Happy English Language Day!
The English Language Day is observed annually on 23 April. The event was established by the UN's Department of Public Information in 2010 "to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization".
For the English Language Day, 23 April was chosen because it is the date "traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare". An interesting fact is that the great Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes died on the same day and year (1616) as Shakespeare. For more information on this topic, check out our article on the Spanish Language Day here. Other dates were selected for the celebration of the UN's other five official languages.
The English Language Day aims to entertain and inform people about the history, culture and achievements associated with the language. The day often features book-reading events, English quizzes, poetry and literature exchanges, and other activities that promote the English language.
Did you know?
- Over 840 million people speak English as a first or second language, which makes it the second most-spoken language right after Mandarin. It is an official language of 67 countries as well as 27 non-sovereign entities such as Hong Kong or Puerto Rico.
- Shakespeare invented over 1,000 words, which he incorporated into his writing. Today, native English speakers still use these words in everyday speech.
- English is the only major language that does not have any organisation guiding it – as opposed to the French Académie française, the Spanish Real Academia Española and the German Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung. These organisations are responsible for controlling the evolution of their respective language in terms of usage, vocabulary, and grammar.
- 11% of the entire English language is just the letter E.
Celebrate the English Language Day by practising your interpreting skills with the Speech Repository where you will find 501 public and 63 restricted speeches in English on various topics. Don’t lose any more time!
Happy practice,
Your Speech Repository Team