Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America.

I'm Katie Weaver.

And I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower and we use words and phrases especially written for people learning English.

Coming up, John Russell brings us the programs Ask a Teacher and Everyday Grammar.

We close the show with an American story.

We hear the first part of The Blue Hotel by Stephen Crane.

But first, this report from Anna Mateo.

Every Friday, musician Enos Salman performs the Savdalinka,

an ancient form of love song from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Savedalinka was recently included in UNESCO's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage.

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

Save Dalinka is often called the Balkan Blues.

It is a somewhat sad form of urban love song that dates to the 1500s.

It is a mix of South Slavic spoken poetry and music of the Ottoman Empire.

Salman is among only a few musicians keeping the tradition alive.

I have been playing and singing Saveavedalenka since I was 14,

he said before a recent performance.

Savedalinka is often performed a cappella.

That means it is sung without musical instruments.

Sometimes the performer sings with traditional instruments, like a lute.

This form or genre of music has been carried from generation to generation, through performances at family gatherings.

In recent years, younger musicians have brought modern versions of Savdalenka to audiences around the world.

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