Shillong, Feb 24: The Khasi Department of Shillong College observed International Mother Language Day 2026 today along the theme ‘Youth Voices on Multilingual Education’.
The department rechristened the programme as “Ka Jingrakhe Ia Ka ‘Tien Nongmei Salonsar”.
Students and teachers attended the lectures, which featured AW Rani speaking on the occasion. He noted that UNESCO had categorised the Khasi language as endangered in 2012 but, after protests and reanalysis, it was moved to the safe language category.
Rani explained that “endangered language” refers to a language spoken by elderly people, while a “dead language” is no longer spoken by the community. He highlighted UNESCO’s warning that Khasi remains vulnerable and could be eclipsed by other languages if not preserved and urged corrective measures to safeguard the language.
B Khriem added that the International Mother Language Day promotes unity amidst diversity and understanding of other languages and cultures, citing Bangladesh as the first country to use its mother tongue, Bangla, as an official language.
