They speak in a language so foreign that you have not
Even heard of its existence, this is a language they have brought
With them from their ancestral village, it is amazing to see
That only a handful of people speak it fluently
It is like having a code language to communicate with family and friends
To preserve their dying language they intend
Centuries of colonial domination had led them to replace
Their mother tongue with the lingua franca of the masters, now that language does face
The threat of extinction, as native speakers are few
But to keep it alive, they are doing everything they can do
*
In a lively post-dinner gathering you witness
People from their community trying to express
Themselves in the language that has been swept aside
You sense in the elders an unmistakable pride
At passing down valuable cultural currency to their offsprings
They are determined to face the challenges this endeavor brings
They are writing down songs and stories for future generations to read
For some of them, keeping their language alive is a divine calling indeed
*
There are merits to using the same language in a world globalized
But the importance of linguistic diversity should be recognized
To save animal and plant species from extinction we strive
Similarly we should keep linguistic diversity alive
*
Let no language be sacrificed at the hands of colonial domination
I applaud those involved in linguistic preservation
Passion...unbridled 