"Testing Revives near-dead languages"

This article appeared in my local newspaper today: http://www.thestate.com/2011/06/28/1877323/hip-hop-texting-may-help-save.html

Fascinating. It's obviously far too soon to know for sure, but wouldn't it be something if technology keeps languages from disappearing?

I had two years of Spanish in middle school (I live in Texas). It's very useful. I'm not fluent but it's useful.

I had two years of Latin in high school. I took it because grandmother, Dad and big sister all took it and they said "You're gonna take Latin". So I did.

It was like bad tasting medicine. Painful at the time but I am grateful that I took it. I got tangled up in the cases and grammar, but learned so many useful English words. Then I went to law school some years later and can pronounce "res ipsa loquitur" without mangling it.

It also expanded my mind to a different form of grammar - subject/object/verb that did not depend on pronouns and word order for meaning. That was a real mindblower.

And some years later I realized that archaic English uses subject/object/verb - as in the Book of Common Prayer "With my worldly goods I thee endow, with my body I thee honor".

You want my rant about music lessons? Everyone should start on piano or guitar.