ISLAMABAD: On the second day of the Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival 2026 at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Saturday, while mother languages were celebrated, the conversations also moved to the sobering reflection that endangered languages may fade, and with them, entire musical worlds are at risk of falling silent. The second day unfolded across two major sessions, one honouring literary legends of mother languages, the other examining endangered arts and musical instruments, yet both were threaded by a shared concern about cultural survival. The opening session, ‘Celebrating the Legends of the Languages’, brought together writers representing Brahui, Seraiki, Punjabi, Urdu, Balochi, Sindhi and Potohari. Yet, behind the tributes lay a pressing question of inheriting these languages. The concern was echoed by panellists representing Gojri, Pahari, Hindko and Gawarbati languages as well, who stressed that recognition without institutional backing risks reducing linguistic heri...