About

Malala Yousafzai

The competition is officially endorsed by Malala Yousafzai, youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner and education activist.

“When you are learning another language, you learn to think in that language, you learn to speak in that language and you learn to believe in that language and it allows you to think from a completely different perspective: it’s not just about the words and the grammar but the culture and the language it is associated with.

It’s a skill - a talent - and I hope those of you learning a new language continue to do so because the more you learn, the broader your mind becomes and allows you to think big.”

Imtiaz Dharker

The competition is officially endorsed by Imtiaz Dharker, award winning poet, artist and documentary film-maker.

“Mother Tongue Other Tongue gives young people a way to cross borders in the most exciting way – through language.

Moving between a first language and a learned one, listening to what is shared, what is different and what happens in translation, is an act of empowerment: it changes the way students see their own lives and others’, as well as how they imagine themselves in the world.

They are able to pay attention to the words, the lullabies and songs they grew up with and shine all that light into the place where they are today.

This is a project that celebrates all the richness of languages spoken in Britain.

It feels as if it should always have existed, and I wish I had had something like it when I was growing up. It would have saved me all the years of stumbling over my own tongue before I learned to respect it.

It is inspiring to see these young people coming to language as something freshly discovered, newly-made. That is where poetry begins.”

Dame Carol Ann Duffy

The Mother Tongue Other Tongue poetry competition is a Laureate Education Project. Professor Carol Ann Duffy DBE (UK Poet Laureate 2009-2019), described it as  “the best competition in the country”.

“The competition was set up to celebrate the many languages and cultures that make up the UK today.  Differences in languages and culture are often considered to be barriers to communication but the language of poetry is read all over the world and all cultures have their own poets and poetry. The young people represented here are poetry’s children and the way they see our world is fresh and inspiring. In appreciating the poetry of others, or in sharing original poetry in their own language or in a language new to them, these fledgling poets bring another perspective to an art form, which can break down such perceived barriers”. 

Amir Khan

Amir Khan, the Olympic silver medallist and world boxing champion said:

“I think it’s important to encourage more pupils in school to learn a language and this competition is a great way to boost children’s confidence.”

Qaisra Shahraz

Qaisra Shahraz, British-Pakistani novelist and scriptwriter, college inspector, teacher trainer, education consultant and freelance journalist said of the competition:

“Mother Tongue Other Tongue project inspires children, builds their confidence and celebrates their achievements as well as their ability to use language and write poetry.”

Professor Sharon Handley

Professor Sharon Handley, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Culture and Community) and Co-Director of Routes into Languages North West said of the competition:

“It explores the relationship between language and cultural heritage, encouraging pupils who are native speakers of another language to share their heritage with their peers through a poem or song in their mother tongue thus valuing the many communities which make up this vibrant city of Manchester and the UK in general”