I have been hired to teach Bullom So as a second language. My language is spoken by only five hundred speakers in Sierre Leone, has no imperialistic or hegemonic claims on the region, has not been used for colonization, does not bring about any difficult moral dilemmas in my heart, will likely be extinct by the end of a couple of decades, and I don't get sick at the thought of the impact that it will have on those who learn it. My work brings life, not death. It invigorates a community and brings joy to those who know that their heritage and heart language will not be lost as the younger generation accepts the new and rejects the old. I am a righteous agent of positive change for a community. My work could bring about a cultural renaissance for my community. I picture a world where Bullom So poets are included in native language anthologies in Bullom So universities, where our artists tour the art galleries of the world and speak of our rich cultural heritage, and where our community teems with life and beauty and love.
But none of that is true, is it?
-The future smoking gun of language death
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