UNESCO Recognizes Greek Language Day: A Celebration of Linguistic Heritage

On February 9th, Greece celebrated "Greek Language Day", an event recognized by UNESCO, marking a significant occasion for the Hellenic Republic. The celebration, highlighted by a special event on April 14th at the UNESCO headquarters, underscores the global importance of the Greek language. UNESCO acknowledges that "language is a form of polymorphism, a vehicle of values, innovations, descriptions, and creations," emphasizing its role in expression and creativity. It also recognizes that "the Greek language contains unique semantic characteristics." UNESCO emphasizes the Greek language's role as a linguistic community of basic values, science, and philosophy, highlighting its historical and contemporary significance. It acknowledges that "the contribution of the phonological house of the Greek language to the Greeks of the 8th century BC in the new acquisition of the composite alphabet of the Phoenicians with the invention of the alphabet, epitomized thus the creation of a new phonetic alphabet through the transition from a system of writing based on consonants to a system where each sound, each phoneme, is expressed by a letter." The recognition further notes that the Greek language has served as a lingua franca and Kultursprache across many centuries. "The Greek language during the period of the empire of Alexander the Great, the subsequent and the embrace of the Roman State, whose adopted the Greek writing with the form of the Latin alphabet, the widespread distribution of the language of the Gospels, the analysis and the revival in the Renaissance and the acquisition in the era of Enlightenment," UNESCO states, underscoring its historical impact. UNESCO's recognition of "Greek Language Day" highlights the event's significance, noting that the commemorative day, since 1857, honors the national poet of Greece, Dionysios Solomos. UNESCO recognizes two properties associated with the Greek language: "The illuminated manuscripts of the Monastery of Dodecanese" and "Psalter of Derby: The oldest bible of Europe", which have been inscribed on the International Memory of the World Register in 2023 and 2015, respectively. Two additional properties are also recognized. The "Polyphonic of Karavani", which promotes the polyphonic tradition of Epirus, inscribed in 2020 on the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the "Byzantine Psalter", inscribed in 2019 on the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Greece. The designation of "Greek Language Day" by UNESCO underscores the importance of the Greek language to the organization's mandate. The initiative was supported by the Greek National Commission for UNESCO, in collaboration with the Permanent Delegation of Greece to UNESCO, and backed by the Ministries of Education and Religious Affairs, and Culture. "With the support of Mr. Prothypourgos and the leadership of the Ypourgeiou Exoterikon, we secured this prospect from the first moment, with faith that we can achieve, beyond the many difficulties of the enterprise. Finally, with much systematic and persistent work, we achieved the protection on March 10 with the first signature of the Organization, a written support of 20 states-members," shared the Greek National Commission for UNESCO, Giorgos Koumoutsakos, upon the announcement.