Essay competition to mark International Mother Language Day

The International Mother Language Day falls on February 21. As Mother Languages is a very important issue in contemporary Sri Lanka, with its outlook to become a trilingual nation, the Department of Official Language has decided to hold an essay competition at school level to help sensitise public opinion towards the mother tongue. Promoting mutual respect based on the love for one’s mother tongue, is another aim of this competition.

The islandwide competition will be held at two levels: Senior and Secondary.

Senior Level is open for students of Grades 12 and 13, while the Secondary is for Grades 10 and 11. Candidates can submit essays in English, Sinhala or Tamil.

Entries, certified by the school principal, should be addressed to ‘Basha Mandiraya’, Department of Official Languages, No. 341/7, Kotte Road, Rajagiriya to reach before February 11, marked ‘International Mother Language Day’ on the top left corner of the enclosing envelope.

In line with this year’s theme, ‘Moving forward in harmony as a multilingual country’, two essay topics have been identified; they are ‘My language – Our country’ or ‘Protect the Language – Develop Country’. Essays should be between 300 – 350 words. All relevant informations regarding the competition can also be obtained from the departmental web site: www.language dept.gov.lk.

The awards ceremony will be held on February 21 at the Department Auditorium under the patronage of Vasudeva Nanayakkara Minister of National Languages and Social Integration.