The Student Affairs team and academic advisors at Parami University hosted an online event for the community members to celebrate International Mother Language Day for the first time. Joined by the staff and students, the event started by featuring videos submitted by students and staff speaking in their mother tongue (Mun (Chin), Fujianese, Poe Karen, Jingpo (Kachin), Burmese, Marathi, and Greek) about their food, singing their favorite songs, and reading poems that represent their feeling, homesickness and nostalgia feeling.
While studying away from home, feeling homesick is a part of our students. Peter Lin Mang is from Mindat, Chin State, and he shared a traditional song in his language, composed by a young man who left his village far from home to express his homesickness. The students can resonate with the feeling conveyed through the song lyrics accompanied by Peter's calm and soothing voice.
Shaw La Mun, a junior-year student at Parami University from Kachin State in Myanmar, is eager to conserve his language, Jingpo. Due to many challenges, the Kachin people are at risk of losing their language and literature. "Today, I am calling my fellow young Kachin people and allies to stand up in conserving indigenous intergenerational knowledge transmission."
Some expressed their eagerness to preserve their language, while some were learning their mother tongue as they grew up in a different community and spoke a different language.
During the sharing session, Robert, a Parami first-year students student from South Sudan, talked about the need to speak his mother tongue, Logir, as he didn't grow up within his community and didn't have the opportunity to speak his language. "I had to look for a translator to help me interview my people for my research project." He pointed out limited research about his people in the country. "I am learning my mother tongue again, and hopefully, I can contribute to the history of my language and my people."
Students whose mother tongue is Burmese read Burmese poems, and the song brought nostalgia to the people who went to a state school in Myanmar.
Our first-year student, Theint Thet Mon Hein, shared her favorite poem, To the Top (ထိပ်ဆုံးသို့) by Ngwe Tar Yi. The poem reflects perseverance in the face of challenges, urging one to find strength in nature and press forward despite exhaustion.
In the second half of the event, participants shared famous dishes from their region and talked about the uniqueness of their language.
The International Mother Language Day celebration at Parami University not only provided a platform for students and staff to express their cultural identities but also sparked meaningful discussions on the importance of preserving mother tongues.
From heartfelt songs and poetry to reflections on the challenges of language loss, the event highlighted the deep connection between language, heritage, and belonging. As students continue their academic journeys away from home, the event served as a reminder that language is more than just communication. It is a vital link to identity and history. The conversations ignited during this celebration reinforce the collective responsibility to safeguard and promote linguistic diversity for future generations.
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