Choudhury chairs Scottish Parliament roundtable to address “Language Loss in  Today’s World”

In anticipation of International Mother Language Day and the upcoming Bhasha Glasgow Language Festival 2025, a roundtable discussion on “Language Loss in Today’s  World” was hosted at the Scottish Parliament.

This panel discussion, chaired by Scottish  Labour MSP for the Lothian Region, Foysol Choudhury, was organised by the Bangladesh  Association Glasgow and brought together leading experts to address the pressing global  issue of language extinction. 

As globalisation accelerates, linguistic diversity is under threat, with many languages facing  the risk of extinction. This roundtable provided an essential platform to discuss the impact  of language loss and explore strategies to safeguard endangered languages.

The discussion  was driven by an esteemed panel of experts from academia, policy, and advocacy, including Dr. Antonella Sorace, Professor of Developmental Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh and founding director of Bilingualism Matters; Dr. Alison Phipps OBE, Professor of  Languages and Intercultural Studies at the University of Glasgow and UNESCO Chair in  Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts; Fhiona Mackay, Director of Scotland’s  National Centre for Languages; and Dr. Cristina Clopot, Policy Advice Officer of The Royal  Society of Edinburgh. 

This engaging discussion aimed to generate awareness and foster actionable solutions to  mitigate or prevent language extinction. The theme of language loss demonstrates the  global efforts of prevention.

This theme was present throughout the roundtable with Dr. Saif D Khan, trustee from the Bangladesh Association Glasgow, moderating an insightful  discussion focused on key examples of how the language loss is being prevented globally,  with a case study focus on Scots and Gaelic. 

Abdullah Al Wasif with Unityflow AI provided an insightful presentation on next-generation  speech recognition for underserved languages in enterprise.

This revealed that many  languages are fading due to limited digital and technological support, such as Gaelic, which  has been classified by UNESCO as “definitely endangered.”

Other languages that need  attention include Scots, which lacks digital integration; Sylheti and Bengali, spoken in  communities but under-represented; Polish and Romanian, spoken by large migrant groups  but underserved in voice technology.

By implementing data tools, it is possible to preserve  Scotland’s linguistic diversity and increase accessibility for public services for minority and  migrant languages. 

The insights from this session will contribute to broader conversations at the Bhasha  Glasgow Language Festival 2025, which launches on February 18, 2025, coinciding with  International Mother Language Day.

The President of Bangladesh Association Glasgow, Mr.  Ehtesham Hasnain, invited the roundtable participants to attend the upcoming events from  this year’s festival.

Commenting on the significance of the event, Choudhury stated, “Language is more than  just communication; it embodies culture, identity, and heritage. This discussion is a timely  call to action, ensuring that no language disappears without a fight.”