Early in Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life," there's a skit sending up the Catholic Church's ban on contraception in which hordes of ragged but pious urchins sing several choruses of "Every Sperm Is Sacred." The industry of worrying about dead, dying and declining languages is a bit like that.
The latest outburst of angst comes from Scotland, where only one in 100 people can actually speak Scots Gaelic,and four existing speakers die for every new child born into a Gaelic-speaking family. "The situation is pretty desperate," said Scottish National Party spokesman Mike Russell last week. "Vast amounts are spent on preserving endangered wildlife. A language is equally special, and just to let it go strikes me as the height of irresponsibility."
Which raises two points. Is a language really as precious and irreplaceable as an endangered species of wildlife? And even if it is, can it be saved just by throwing money at it?