On April 23, the “Spanish Language Day at the United Nations” is celebrated to raise awareness among the staff of the Organization, and the world at large, about the history, culture and use of Spanish as an official language.
The election of the day attends to the anniversary of the death of the great genius of Spanish lyrics, Miguel de Cervantes. Incidentally, the date of his death coincides with that of the most prestigious English playwright, William Shakespeare. Hence both languages share the day.
English Language Day at the United Nations is also celebrated on the 23rd of April — the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. As well as being the English language’s most famous playwright, Shakespeare had a significant impact on modern-day English. Shakespeare’s creativity with language meant he contributed hundreds of new words and phrases: ‘gossip’; ‘fashionable’ and ‘lonely’ were all first used by Shakespeare. He also invented phrases like ‘break the ice’, ‘faint-hearted’ and ‘love is blind’.
English is one of the languages of international communication. People from different countries and cultures are increasingly able to communicate with each other in English, even if it is not their first language. This makes it an essential tool for global cooperation and diplomacy.
At the United Nations, English is one of the two working languages, along with French.
Find out more at https://www.un.org/es/observances/spanish-language-day and https://www.un.org/en/observances/english-language-day
