Sri Lanka, Nov. 11 -- Everyone in Colombo recognizes the Dawoodi Bohras. Standing out in their distinctive attire, they are a familiar sight whether in the bustling bazaar of Pettah or drinking coffee in a hotel lobby. And if you happen to catch a fragment of their conversation, your ears will encounter a fascinating linguistic phenomenon: they speak a unique language - "Lisan ud-Dawat" (literally meaning "language of the community").

To any untrained ear, it does sound like an Indian language. However, their conversation does not have the same musical melody of Hindi or Urdu, nor does it have the rhythm of Sri Lankan Muslim Tamil, and it does not have the pauses of Arabic either. Instead, Lisan ud-Dawat possesses a very distinctive aco...