<span style="color: #222222;">Vice President Venkaiah Naidu today emphasised on conserving the unique linguistic heritage of the country. He said language illuminates the world and is a tool for intellectual and emotional expression. Speaking at a function organised in New Delhi on the occasion of International Mother Language Day, Mr Naidu said promotion of mother tongue is very important. He said language is a vehicle of inter generational transmission of culture. He also said that tribal languages contain invaluable knowledge and when a language declines, it takes away with it an entire knowledge system. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Vice President called upon policy makers to see that medium of instruction at the basic level remains in the mother tongue of the people. He said one should learn as many languages as possible without neglecting mother tongue.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' On the occasion, students in traditional Indian attires welcomed the Vice President in 22 Indian languages.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' AIR correspondent reports that International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The theme this year is "Languages without borders".</span><br />