Hy Local Guides,
Today is celebrated as International Mother Language Day (February 21st). This day originated in Bangladesh for the recognition of the language, Bengali. As part of that, UNESCO officially declared February 21st as International Mother Language Day in 1999. To know more about how it came to be, please visit International Mother Language Day 2025 by @AbdullahAM. By the way ‘മാതൃഭാഷ’ (Malayalam) in cover photo means mother language.
Did you know that India is the most multilingual country in the world with over 19500 dialects and 22 officially recognised languages.
Letter ക (malayalam language) situated in Kanakakunnu Palace as part of literature festival.
Aim:
- To raise awareness and promote mother language and spread cultural diversity.
- Create a multilingual community.
How Google Maps Helps
One of Useful features in Google Maps is using Google lens to translate other languages seen in sign boards. Above image is a memory of a place where I got a friend from Japan who visited Delhi during my visit for the Local Guides contributor Convention. He asked me whether I can help to translate Hindi language to English/Japanese. I saw he was using Google Maps and told him that there’s Google Lens in the search bar of Maps where he can translate any sign board without taking any image and also has audio features. Because of Google Maps and Language, we are still in touch.
How we as a local guides helps
- Showing Language-themed attractions like cultural museums, Language museums etc.. to the community.
- Hosting a meet-up to show one’s mother language in any of the cultural attractions near them.
- Creating a Joint-Challenge where local guides can contribute to language-specific points of interest like Libraries, Book stores, Cultural museums etc.. in Google Maps. (This can also help in Accessibility features too)
Share your favourite language themed park or attractions or event near you in the comments.
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शानदार पोस्ट भाई