When Your Language Dies...
Posted by: Bhai Atma Singh (UK)
Posted by: Bhai Atma Singh (UK)
"One language system is lost every two weeks. Of 6,000 known human languages, half are in imminent danger of disappearing and 90% could be erased forever within a century." - United Nations Cultural Agency
"When a language dies,
the divine things,
stars, sun and moon,
the human things.
to think and to feel,
are no longer reflected
in this mirror.
When a language dies,
all that there is in this world,
oceans and rivers,
animals and plants,
do not think of them,
do not pronounce their names;
they do not exist now.
When a language dies,
the window and the door
are closed up
to all the people of the world,
no longer will they be shown
a different way
to name the divine and human things which is what it means
to be and to live
on the earth.
When a language dies,
its words of love,
intonations of pain and caring,
perhaps the old songs,
the old stories,
the speeches, the prayers,
no one no matter whom
will be able to repeat them again.
When a language dies,
then many have died,
and many more will die soon,
mirrors forever broken,
shadows of voices
forever silenced.
Humanity grows poorer
when a language dies."
- 'When a Language Dies', translated from the Aztec by Miguel Leon Portillo & John Ross.
the divine things,
stars, sun and moon,
the human things.
to think and to feel,
are no longer reflected
in this mirror.
When a language dies,
all that there is in this world,
oceans and rivers,
animals and plants,
do not think of them,
do not pronounce their names;
they do not exist now.
When a language dies,
the window and the door
are closed up
to all the people of the world,
no longer will they be shown
a different way
to name the divine and human things which is what it means
to be and to live
on the earth.
When a language dies,
its words of love,
intonations of pain and caring,
perhaps the old songs,
the old stories,
the speeches, the prayers,
no one no matter whom
will be able to repeat them again.
When a language dies,
then many have died,
and many more will die soon,
mirrors forever broken,
shadows of voices
forever silenced.
Humanity grows poorer
when a language dies."
- 'When a Language Dies', translated from the Aztec by Miguel Leon Portillo & John Ross.
1 comment:
Waheguru Jee Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Jee Kee Fateh!
Just wanted to say, THANK YOU for such a beautiful, and informative blog! Your blog is great source for young sikhs like me. Your compassionate and humble personality clearly shines throughout. Thank you for all you have done, and all that you continue to do. We are blessed to be able to communicate with such a beautiful soul.
Blessings,
Cynthia (Vancouver)
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