Uh-oh...I think I broke my language.

"I speak two languages! English and BAD English!"-Corbin Dallas, The Fifth Element

When language dies, it is most often only a symptom of a larger social or cultural extinction. Forces of change, coming politically or ecumenically, push against and erode the two simplest characteristics of culture first. Territory and language are the things that most easily define and represent a culture. The dialect you speak is, at the very least, as important as where you come from; so its no surprise that, with the intent controlling another, you take the land first and remove the language second. Transplanting one language for another is a dangerous business, one that I feel any right thinking individual would have no part of.

However, language also dies a natural death. One that breaks it apart or corrodes it for the sake of simplicity. Take Latin, at one time spoken, then taught to the wealthy and finally recognized only for it's canonical significance. The death of language does not mean the death of a culture. Cultures are resilient and evolve as time moves on, language, histories and stories can often survive the natural demise of a language. Sadly, it is a tragedy that not all languages are given that much dignity.