I could not write in Chinese or English anymore. I was like a child, struggling to express myself in a foreign language and feeling that I didn’t belong to any language or culture. This situation lasted a few years until I found my confidence in the UK and was able to go back to writing in English.

Creative Writing in the Pandemic

My UK years has roughly consisted of a six-month visiting fellowship in London and then by now more than a decade in Nottingham, a small city in the middle of England. Life in London was exciting, but I felt a lot of uncertainties and anxieties about the future. It was a great relief when I got a stable job in Nottingham, first working for Nottingham Trent University and then for the University of Nottingham, teaching media studies. Although I took my education in journalism and cultural studies, I didn’t have a proper media studies education. So I had to teach myself before I taught students. But I was a quick learner and, because of my own interdisciplinary background, new disciplines or scholarly fields never daunted me.

It was a great relief to be able to settle down in Nottingham after years of drifting around the world. Job security meant that I was able to think of long-term plans such as writing research monographs, organising international conferences and workshops, and editing books and special journal issues. In the process of writing, I overcame my depression and writing block and was able to write in English again.

‘Life in London was exciting, but I felt a lot of uncertainties and anxieties about the future.

Because of my own journalism background, I was never content with writing academic books and articles. I started to write reviews, op-eds, and critical essays for websites to comment on contemporary issues. In 2020 and 2021, when the Covid struck, I felt trapped at home and between cultures. During the period of pandemic lockdown, I felt a strong urge to express myself. Poetry and personal autobiographic essays came to me naturally. I started to read poetry and novels and rekindle my passion for literature. I also started to take creative writing more seriously and enrolled myself in online evening courses at City Lit London. It was through creative writing I found like-minded people and a writing community. It felt liberating to be able to express oneself unconstrained by scholarly conventions. Writing helped me get through the most difficult times of the pandemic, and cope with loneliness, depression and identity crisis.

My greatest inspirations in reading are queer and East Asian writers. Queer writers such as James Baldwin, Garth Greenwell, Alan Hollinghurst and Tomasz Jędrowski taught me that queer experience matters. East Asian writers such as Xiaolu Guo and Yiyun Li taught me that one can write in a foreign language. There are of course queer East Asian writers such as Mary Jean Chan, Chen Chen, Will Harris and Sarah Howe whose poetry spoke to my experience in intimate ways. I found my own cultural heritage in these queer East Asian literary works. It was the inspiration of these writers and works that gave me confidence in writing.

‘During the period of pandemic lockdown, I felt a strong urge to express myself. Poetry and personal autobiographic essays came to me naturally.

Although I have published some poems, short stories and autobiographical essays, I am still relatively new to creative writing. I’m fully aware of the challenge of writing in a foreign language, as well as the not-always-smooth transition across different genres such as journalism, academic writing and creative writing. I’m also in the process of finding my own voice and developing my own writing style. I look forward to trying new ways to render my queer East Asian experience in writing and use my writing to empower myself and others.

In sum, I have offered an autoethnographic account of my reading and writing experience from childhood to present, and from China to the UK via Australia and Germany. Through this account, I have tried to untangle, and critically reflect on, the complex relationship between language, literature and identity. Although we are born into languages and social structures beyond our individual control, we can still exercise some agency in choosing how to use the language, what identities we prioritise and how we live our lives. Through language and writing, I have been able to negotiate my own identity in relation to social structures and historical circumstances. Although this piece of writing gives a temporary coherence to my experience, writing the account itself has become a deeply critical, self-reflexive and even therapeutic experience for me.

Photo of a pile of diaries by Julia Joppien for Unsplash

Featured image by Noah Buscher for Unsplash

A photo of writing ‘Am I good enough?’ by Nik for Unsplash

Lots of miniature heads by Carson Arias for Unsplash

New to autoethnography? Visit What Is Autoethnography? How Can I Learn More? to learn about autoethnographic writing and expressive arts. Interested in contributing? Then, view our editorial board’s What Do Editors Look for When Reviewing Evocative Autoethnographic Work? . Accordingly, check out our Submissions page. View Our Team in order to learn about our editorial board. Please see our Work with Us page to learn about volunteering at The AutoEthnographer . Visit Scholarships to learn about our annual student scholarship competition.

Hongwei Bao

Hongwei Bao (he/they) grew up in China and lives in Nottingham, UK. He studied Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia, and creative writing at City Lit, London. He uses poetry, short stories and creative nonfiction to explore issues of queer desire, Asian identity, gender politics and transcultural intimacy. His work has appeared in Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Ponder Review, Positions Politics, Shanghai Literary Review, The Autoethnographer, The Sociological Review, Voice & Verse, Write On and Words Without Borders. His short stories were shortlisted for the Plaza Prize 2023 for Sudden Fiction. His nonfiction ‘Fragrant Bananas’ is forthcoming with the Allegory Ridge Nonfiction Anthology Allegheny.

This was very entertaining for me to read. It really helped me to understand how writing can impact literature, language and identity. Thank You Mr Hongwei Bao for your courage and perseverance and willingness to share with others

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5 Activities to Celebrate English Language Month

Celebrate English Language Month with 5 Fun Activities

Word pieces.

As an adult, one aspect of English that I’ve come to appreciate the most is how switching prefixes and suffixes can make different words or parts of speech. Making new words (even nonsense ones) can be fun, and although small children aren’t ready for prefixes and suffixes, they can have some fun prepping for the idea by taking words apart and putting new words together.

For this idea, cut out the word beginnings and word endings from the English Language Game Sheet . Stack the gray boxes into a pile, face down, and spread the white boxes out in front of you. Then, start playing. Here are the rules:

• At the start of a turn, the player will pick a gray box from the pile.
• If the player makes a real word, he or she gets 1 point, and the turn is over.
• If the word created isn’t a real word, the player has to put the gray box back in the pile and doesn’t get a point for that word.
• Then, the next player takes a turn with the same rules.
• For example, if someone draws an “n” and “grow” has already been played, the player can change “grow” to “now” and return the “gr” to the draw pile.
• If a player attempts to do this but does not create a real word, put the word back the way it was and discard the new beginning sound.

Like most games, play until you have a winner or want to move on.

Story Cubes

Story cubes and other board games can be played at any time, but making up fun stories seems like a perfect way to celebrate English language month!

Simply follow the rules on the box to create your own wacky stories. With a little imagination, there is no limit to the fun you can have.

Act Out a Story

Playing make believe is great for brain development and critical thinking. And children like it because it’s fun – especially when parents play, too!

To throw a little English in the fun, read the children a story and have them act it out. Or (even better) have a child read for the other children (and adults) to act out. This is a fantastic way to make reading fun again for children who are starting to feel like reading is work.

Preposition Play

English has over a hundred prepositions, and we mostly learn them by hearing them used and reading them. That’s because few people offer ways to practice prepositions besides rote memorization. That’s not entertaining at all!

With a little creativity, however, a preposition review or quiz can be much more entertaining. Have your children each pick out a favorite toy (a doll, stuffed animal, or action figure is perfect). Then, as you name a preposition, each child has to use the toy to demonstrate that preposition with the furniture around them. If you want to direct the play, you can even say which object to use, as well.

Word or Story Doodle

Another great way for students to explore language is to draw it. If your child is into art, have him or her pick a word to draw from the latest set of vocab words. Or take the stories the child made in the story cubes game and illustrate them.

Images bring the words and stories to life, and drawing helps children develop decision-making skills and creativity. Win-win!

Which activity did you try? We’d love to hear how it worked for you!

Author: Elizabeth F., Writer and Teacher at A Grade Ahead

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2 responses to “ 5 Activities to Celebrate English Language Month ”

Thank you so much for providing these activities. This will help my students a lot in improving their English vocabulary skill.

Emma, we are so happy that these activities may help your kids with English vocabulary! Thank you for reading and offering your valuable feedback!

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Essay on The Importance of Language

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Published: Mar 14, 2024

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Filipino Language Month: The Beauty of Filipino Language

September 24, 2021

Every month of August, we celebrate "Buwan ng Wika" or Filipino Language Month. We highlight the importance of our native language and celebrate our Filipino heritage and our identity. 

• We are inclusive. We don't assign genders on our pronouns that make it easier to communicate. In the Philippines, we don't have the counterpart of "he and she". We use "siya at sila" for anyone instead, no matter what their gender is. We also refer to "husbands or wives" as "asawa o kabiyak". 
• We practice respect for the elderly and strangers. While a simple "Magandang Umaga po!" can easily be translated to "Good morning!" and "Ano po?" to "What?", our usage of "po, opo, ho, and oho" transforms a phrase into a much polite and affectionate greeting. 
• And lastly, we have words that could be lost in translation because it is best understood by Filipinos only. We convey specific emotions with specific terms such as "Kilig" and "Tampo". While we can translate the former to a happy and thrilling feeling, and the latter to a slightly disappointed and angry feeling, it is much more complicated than that because these words can only be associated or used with someone we like. 

Every time we celebrate Buwan ng Wika, we honor the unity of Filipinos. We embrace and connect with different traditions and cultures. We see language diversity not as a communication barrier but as a way to take pride in our roots and identities. 

WIKA Collection is Legazy's way of celebrating the richness of the flourishing Filipino culture. To empower the six most-spoken languages, Tagalog, Bikolano, Ilokano, Ilonggo, Bisaya, and Kapampangan, this month of August is an extension of the brand's vision. 

We may speak different languages, but the Filipino blood binds us as a thriving unified nation. 

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Importance Of English Language Essay

500 words importance of english language essay.

The English Language is becoming more and more common in the world. As a result, increasingly people are dedicating time to study English as their second language. In fact, many countries include it in their school syllabus to teach children this language from a young age. However, the true value of this language is that it helps remove many barriers from our life. Whether it is to find a new job or travel the world. In other words, it helps to progress in life both on a personal and professional level. Thus, the Importance of English Language Essay will help you understand all about it.

Importance Of English Language

Language is our major means of communication; it is how we share our thoughts with others. A language’s secondary purpose is to convey someone’s sentiments, emotions, or attitudes. English is one such language in the world that satisfies both the above purposes. English has been regarded as the first global Lingua Franca. It has become part and parcel of almost every existing field. We use it as the international language to communicate in many fields ranging from business to entertainment.

Many countries teach and encourage youngsters to acquire English as a second language. Even in nations where English is not an official language, many science and engineering curriculum are written in English.

English abilities will most certainly aid you in any business endeavours you choose to pursue. Many large corporations will only hire professional employees after determining whether or not they speak good English. Given the language’s prominence, English language classes will be advantageous to you if you want to work for a multinational organization and will teach you the communication skills needed to network with professionals in your area or enhance your career.

The English Language opens an ocean of career opportunities to those who speak this language anywhere in the world. Similarly, it has turned into an inevitable requirement for various fields and professions like medicine , computing and more.

In the fast-evolving world, it is essential to have a common language that we can understand to make the best use of the data and information available. As a result, the English Language has become a storehouse of various knowledge ranging from social to political fields.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas  

Reasons to Learn the English Language

As the importance of the English Language is clear now, we move on to why we must learn the English Language. First of all, it is a global language. It is so common that one out of five people can speak or understand this language.

Further, learning the English Language can help in getting a job easily. As it has become the language of many fields, it automatically increases the chances of landing a good job in a good company.

In addition, it helps with meeting new people. As it is the official language of 53 countries, learning it helps to break the language barriers. Most importantly, it is also the language of the Internet.

Another important reason to learn this language is that it makes travelling easier. Being a widely used language globally, it will help you connect with people easily. Similarly, it is also essential in the world of business.

It does not matter whether you are an employee or employer, it benefits everyone. Students who wish to study abroad must definitely study this language. Many countries use their schools and universities. So, it can offer a good opportunity for students.

Why and where do we need the English language?

• Use of English on the Internet – Because of the tremendous rise of information technology, particularly the internet, English is the language of choice for Internet users. The internet has also played an important role in promoting and spreading the English language throughout the world, as more and more people are exposed to it, and English has also become the language of the internet.
• Use of English in Education – English has become one of the majorly used languages to understand, learn and explain concepts from various fields of knowledge. The majority of instructional tools, materials, and texts are written in English. The global educational systems at colleges all over the world need English as a foreign language.
• Use of English for Travel purposes – As we all know, English has been named as the official language of 53 countries and over 400 million people in the world speak English, the English language comes in handy for communicating with everyone when anyone travels around the world be it for tourism, job opportunity, settlement, casual visits, etc.
• Use of English for Communication – The most important function of a language is to allow people to communicate effectively. For many years, English has been the most widely known and valued language on the planet. In other words, English becomes an efficient tool for communicating with people all over the world.

Conclusion of Importance Of English Language Essay

We use the English Language in most of our international communications. While it is not the most spoken language in the world, 53 countries have named it their official language. Moreover, about 400 million people globally use it as their first language. Thus, being the most common second language in the world, it will be beneficial to learn this language to open doors to new opportunities.

FAQ on Importance Of English Language Essay

Question 1: How does the English Language help you get a job?

Answer 1: the  English Language is the language of many things like science, aviation, computers, diplomacy, and tourism. Thus, if you know English, it will increase your chances of landing a good job in an international company.

Question 2: Does the English Language help in connecting with people globally?

Answer 2: Yes, it does. It is because English is the official language of 53 countries and we use it as a lingua franca (a mutually known language) by people from all over the world. This means that studying English can help us have a conversation with people on a global level.

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• Example of a great essay | Explanations, tips & tricks

Example of a Great Essay | Explanations, Tips & Tricks

Published on February 9, 2015 by Shane Bryson . Revised on July 23, 2023 by Shona McCombes.

This example guides you through the structure of an essay. It shows how to build an effective introduction , focused paragraphs , clear transitions between ideas, and a strong conclusion .

Each paragraph addresses a single central point, introduced by a topic sentence , and each point is directly related to the thesis statement .

As you read, hover over the highlighted parts to learn what they do and why they work.

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Other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about writing an essay, an appeal to the senses: the development of the braille system in nineteenth-century france.

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

In France, debates about how to deal with disability led to the adoption of different strategies over time. While people with temporary difficulties were able to access public welfare, the most common response to people with long-term disabilities, such as hearing or vision loss, was to group them together in institutions (Tombs, 1996). At first, a joint institute for the blind and deaf was created, and although the partnership was motivated more by financial considerations than by the well-being of the residents, the institute aimed to help people develop skills valuable to society (Weygand, 2009). Eventually blind institutions were separated from deaf institutions, and the focus shifted towards education of the blind, as was the case for the Royal Institute for Blind Youth, which Louis Braille attended (Jimenez et al, 2009). The growing acknowledgement of the uniqueness of different disabilities led to more targeted education strategies, fostering an environment in which the benefits of a specifically blind education could be more widely recognized.

Several different systems of tactile reading can be seen as forerunners to the method Louis Braille developed, but these systems were all developed based on the sighted system. The Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris taught the students to read embossed roman letters, a method created by the school’s founder, Valentin Hauy (Jimenez et al., 2009). Reading this way proved to be a rather arduous task, as the letters were difficult to distinguish by touch. The embossed letter method was based on the reading system of sighted people, with minimal adaptation for those with vision loss. As a result, this method did not gain significant success among blind students.

Louis Braille was bound to be influenced by his school’s founder, but the most influential pre-Braille tactile reading system was Charles Barbier’s night writing. A soldier in Napoleon’s army, Barbier developed a system in 1819 that used 12 dots with a five line musical staff (Kersten, 1997). His intention was to develop a system that would allow the military to communicate at night without the need for light (Herron, 2009). The code developed by Barbier was phonetic (Jimenez et al., 2009); in other words, the code was designed for sighted people and was based on the sounds of words, not on an actual alphabet. Barbier discovered that variants of raised dots within a square were the easiest method of reading by touch (Jimenez et al., 2009). This system proved effective for the transmission of short messages between military personnel, but the symbols were too large for the fingertip, greatly reducing the speed at which a message could be read (Herron, 2009). For this reason, it was unsuitable for daily use and was not widely adopted in the blind community.

Nevertheless, Barbier’s military dot system was more efficient than Hauy’s embossed letters, and it provided the framework within which Louis Braille developed his method. Barbier’s system, with its dashes and dots, could form over 4000 combinations (Jimenez et al., 2009). Compared to the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, this was an absurdly high number. Braille kept the raised dot form, but developed a more manageable system that would reflect the sighted alphabet. He replaced Barbier’s dashes and dots with just six dots in a rectangular configuration (Jimenez et al., 2009). The result was that the blind population in France had a tactile reading system using dots (like Barbier’s) that was based on the structure of the sighted alphabet (like Hauy’s); crucially, this system was the first developed specifically for the purposes of the blind.

While the Braille system gained immediate popularity with the blind students at the Institute in Paris, it had to gain acceptance among the sighted before its adoption throughout France. This support was necessary because sighted teachers and leaders had ultimate control over the propagation of Braille resources. Many of the teachers at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth resisted learning Braille’s system because they found the tactile method of reading difficult to learn (Bullock & Galst, 2009). This resistance was symptomatic of the prevalent attitude that the blind population had to adapt to the sighted world rather than develop their own tools and methods. Over time, however, with the increasing impetus to make social contribution possible for all, teachers began to appreciate the usefulness of Braille’s system (Bullock & Galst, 2009), realizing that access to reading could help improve the productivity and integration of people with vision loss. It took approximately 30 years, but the French government eventually approved the Braille system, and it was established throughout the country (Bullock & Galst, 2009).

Although Blind people remained marginalized throughout the nineteenth century, the Braille system granted them growing opportunities for social participation. Most obviously, Braille allowed people with vision loss to read the same alphabet used by sighted people (Bullock & Galst, 2009), allowing them to participate in certain cultural experiences previously unavailable to them. Written works, such as books and poetry, had previously been inaccessible to the blind population without the aid of a reader, limiting their autonomy. As books began to be distributed in Braille, this barrier was reduced, enabling people with vision loss to access information autonomously. The closing of the gap between the abilities of blind and the sighted contributed to a gradual shift in blind people’s status, lessening the cultural perception of the blind as essentially different and facilitating greater social integration.

The Braille system also had important cultural effects beyond the sphere of written culture. Its invention later led to the development of a music notation system for the blind, although Louis Braille did not develop this system himself (Jimenez, et al., 2009). This development helped remove a cultural obstacle that had been introduced by the popularization of written musical notation in the early 1500s. While music had previously been an arena in which the blind could participate on equal footing, the transition from memory-based performance to notation-based performance meant that blind musicians were no longer able to compete with sighted musicians (Kersten, 1997). As a result, a tactile musical notation system became necessary for professional equality between blind and sighted musicians (Kersten, 1997).

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Bullock, J. D., & Galst, J. M. (2009). The Story of Louis Braille. Archives of Ophthalmology , 127(11), 1532. https://​doi.org/10.1001/​archophthalmol.2009.286.

Herron, M. (2009, May 6). Blind visionary. Retrieved from https://​eandt.theiet.org/​content/​articles/2009/05/​blind-visionary/.

Jiménez, J., Olea, J., Torres, J., Alonso, I., Harder, D., & Fischer, K. (2009). Biography of Louis Braille and Invention of the Braille Alphabet. Survey of Ophthalmology , 54(1), 142–149. https://​doi.org/10.1016/​j.survophthal.2008.10.006.

Kersten, F.G. (1997). The history and development of Braille music methodology. The Bulletin of Historical Research in Music Education , 18(2). Retrieved from https://​www.jstor.org/​stable/40214926.

Mellor, C.M. (2006). Louis Braille: A touch of genius . Boston: National Braille Press.

Tombs, R. (1996). France: 1814-1914 . London: Pearson Education Ltd.

Weygand, Z. (2009). The blind in French society from the Middle Ages to the century of Louis Braille . Stanford: Stanford University Press.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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What is autism spectrum disorder? How to support the community this Autism Acceptance Month

April marks Autism Acceptance Month with World Autism Day occurring on April 2 every year. The month is meant to be a time for uplifting autistic voices and sharing in the community's joy. But for Samantha Edwards, an autistic content creator and neurodivergent life coach, the month also signifies an influx of harmful myths about autistic people. 

"April is a wonderful month to crack down on that and listen to autistic voices and their stories and listen to their struggles," she says. "Acceptance, at the end of the day, is going to promote more inclusivity."

Here’s how you can uplift the neurodivergent community this April and all year long.

​​​What is autism? 

Autism is a developmental disability that affects the way people experience the world . This may include differences in processing senses, thinking, physically moving, communicating, socializing and going about daily living. 

“We’re born autistic and we’re autistic our whole lives,” says Zoe Gross, the director of advocacy at Autistic Self Advocacy Network . “It affects everything about the way we interact with and perceive the world.”

Autism affects every autistic person differently, and there isn’t one way to be autistic. Gross describes it as an ice cream sundae bar: The traits of autism can be mixed and matched from person to person. 

Here’s what autism isn’t, Gross says – something to be scared of or pity.

“In truth, autism is just a neutral fact about us, it’s not necessarily a good or a bad thing,” she says. “It’s just the way our brains are.”

Another misconception is that autistic people don’t have empathy. Gross recalled a time when a teacher asked her if she loved her parents. Of course she loves them, she responded, but the question itself was a symptom of a larger myth about autistic people and emotions. 

“Where that comes from is that we may not know what other people are feeling if they don’t tell us because autistic people may not be good at reading body language or other kinds of subtle social cues,” Gross says. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t care what people are feeling.”

World Autism Day: A love letter to parents of a newly-diagnosed child

How common is autism? 

About one in 36 children have autism spectrum disorder, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states. This number is on the rise, especially as children of color receive more diagnoses after being largely overlooked throughout history. 

Edwards started her online autism advocacy journey to combat the misconceptions about autism. As an autistic person and a parent of two autistic children, she says she wants to make the world a more accessible place for future generations. 

A large part of her work is advocating for the self-diagnosed community, which she says “are very welcome and included in the autistic community.”

One of the more harmful narratives is that people, especially teenagers, are self-diagnosing after watching a handful of TikTok videos with captions like “Signs you may be autistic” or “10 things that are actually traits of autism.” But that’s “really not the case,” says Edwards. Online platforms like TikTok give the autistic community, like other marginalized communities, more visibility than ever before. 

“It is harmful for all of these self-diagnosed autistics that really did put in the research – some have years, even a lifetime of research – to be told, ‘Oh, you watched a couple TikTok videos so you’re not valid,'” Edwards says. 

Some medical professionals push back against self-diagnosing, especially when it comes to social media. But there’s also the nuanced issue of access to healthcare services that may lead to a professional diagnosis, which can be limited for some autistic individuals . 

What is Autism Acceptance Month?

April is Autism Acceptance Month but many, especially those outside of the autism community, used to refer to the month as " Autism Awareness Month." Autistic advocacy organizations have been using “acceptance” rather than “awareness” for over a decade, and the Autism Society of America shifted the terminology in 2021.

According to ASAN, Autism Acceptance Month was created by and for autistic people to respect the rights and humanity of all autistic people and center “the perspectives and needs of autistic people with intellectual disabilities, nonspeaking autistic people, and autistic people with the highest support needs.”

Using “acceptance” instead of “awareness” is an intentional choice because, as Edwards says, “we’re just moving on.”

“It’s 2023, I do believe most people are aware of what autism is,” she says. “We’ve got the awareness and now we need the resources, we need the advocacy.”

Awareness campaigns have historically focused on how many people have autism or a search for a “cure.” A now-removed  2009 campaign  from advocacy organization Autism Speaks opened by saying “I am autism. I’m visible in your children, but if I can help it, I am invisible to you until it’s too late.”

The “awareness” approach, Gross says, further stigmatizes autism as something scary.

“That’s not the way we want to approach giving people information about autism, we want people to view autism as a part of human diversity and autistic people as part of their community,” Gross says. 

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An introduction to large language models and their relevance for statistical offices – 2024 edition.

This manual serves as a guide for data professionals employing Large Language Models (LLMs) in Official Statistics. It covers the evolution, architecture, applications, and future prospects of LLMs, focusing on their ability to address complex issues through advanced language processing. It also emphasises the importance of ethical and responsible use, combining research and practical examples to help professionals leverage LLM benefits while ensuring trust and reliability in their operations.

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• Product code: KS-TC-24-001
• ISBN 978-92-68-11346-2
• ISSN 2315-0807
• doi: 10.2785/716217
• Themes: General and regional statistics
• Collection: Statistical working papers