伊琳娜·博科娃总干事2013年“国际母语日”致辞（中英对照）

Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of International Mother Language Day<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

联合国教科文组织总干事伊琳娜·博科娃女士“国际母语日”致辞

UNESCO, 21 February 2013

教科文组织，2013年 2月 21日

International Mother Language Day is an ideal opportunity to highlight the importance of languages to group and individual identity, as the foundation for all social, economic and cultural life. 

国际母语日是我们强调作为社会、经济与文化生活之基础的语言对于群体与个人的认同感所具有的重要意义的良好时机。

Multilingualism is a source of strength and opportunity for humanity. It embodies our cultural diversity and encourages the exchange of views, the renewal of ideas and the broadening of our capacity to imagine. Genuine dialogue implies respect for languages, and this is why UNESCO works to harness their power to foster mutual understanding. We encourage teaching in the mother tongue, which facilitates the fight against illiteracy and contributes to the quality of education. The protection of languages ensures also that rare and indigenous knowledge is safeguarded and handed down. By giving each of us the means to make ourselves heard and be respected, this is also a force for social inclusion.

对人类而言，多语言使用既是一种力量，也是一个机遇。它反映了我们的文化多样性并推动观点的交流、思想的革新以及想象空间的拓展。真正的对话离不开对语言的尊重。为此，教科文组织致力于利用语言促进相互理解。我们倡导母语教学，因为它有助于更好地开展扫盲和提高教育质量。保护语言还有助于对珍稀或土著知识的保护与传承。它还能帮助我们每个人发出自己的声音并获得尊重，因此它也是推动社会包容的力量。

This year, UNESCO has decided to explore the links between languages and books. Books are a force for peace and development that must be placed in the hands of all. They are also crucial tools for expression that help to enrich languages, while recording their changes over time. In this age of new technologies, books remain precious instruments, easy to handle, sturdy and practical for sharing knowledge, mutual understanding and opening the world to all. Books are the pillars of knowledge societies and essential for promoting freedom of expression and education for all.

今年，教科文组织要探讨语言与书籍之间的联系。书籍是促进和平与发展的力量，因此应让人人都手上有书。它也是不可或缺的表达手段，在记录语言演变的岁月痕迹的同时，使语言不断丰富。进入新技术时代，书籍仍然是促进知识分享、相互了解和对外开放的宝贵工具，而且方便、耐久和实用。它是知识社会的支柱并在促进表达自由和全民教育的第一线发挥着重要作用。

The vitality of languages depends as much on oral exchange as on the large-scale production of teaching material and printed texts. In some countries, the dearth of books and textbooks in local languages hampers development and social inclusion and represents a violation of the right to freedom of expression. Digital tools can help to fill this gap, but they are not enough. We must do more to distribute materials and books as widely and fairly as possible, so that all people – children above all – can read in the language of their choice, including in their mother tongue. This can also boost progress towards the Education for All goals by 2015. Translation is an important part of this great project, by creating bridges to new readers.

语言的活力既取决于它是否为讲话者所使用，也取决于是否推出使用该语言的大量教材和印刷读物。在某些国家，缺乏本地语言编写的读物和教材成为影响发展和实现社会包容的障碍。这相当于从根本上剥夺表达自由权。数字工具可在一定程度上弥补这种缺陷，但还不够。因此我们必须竭尽全力，确保尽可能公平地分发教材和书籍，使每一个人，特别是儿童，可以用自己选择的语言——包括自己的母语——来阅读。提供这些资源可加速实现 2015年全民教育目标。翻译工作架起了通向新读者群的桥梁，因此在实现全民教育目标的宏伟事业中具有重要的作用。

On this 14th International Mother Language Day, I call on all UNESCO’s partners, authors and teachers all over the world, in universities, the UNESCO Chairs and Associated Schools to work together to promote the importance of linguistic and cultural diversity and of education in the mother tongue.

值此第十四个国际母语日之际，我呼吁教科文组织的所有合作伙伴、全世界的作家和教师、大学、教科文组织教席和联系学校共同努力，提高人们对语言和文化多样性以及母语教学重要意义的认识。