Europe House Novi Pazar and the youth media outlet “Klackalica” marked the European Day of Languages with a street event in the town square called “Do We Understand Each Other?”. Participants, mostly young people, tested their knowledge of foreign languages and learned new words and phrases through games and conversation.
Through play, humour and direct interaction, young people discovered the linguistic diversity of Europe. They also saw how much language skills matter for better understanding, for connecting with others and for opening new educational, cultural and professional opportunities.
At the first of two stands, participants drew cards with words from various European languages and guessed their meaning. At the second stand, other participants guessed which language each word or phrase came from.
Kadir Trubljanin, editor of “Klackalica”, said the main goal of the event was to show young people how important it is to speak several languages.
“We also want to show that there is a lot of truth in the saying ‘you are worth as many people as the languages you speak’. I hope this event will further encourage young people to learn as much as they can, to discover new cultures and to learn about other nations. I have no doubt they will. Today’s young people are curious, ambitious and very knowledgeable”, Trubljanin said.
Most of the young people we spoke to said they speak one foreign language very well, usually English, while many of them also speak German, French, Spanish or Italian.
“I speak English and French, and I would like to learn Portuguese too, because I like the way it sounds. So far I haven’t been able to find a suitable language school or teacher in Novi Pazar. That is one of my goals,” said Emina, who guessed the meaning of every foreign word correctly.
The European Day of Languages is an initiative that promotes language learning. It was launched by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the European Commission in 2001.
Since then, 26 September has been celebrated across the continent as the European Day of Languages.
For more information and fun facts about European languages and cultures, as well as music, recipes and quizzes, visit the official European Day of Languages website.