The European Day of Languages
Celebrating Europe’s linguistic diversity

Why celebrate languages?

There are many excellent reasons why a special day is dedicated to languages – placing them in the spotlight. You can choose from its contribution to: promoting the richness of linguistic diversity, encouraging multilingualism; stimulating lifelong learning, enhancing cognitive and personal development and employment opportunities; fostering understanding between different cultures and thereby strengthening social cohesion; raising awareness of and supporting the preservation of endangered languages and inspiring people to engage in a 100% healthy passion (unless you have a particularly vindictive teacher!).

Language undeniably plays a role in shaping culture, identity, education, and social harmony, making it a vital aspect of our lives. It is rare to be able to reel off, with comparative ease, such a long list of potential benefits for any undertaking as for language learning, both for the individual and/or society as a whole.

There are estimated to be between 6.000-7.000 languages in the world today. Over 200 of these are native to Europe. Whilst a few languages are spoken by hundreds of millions of speakers, most are spoken by only a few thousand, or sometimes just a handful of speakers. In fact, 96% of the world’s languages are spoken by just 4% of the people. It is therefore not surprising that according to UNESCO, at least 43% of languages spoken in the world today are endangered. Although a monolingual way of life is often perceived as the norm, between a half and two-thirds of the world’s population is bilingual to some degree, and a significant number are plurilingual. Plurilingualism is much more the normal human condition than monolingualism.

By the age of 21 it is estimated that we have uttered some 50 million words, although I am sure we all know some people who have managed quite a few more…

What are the origins of EDL and why is it popular?

The European Day of Languages is a direct outcome of the 2001 European Year of Languages, which was coordinated jointly by the Council of Europe and the European Commission. Following on from the success of the Year of Languages, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe declared a European Day of Languages, to be celebrated each year on 26 September.

In 2023 around 1,400 events, that took place in 50 countries, were registered on the official EDL website The site, offering a platform for everything happening around the Day, receives millions of visits each year.

National Relays currently based in 44 European countries promote the European Day of Languages, liaising with event organisers and the media, as well as often translating and sending out large packages of EDL promotional materials.

The Day offers many different things to many people. For some, it offers an occasion to host conferences on aspects of language policy and/ or practice or an opportunity to launch a new study or report. For others, it is about the fun side of language learning! It is likely to be the only day of the year when pupils see their teachers proudly wearing what they consider to be the national costumes of other countries, or when a school assembly in Glasgow attempts to sing la Marseillaise! Of course, there is also a strong educational element to the Day. It is an opportunity to learn more about the different languages and cultures which surround us. Whether linguists or not, many people are genuinely fascinated by other languages and even learning a few words during a taster session can be the launchpad for a lifelong passion! Ever improving technology also now allows us to choose when, where and how we wish to learn almost any language.

The Day is also about valuing all languages – not just those regarded as the dominant ones. Children coming from different language and cultural backgrounds often become stars on the Day, as they are able to teach their schoolmates about the language/s that they speak in addition to the ones they use in school.

What is happening this year?

© EFSZ Graz Although the majority of events are initiated by the schools around Europe, an increasing number of language festivals and fairs, often located in major cities, are coordinated by language associations and cultural institutes. The Goethe-Institut, Institute Français, Instituto Cervantes and British Council along with other cultural institutes and international bodies organise EDL events all around the world both independently and jointly under the auspices of EUNIC. The Day has been exported to every continent in the world (although claims of events in Antarctica couldn’t yet be verified! ).

The Goethe-Institut is organising a wide variety of events all over the world: from a speak dating event in Lyon and taster courses, short film screenings und storytelling sessions in Kuala Lumpur to an open air night market in New York offering culinary delights, performances from European artists and even a language lottery! The European Commission’s translation field offices are also involved in the organisation of almost 70 events taking place around Europe.

Each year the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (ECML) runs ‘EDL initiatives’ encouraging schools and individuals to become actively involved in the Day. In 2023, for example, around 2.000 designs were submitted for the EDL poster competition on the theme of “How many languages are spoken in your classroom or school?”. ECML staff are still searching for enough wall space in the premises in Graz to hang up all the posters!

For EDL 2024, with war on the European continent as well as conflicts on Europe’s doorstep, “Languages for peace” is proposed as this year’s motto – focusing on how languages can play a role in achieving and maintaining peace for the generations to come – by breaking down barriers and fostering dialogue. This year language learners are invited to create a poster illustrating this theme – using symbols, quotes and artwork to convey messages of unity and understanding across different languages and actively contribute to the use of languages as a vehicle for reaching across linguistic and cultural divides.

To help support the celebrations there are plethora of new and revamped EDL resources – to inform, motivate, inspire and also to amuse! Among them are:

• A booklet on regional and minority languages: A sequel to Lara’s language journey across Europe where the protagonist, Lara, encounters languages that may not be household names, such as Meänkieli, Ladin, Faroese and Papiamento
• The poster ‘Yet another 20 things you may not know about the world of languages’, highlights the more unusual or intriguing aspects of languages (where you can find valuable pearls of knowledge, such as, which is the world’s second largest French-speaking city? and which letter is considered by many to be one of the most difficult to pronounce among Europe’s languages?)
• There is also a pronunciation guide for Irish first names. So, if you are struggling to articulate Ruaidhrí, Síofra, Tadhg or Niamh, this may help!
• For lovers of European cuisine, a language-inspired ​​​​​board game entitled "Linguine“ seeks to entice them this year. The game is now available for piloting – to make it an even more appetizing prospect for the future!

The is also a wide variety of competitions, challenges and games available.

Getting involved

So, whether you are looking for webinars on the use of generative AI in language learning, ‘Eurovision’- type song and dance contests, quizzes, theatre pieces, taster sessions in different languages, Language Olympics, poetry slams, speak-dating, language cafés, designing t-shirts or simply highlighting the languages present within a school – there is something for everyone.

A huge variety of events taking place on and around the Day will bring people from different backgrounds and cultures together – so there is every reason to get involved. I have just started Italian - which language/s would you like to try this year?