Today is the International Mother Language Day and I would say that there is no better place and more important symbolism than to celebrate this day right here in the city of Gostivar, a place where we have a symbiosis of traditions, cultures, customs, a municipality where three languages are officially spoken, where people don’t live next to each other, but with each other. A place where people understand each other very well and have respect for themselves, but also have respect for others, this day at the celebration of the mother tongue in our country, said VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski.
“The mother language is the most important identity feature of a nation and its culture. Indeed, it is the identity of the people or, as Blazhe Koneski said, it is the only undivided homeland, a thought that essentially does not reflect territory, but the identity of a people, signifies its existence, wealth and is its identity card before the whole world. That is us before the world, with all our peculiarities, with all our challenges from history to today. Languages mark the existence of nations even before the existence of states, so language is the most important pillar of identity on which the state rests and is built, and therefore it should be approached very seriously and with great caution when discussing any issue related to the language of a people, because that is its most significant feature. It is the living proof of our existence, our being and our recognition before the world. And that is why I reiterate, because language trade means cutting the pillar of a people and a country, its destruction would mean the disintegration of the substratum of our existence. That is why it is important to respect it, its recognition and its consistent practice,” says Mickoski.
