Students from six countries celebrated the Mother Tongue Week at VVSU

From February 23 to 28, a week dedicated to preserving linguistic diversity and protecting endangered languages was held at VVSU. Students from six different countries introduced guests to their national cultures.

The event, timed to coincide with the Day of Native Language and the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, brought together students from Russia, China, North Korea, Turkey, Egypt, Mozambique, and the Republic of Buryatia. The organizer of this event was the Institute of Pedagogy and Linguistics at VVSU.

The week began with debates on the topical issue “Obscene language. Fight it, accept it or...?” which were conducted by literature teacher Irina Tregubova. First-year students from the College of Information and Creative Technologies participated in these discussions.

According to Pavel Radzinsky, who took part in the debate, "Profanity in our society seems like a delicate topic to me. Yes, it''''s become part of our language culture, but something needs to be done about it—if nothing else, we need to systemize its use. I''''m very glad that people have started talking about it, especially here at our university."

In an interactive format, divided into groups, students presented their arguments for and against profanity, noting that while vulgar language cannot be completely eradicated, one should always be aware of what they are saying, when, and where.

Hondamir Rustamov, a student at the college, shared his impressions after learning about the history behind such words: "I learned about the origin of these words and realized that although they''''ve firmly entered everyday life, you must always think about whom you''''re communicating with and what kind of person you want to represent yourself as."

At the university''''s Winter Garden, interactive stations provided insights into the culture, cuisine, and traditions of six countries. Participants could test themselves in logic puzzles, painting, calligraphy, and geography challenges.

Everyone had the opportunity to try dishes from various national cuisines, and the most active participants received souvenirs from international friends.

Mother Tongue Week at VVSU is a series of traditional events marking International Mother Language Day established by UNESCO, aimed at safeguarding the uniqueness of languages and cultures around the world.