A small town in Sweden fights to preserve Elfdalian, a dying forest language
I think it is absolutely vital that we preserve minority languages.<p>We engage, enhance and preserve our culture through language: spoken and written.  Each language is shaped via its environment and is different as a result from all others.<p>English is often called French (lingua Franca - the language of the Franks).  It is routinely used as an intermediary language because it is very simply structured and can take quite a lot of abuse and still remain intelligible.<p><pre><code>  * No diacritics (accents etc)
  * Vowels can be mispronounced but the meaning remains
  * Word order can be fluid: Nominally: subject object verb but not enforced and can be broken for effect
  * Borrow words are actively encouraged
  * English *can* sound beautiful, if you put your back into it
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Well that's nice but English isn't the way that (think of a non English speaking poet) thinks or speaks.<p>Let's go Scottish (no, not Pictish) and consider Mr Burns: and we should start here - <a href="https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/mouse/" rel="nofollow">https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/mouse/</a><p><pre><code>  Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie,
  O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
  Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
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Now that is the way to make English sound a bit sexy.  It's not really English and nor is it full on Gallic.<p>"Oh what a panic is in your heart" is genius.<p>This is so obviously a bloke who is looking at a mouse.  So few words and yet so much meaning - that's genius.