site.btaMRF - New Beginning Highlights Role of Mother Tongue on International Day

MRF - New Beginning MP Erten Anisova said on Friday that the mother tongue is the first homeland and the closest link between the past and the future, presenting a declaration on behalf of her parliamentary group to mark International Mother Language Day on February 21. She called for remembering this not only on holidays but also in everyday speech and in respect for others.

Anisova recalled that the first official observance of the day was held on February 21, 2000, with the date chosen by UNESCO in memory of students in Bangladesh who died while protesting for recognition of the Bengali language as official. Through language, people share values, define their cultural space, build a sense of historical continuity, and encode traditions and beliefs, she said, adding that history often shows that when a language survives, so does the nation.

According to the definition of the National Statistical Institute, the mother tongue is the first language learned at home in early childhood. Data from the 2021 census show that in Bulgaria Bulgarian is the mother tongue of 85.3% of the population, Turkish of 8.7%, and Romani of 3.9%, while 1.1% reported another language. Mother tongue largely corresponds with ethnic self-identification, with the highest homogeneity among ethnic Bulgarians (99.1% reporting Bulgarian), followed by those identifying as Turkish (95.8% reporting Turkish). The Roma group shows greater diversity, with 82.8% reporting Romani, 11.3% Bulgarian, and 5.4% Turkish.