Linguistic Olympiad-2026 of Rangpur region was held at Rangpur Zilla School yesterday.  Photo : BSS

RANGPUR, Jan 11, 2026 (BSS)- Linguistic Olympiad-2026 of Rangpur region was held at Rangpur Zilla School yesterday. 

Vice-chancellor of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR) Professor Dr Md Showkat Ali attended the program as the chief guest and inaugurated the Olympiad by releasing balloons and festoon.

The programme began with hoisting the national flag and singing the national anthem. 

Addressing the programme as Director of the International Mother Language Institute (IMLI) Dr. Mohammad Ashaduzzaman said extinction of a mother tongue means death of a culture, tradition and civilization of that language. 
 
“A community expresses its thoughts, feelings and concerns through mother tongue. Many mother languages in the world are in the verge of extinction as people now don’t speak in those languages anymore,” he said.

So, it is necessary to speak, discuss, practice, revive and promote mother tongues and the IMLI is doing the work, he said.

The Linguistic Olympiad is being held 10 regions of the country under the auspices of IMLI for the third time as part of observing the Martyr's Day and International Mother Language Day-2026. 
 
Deputy Commissioner of Rangpur Mohammad Enamul Ahsan and Additional Director (Admin) of IMLI Md Abul Kalam spoke among others, on the occasion.

A total of 340 students, 229 from Class XI to IX and 111 students from Class X to XII took part in the competition.
 
The competition was followed by a cultural program and question session of the students on language, literature and culture. The invited guests answered the questions of the students and announced the results.

The Linguistic Olympiad will be held Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Cumilla and online.
 
To participate in the Linguistic Olympiad-2026 students can register online by visiting the IMLI website.