I'm Maggie Smith, and this is The Slowdown.

You know we love language at the slowdown.

We spend time every weekday celebrating the power of words.

And language isn't just a tool for communication or self-expression.

It's a part of who we are. Language and culture are deeply intertwined.

Language connects us to our elders and to previous generations. It connects us to our homeland,

no matter how far away it may be. It connects us to our homeland, no matter how far away it may be. It connects us to our roots.

A heritage language is a language spoken by individuals or families that is not the dominant language of their local community.

Even though the United States doesn't have an official language, in the U.S., this typically

refers to any language other than English.

Speaking a heritage language is often a significant part of a person's cultural identity.

You might speak English at school or at work, but speak Spanish or Vietnamese or Somali with family members at home. Being bilingual allows people to keep their cultural

identity intact while adapting to local customs where they live. Conversely, heritage language

loss is the gradual or total decline of a mother tongue.

It most often happens within immigrant and indigenous families due to pressure to assimilate,

or when receiving an education in a more dominant language.

When the words themselves are lost, so much can be lost with it.

Oral histories, traditions, and unique perspectives.

Today's poem references Creole,

a language that evolved in the Americas

in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Haitian Creole, a French-based vernacular language,

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