26 September is the “European Day of Languages”.

The “European Day of Languages” was first celebrated in 2001 as part of the “European Year of Languages”, which was co-organised by the Council of Europe and the European Union (EU). At the end of that year, the Council of Europe decided to designate 26 September as the European Day of Languages to be celebrated annually. The designation aims to raise awareness of Europe’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity, which includes over 225 languages, and to encourage people to broaden the range of languages they learn throughout their lives, thereby enhancing their multilingual skills and intercultural understanding.

In celebration of this year’s European Day of Languages, the EU Delegation has collaborated with EU Member State embassies in Japan to compile a video featuring tongue twisters in the languages of each country. EU Ambassador Jean-Eric Paquet has tackled a Japanese tongue twister.