Do you know that among many holidays there is also English Language Day? However, this is not surprising.
About English
The language that served the daily communication of the three tribes only 1,500 years ago today has become a means of communication for nearly two billion people. Moreover, three times less native speakers speak English than representatives of other nations. This is the lingua franca of the modern world. This is the language used by the Russians to speak with the inhabitants of Nigeria, the Germans, to communicate with the Spaniards, the Chinese, to understand the Brazilians.
English is the official means of communication in 70 countries of the planet. It is spoken on every continent. It is the language of the Internet, aviation, international business and science. It exists in thousands of dialects, in slang and street forms. The Oxford English Dictionary (online form) has over a million words, about 600,000 entries. If we take into account that the vocabulary of a highly educated person is about 50,000 lexical units, you can understand that any of the speakers speaks only a small part of the existing heritage. Indeed, such a
means of communication has earned its own holiday.
history of the holiday
When did English Day take its rightful place on our calendar? Oddly enough, this happened quite recently - in 2010. The fact is that English, along with French, is one of the two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat, as well as one of its six official means of communication. The holiday was the result of an initiative of the UN Department of Public Information. The purpose of its creation is to note multilingualism and cultural diversity. That is why, in fact, in 2010 it was decided to establish 6 holidays at once, each of which is dedicated to one of the official languages.
6 languages - 6 holidays
Each of the official UN communications tools received its own red calendar day.
- Arabic - December 18. It was on this day in 1973 that he received the status of the official language of the UN.
- Chinese - April 20. The so-called Guyu, a season of millet rain, is timed to coincide with this day in China. According to legend, when the famous Tsang Jie created the Chinese characters, the gods and spirits burst into tears and rain fell from the sky from millet.
- International English Day is April 23rd. The date is dedicated to the day of the death of William Shakespeare. In some sources you can find information that the holiday is celebrated on the birthday of the famous British, but this is not so. In fact, the exact date of his birth is unknown, only the date of baptism is indicated - April 26, 1564.
- French is celebrated on International Francophonie Day, March 20.
- As expected, June 6 was chosen for the Day of the Russian Language - the date of the birth of A.S. Pushkin.
- The Spanish received October 12, because this is the festival Fiesta de la Hispanidad - Day of the Spanish race.
How to celebrate
Who can celebrate English Day in Russia? Yes, almost all residents of the country, since English is one of the most studied foreign languages in Pushkin’s homeland. Although the first thing to congratulate with him is probably worth the teachers, thanks to whom Russian-speaking children and adults master the global means of communication.
It is clear that the week of the English language can be timed to coincide in schools: remember Shakespeare’s biography, organize a competition of dramatization of English works, or answer questions from the English quiz. Some educational institutions publish newspapers dedicated to the holiday, organize essay contests and poems in English, and translator competitions.
And how to celebrate a holiday in the family circle?
- Try to speak English one evening.
- Include Beatles, Rolling Stones, Prodigy or Spice Girls.
- Cook the steak and pudding.
- Read the literary masterpieces King Lear, Gulliver's Journey, Vanity Fair, The Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter.
- Watch the movie Children of the Road, one of the Sherlock series, the Oscar-winning King Speaks! or the cute British film Paddington Adventures.
- Solve an English crossword puzzle.
Surely you will come up with a lot of options yourself, and the holiday will be useful!