Editor,This is with reference to David Nkusi’s article, "Why we must jealously guard Kinyarwanda” (The New Times, November 8).I could not agree more with the author – we must indeed jealously guard our mother tongue. We are a small nation and many of us are now multilingual. There is a danger that, if we don’t protect Kinyarwanda, the language may come be extinct in the not so distant future.Professor Lera Boroditsky of Stanford University said: "It turns out that if you change how people talk, that changes how they think. If people learn another language, they inadvertently also learn a new way of looking at the world….”All this shows us that the languages we speak not only reflect or express our thoughts, but also shape the very thoughts we wish to express. The structures that exist in our languages profoundly shape how we construct reality, and help make us as smart and sophisticated as we are.Rashid Swaleh, New York United States********************The author is absolutely right and articulate in his argument. However, he should have added that one shouldn’t be a "prisoner” or "slave” of their own culture. It is inevitable for a culture to evolve, and we must not forget that assimilation is also important.Kato, Kigali