International Mother Language Day is recognised globally on 21 February each year. In celebration of this day, the University of the South Pacific holds a competition for students across its region to promote understanding of the value of linguistic diversity.
2022
Launch of the 2022 competition: Coming soon (21 February)
UNESCO has designated the decade 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. The aim is to draw attention to the declining use of many of the world's indigenous languages, and to drum up support for their maintenance and revitalisation.
Time to pause and reflect ...
Time to pause and reflect ...
- Where will your language be in 2032?
- Is the next generation using your language as much as you do?
- Is your language being used on social media and in everyday life?
- Are you using your language for the most important things that you do every day?
2021
Launch of the 2021 competition: Language and technology
Topics for the 2021 round of USP's mother language day competition:
(Ages 11-15) “How can you use your mother tongue more often when you use technology?”
(Ages 16-19) “What future does your mother tongue have in the sphere of technology? Should we be doing more to make sure English doesn’t take control of technology?”
Full details for the Fiji school round can be downloaded here:
usp_essay_competition_mother_language_day_2021.pdf | |
File Size: | 552 kb |
File Type: |
2020
Launch of the 2020 competition: Languages without borders (cancelled due to COVID)
The official theme set by UNESCO is 'languages without borders'. Different USP countries will interpret this in different ways.
The Niue Campus theme is: Maintaining Vagahau Niue across borders. (Contact the USP campus for details.)
Since Fiji is celebrating 50 years of independence this year, the Fiji campuses are focusing on national unity, inviting school students to write on the following:
(Ages 11-15) “How learning each other’s mother tongues can help us live together happily.”
(Ages 16-19) “English is not the only language that can help promote national unity in Fiji.”
Details for the Fiji school round can be downloaded here:
The official theme set by UNESCO is 'languages without borders'. Different USP countries will interpret this in different ways.
The Niue Campus theme is: Maintaining Vagahau Niue across borders. (Contact the USP campus for details.)
Since Fiji is celebrating 50 years of independence this year, the Fiji campuses are focusing on national unity, inviting school students to write on the following:
(Ages 11-15) “How learning each other’s mother tongues can help us live together happily.”
(Ages 16-19) “English is not the only language that can help promote national unity in Fiji.”
Details for the Fiji school round can be downloaded here:
usp_essay_competition_mother_language_day_2020.pdf | |
File Size: | 1027 kb |
File Type: |
2019
Results of the 2019 competition
This year, we asked senior students to tell us: "What languages will I speak to my children? Why does it matter?" while junior students explained "Things I've learnt by talking to my grandparents about language". Prizes were awarded to the following students:
Senior Category
Junior Category
Congratulations to all who took part, and thank you as always to the hard-working judges!
This year, we asked senior students to tell us: "What languages will I speak to my children? Why does it matter?" while junior students explained "Things I've learnt by talking to my grandparents about language". Prizes were awarded to the following students:
Senior Category
- Aryan Ashwin Nand (Nadi Muslim College)
- Mohammed Al-Dousary (Rishikul Sanatan College)
- Maria Lesuma Arusanotu (Sila Central High School)
Junior Category
- Ashlini Sewak (Tavua College)
- Aasti Anushika Sharma (Rakiraki Public High School)
- Michael Shadrach (Nasinu Sangam Primary School)
Congratulations to all who took part, and thank you as always to the hard-working judges!
Launch of the 2019 competition: Passing our languages to the next generation
The 2019 competition is now open! Details for the Fiji school round can be downloaded here:
The 2019 competition is now open! Details for the Fiji school round can be downloaded here:
usp_essay_competition_mother_language_day_2019_fiji.pdf | |
File Size: | 568 kb |
File Type: |
For school students outside Fiji, please contact your local USP campus for further details of national rounds: The Tonga Campus is definitely participating, and a final-year linguistics student in Vanuatu is hoping to launch a competition from Emalus.
Meanwhile, Niue celebrated Mother Language Day on 22 Feb with a Vagahau Niue proverb competition for public servants. Entries were received from the Treasury Department, Ridge to Reef Project, and the Niue High Commissioner in Wellington. Entries were rewarded with copies of the Tohi Vagahau Niue monolingual dictionary.
Meanwhile, Niue celebrated Mother Language Day on 22 Feb with a Vagahau Niue proverb competition for public servants. Entries were received from the Treasury Department, Ridge to Reef Project, and the Niue High Commissioner in Wellington. Entries were rewarded with copies of the Tohi Vagahau Niue monolingual dictionary.
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UNESCO has designated 2019 to be the International Year of Indigenous Languages. At they write in the introduction to their website:
"Languages play a crucial role in the daily lives of people, not only as a tool for communication, education, social integration and development, but also as a repository for each person's unique identity, cultural history, traditions and memory. But despite their immense value, languages around the world continue to disappear at an alarming rate." The University of the South Pacific's 2019 mother language day competition will therefore focus on the importance of passing languages on from one generation to another. |
New degree programmes in Pacific languages
2019 sees USP launching new degree courses in and about a range of Pacific languages: Vagahau Niue, Tongan & Niuafo'ou, Rotuman, and Vanuatu Language Studies, in addition to Fijian and Hindi that have been offered for many years, and Cook Islands Māori that started in 2018. This makes USP the first university in the world to offer these languages as subjects of study in their own right: with the exception of Rotuman, the programmes are designed for fluent speakers of the language, rather than beginners or heritage learners, as the language in question is used as the medium of instruction and assessment as well as being the object of linguistic analysis. CM211 Cook Islands Māori 2 has just completed in the January flexi-school term, NU111 Vagahau Niue 1 and TG111 Tongan & Niuafo'ou 1 are currently in progress in Semester 1, and a range of new courses will begin in Semester 2: VA112 The languages of Vanuatu, RT101 Rotuman language and culture 1, NU131 Taoga Niue and TG211 Tongan & Niuafo'ou 2. Meanwhile, our Rotuman Saturday social classes for children and adults are about to begin their second term. Watch this space for more! |
2018
Results of the 2018 competition
We received our highest ever number of entries this year from schools around Fiji. Senior students answered "What is the role of vernacular languages in sustainable development?" while junior students explained "Why my mother tongue is important for my future". Prizes were awarded to the following students:
Senior Category
Junior Category
Congratulations to all who took part, and thank you to the judging panel who read so many submissions.
We received our highest ever number of entries this year from schools around Fiji. Senior students answered "What is the role of vernacular languages in sustainable development?" while junior students explained "Why my mother tongue is important for my future". Prizes were awarded to the following students:
Senior Category
- Neha Natasha Lata (Ba Sanatan College)
- Jethro Titifanue (Swami Vivekananda College)
- Sharon Shivanjini (Jasper Williams School)
Junior Category
- Shrishti Kumar (Labasa Sangam College)
- Ratu Kalivati Vakatalebola (Rakiraki Public High School)
- Risha Riya Chandra (Guru Nanak Primary School)
Congratulations to all who took part, and thank you to the judging panel who read so many submissions.
Launch of the 2018 competition in Fiji: Pacific languages for sustainable development
The details for the 2018 competition can be downloaded by clicking on the relevant country name below.
Fiji
The details for the 2018 competition can be downloaded by clicking on the relevant country name below.
Fiji
In this, our 50th anniversary year, the University of the South Pacific is excited by the progress we’ve made recently with plans to introduce new degree programmes in and about Pacific languages, adding to our current offerings in Fijian and Hindi. The Cook Islands Māori programme launched officially in 2017, and has just completed its first summer school course with a cohort of 26 students. We are now finalising proposals to launch similar programmes in Tongan & Niuafoˈou, Vagahau Niue, and Vanuatu languages later this year. We also hope to see Rotuman on the books for the first time at the Laucala Campus in Fiji, with Saturday ‘taster classes’ coming soon.
We really hope that students leaving high school at the end of 2018 will have the chance to enrol on the first ever degree programme in one of these languages! In the meantime, they will have the chance to tell us their views on the languages spoken in their country, as we prepare to launch the next round of our mother language day essay competition. Check back here very shortly for details ….
We really hope that students leaving high school at the end of 2018 will have the chance to enrol on the first ever degree programme in one of these languages! In the meantime, they will have the chance to tell us their views on the languages spoken in their country, as we prepare to launch the next round of our mother language day essay competition. Check back here very shortly for details ….
2017
Results of the 2017 competition
Once again, we struggled to expand the competition beyond Fiji, although we did manage to increase the number of languages submitted, and we were really pleased to see so many of the prize-winning essays written in languages other than English.
The senior category were asked to write on the topic: “As Pacific Islanders, what can we do to promote the use of our languages?”. Romitesh Chand from Tilak High School submitted the best essay in this category, writing in Hindi, and he was followed by Ipahelen Tekewa Rota from Nakasi High School, writing in English, and Pareti Folau from Vunimono, who wrote in Fijian.
The junior category were asked to write on the topic: "Why I love my mother tongue". First prize went to Jethro Titifanue from Swami Vivekananda College, for an essay written in Rotuman, and he was followed up by two students from Penang Sangam: Raneesha Selvina Chand, writing in English, and Maanvik Yash Goundar, writing in Tamil.
Congratulations to all the schools who took part, and we hope that students at Tilak and Swami Vivekananda are enjoying their year's subscription to Babel magazine, kindly provided by our sponsor. Thanks also to Rajendra Prasad for coordinating the judging and prize giving this year.
Once again, we struggled to expand the competition beyond Fiji, although we did manage to increase the number of languages submitted, and we were really pleased to see so many of the prize-winning essays written in languages other than English.
The senior category were asked to write on the topic: “As Pacific Islanders, what can we do to promote the use of our languages?”. Romitesh Chand from Tilak High School submitted the best essay in this category, writing in Hindi, and he was followed by Ipahelen Tekewa Rota from Nakasi High School, writing in English, and Pareti Folau from Vunimono, who wrote in Fijian.
The junior category were asked to write on the topic: "Why I love my mother tongue". First prize went to Jethro Titifanue from Swami Vivekananda College, for an essay written in Rotuman, and he was followed up by two students from Penang Sangam: Raneesha Selvina Chand, writing in English, and Maanvik Yash Goundar, writing in Tamil.
Congratulations to all the schools who took part, and we hope that students at Tilak and Swami Vivekananda are enjoying their year's subscription to Babel magazine, kindly provided by our sponsor. Thanks also to Rajendra Prasad for coordinating the judging and prize giving this year.
Launch of the 2017 competition: Promoting the use of all our languages
The details for the 2017 competition can be downloaded by clicking on the relevant country name below. More countries will be added very shortly ...
Fiji
The details for the 2017 competition can be downloaded by clicking on the relevant country name below. More countries will be added very shortly ...
Fiji
Celebrating linguistic diversity in 2017
What reasons do we have to celebrate linguistic diversity in the USP region over the past 12 months? Well, the movie Tanna, shot entirely in the language of Yakel in Vanuatu has been nominated for an Oscar; also in movie news, USP’s Dr Paul Geraghty was a member of the Oceanic Storyboard Trust behind the scenes of Disney’s Moana, helping to get the linguistic side of things as authentic as possible; Samoan has become the first USP region language to be included in Google Translate; USP will soon be launching a suite of new programmes in Cook Islands Māori, making it possible for Cook Islanders to study this language for the first time at tertiary level; meanwhile, at the other end of the education system, work is still progressing well in the implementation of early education in 40+ languages of Vanuatu.
All this is good news! But we are still acutely aware that many languages of our region are in danger of falling out of use, and many of us don’t realise how critical the situation is.
If you are participating in our essay competition this year, please do take the opportunity to write in your own vernacular. We loved reading all of last year’s entries!
What reasons do we have to celebrate linguistic diversity in the USP region over the past 12 months? Well, the movie Tanna, shot entirely in the language of Yakel in Vanuatu has been nominated for an Oscar; also in movie news, USP’s Dr Paul Geraghty was a member of the Oceanic Storyboard Trust behind the scenes of Disney’s Moana, helping to get the linguistic side of things as authentic as possible; Samoan has become the first USP region language to be included in Google Translate; USP will soon be launching a suite of new programmes in Cook Islands Māori, making it possible for Cook Islanders to study this language for the first time at tertiary level; meanwhile, at the other end of the education system, work is still progressing well in the implementation of early education in 40+ languages of Vanuatu.
All this is good news! But we are still acutely aware that many languages of our region are in danger of falling out of use, and many of us don’t realise how critical the situation is.
If you are participating in our essay competition this year, please do take the opportunity to write in your own vernacular. We loved reading all of last year’s entries!
2016
The 2016 competition was intended to launch on the day itself – 21 February – and we had hoped to get rounds going in all 12 member countries of the university. However, with Cyclone Winston (the strongest cyclone on record in the southern hemisphere) hitting Fiji that weekend, communication across the region and university was severely disrupted, and things didn’t go to plan. Although USP staff and students in Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu began the process of seeking approval from Ministries of Education to run the competition through schools, communication breakdowns all round proved too much for the first year. In the end, only Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and Fiji were able to take part this year, but we hope to be back bigger and stronger next year!
Celebrations at the Marshall Islands USP Campus
Led by Gade Maitokana, the Marshall Islands Campus took up the challenge with a full week of activities in celebration of linguistic diversity during the last week of February 2016, followed by a half-day programme on 4 May on which the finalists presented their entries to staff and students. Prizes, kindly donated by the USP-RMI campus, were awarded to the best entrants in categories for each of spoken word, poetry, drama, posters, essays and oratory. A debate on the pros and cons of the use of the mother tongue in education was also held during English classes, culminating in a final between LLP13 and LLP14 students. As the organisers commented in their report, “the celebration not only raised awareness about and appreciation of the importance of the mother tongue and language diversity, but also provided a platform for the students to express their views in a creative and engaging way”. The USP Linguistics team were so excited to read about the activities put on by this campus and look forward to next year’s events!
Led by Gade Maitokana, the Marshall Islands Campus took up the challenge with a full week of activities in celebration of linguistic diversity during the last week of February 2016, followed by a half-day programme on 4 May on which the finalists presented their entries to staff and students. Prizes, kindly donated by the USP-RMI campus, were awarded to the best entrants in categories for each of spoken word, poetry, drama, posters, essays and oratory. A debate on the pros and cons of the use of the mother tongue in education was also held during English classes, culminating in a final between LLP13 and LLP14 students. As the organisers commented in their report, “the celebration not only raised awareness about and appreciation of the importance of the mother tongue and language diversity, but also provided a platform for the students to express their views in a creative and engaging way”. The USP Linguistics team were so excited to read about the activities put on by this campus and look forward to next year’s events!
Winner – Spoken Word
Title: My Language, My Identity By Siaumau Filoitofi My language, my identity Hey, I know it’s cheesy But listen A man without his language Is like an opened wound without the bandage Or a freeman working under bondage My language represents my tradition Without it Is like a lawyer without a petition A doctor’s prescription without the medication Or bench press set without any repetition My language my heritage It’s a little testament But demolishing what our ancestors Ancestors created is just pure yielding Nothing for our children’s children Except discouragement And cultural displacement My language, my nationality Without it Is like MEC without the electricity A girl without her intimacy Yeah, I know it sounds cheesy But I am incomplete without my language No…for real! For who travels the world without their luggage?? |
Winner – Poetry Competition Title: Iakwe and Manit By Hideo Ishoda Iakwe, what does it mean? It’s just a simple greeting! No, it’s more than that, coz Behind the word There is a deeper meaning You are the rainbow Beautiful and rare This is the message Expressed with care As you greet anybody anywhere Manit, I’ve heard this often It means manners and code of behavior Our elders say “embrace your manit tight” Coz once you let go, say bye bye Manit defines our speech, Our love for our parents and siblings Respect for our elders and ancestors Not preserved in ink But in our speech Without knowledge of Manit And Iakwe as we greet Our language and identity will cease Treasure them in your heart and soul And be a proud RiMajol |
"Na vosa ni sucu na vosa dina ka ra vosataka na noqu qase ka dewa sobu mai me yacovi au." (Joana Drawe Vualiku, MGM High School, Aged 15) "Being a Fijian student of Chinese ethnicity has enabled me to be multilingual. ... I am also pleased that Chinese is not a major language in Fiji because gossip with my family is much more convenient!" (Grace Fong, Yat Sen Secondary School, Aged 14) "The loss of one single language destroys a huge part of the heritage our ancestors have created." (Betrice Briya Nand, MGM High School, Aged 18) |
Essay competition throughout Fiji: Celebrating diversity
After some belated publicity, Fiji decided to go ahead with the original essay competition that had been planned, utilising whatever networks we could to spread the word. We were therefore delighted to receive 57 entries from 16 schools in the senior category (aged 16-19), and 22 submissions from 9 schools in the junior category (aged 11-15). Students were invited to write in any language that they wished, leading to submissions in Fijian, Hindi, Rotuman, Urdu and English. The senior students were asked to write an essay in response to the title: Is linguistic diversity something to celebrate in the Pacific? The first prize was awarded to Betrice Priya Nand of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School, who chose to write in English. Her essay will be published in Wansolwara. Runners up were Avinal Bhawik Chand from Ba Sanatan College (English) and James Joseph Sung from Saint Vincent College (English). Jeniffer Galo Laveti from Votualevu College (Fijian), Reshma Ranjini Lata from Votualevu College (Hindi), Gaurav Pandey from Rishikul Sanatan College (Hindi) and Dayna Danielle Tolo from Yat Sen Secondary School (Rotuman) were highly commended. The junior students were asked to write on the topic: Why I am proud of my mother tongue. Grace Fong from Yat Sen Secondary School scooped first prize for her account (in English) of why she is proud to speak Chinese as her mother tongue. Grace’s essay will be published by Kaila! Joana Drawe Vualiku from Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School came second (Fijian), and Ryana Rosy Prasad, also from Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School was third (English). Submissions by Taitusi Vadei and Gabriela Ebony Laura Kado of Yat Sen Secondary School and Mohammed Al-Dousary of Rishikul Sanatan College (all writing in English) were highly commended. Prize winners who were able to attend the USP open day on 31 July received their prizes and certificates in person. As well as having their essays published, top-placed Betrice and Grace have also won their schools a year’s subscription to the internationally-renowned Babel Magazine, generously donated by our sponsors Babel. A big thank you to Wilfred Fimone and his team of judges for doing all the hard work! |