By writing/publishing/divinely inspiring a book, the author is placing a great power in the hands of its readers: the power to interpret it as they see fit, given their life circumstances. The Bible is not the same bit of text to everyone, regardless if most interpretations of it lead to the same end. People always have, and will continue to, disagree on the meaning of what is essentially the same amount of information.

It reminds me of a story I read in Asian Philosophy. A zookeeper is responsible for feeding the monkeys every day. In the first cage, he places three nuts in the morning, and four nuts in the evening. In the second cage, he places four nuts in the morning, and three nuts in the evening. What inevitably happens is that in the morning the first cage's occupants are jealous, while in the evening the second cage's occupants are jealous. They will argue over which method of feeding is the best, as different religious groups will argue which interpretation of the Bible, or any religious text, is correct.

Several years ago, I attended a Christian college. I was a part of a club that met weekly to discuss the Bible. We didn't just read it: we dissected it, talked about the different meanings the words could have in different historical and cultural contexts. Several of these points were brought up. Finding a new way to analyze one's religious text that puts it in a vulgar light does not make it any less valid a belief. It can be an exercise in one's faith to break these stories down, and understand the many ways they can be interpreted.

Likewise, no one says any serious study is required. If reading a holy text, and going with the first interpretation that comes to you, and then never reading that section again fulfils you, then the text has served its purpose.

This article is definitely a wake up call, and as someone who enjoys studying languages, I certainly wonder how the 'last' living speakers of a language view their knowledge. Is it with pride, or a fear that what they know will leave Earth when they leave?

When I studied Arabic at the Defense Language Institute, I had teachers from Morocco, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt. They were all fluent in different dialects, but taught us the 'standard' version of Arabic that was in newspapers and television shows. Every so often, though, they would let some dialect slip into their lesson. When we, the students, would catch this and question them about it, they became very excited. It thrilled them to know that we were genuinely interested in the language of 'their neighborhood', to the point where we had to have our curiosity sated. Similarly, my grandfather was born in Poland, and whenever I am home I visit with him, and marvel at the Polish vocabulary he has retained. He came to the United States almost 65 years ago, yet so much of the language is still clear to him, even while other parts of his memory fade.

I believe we have to respect language and keep accurate records where we can. They're not just the words of some unrelated, long forgotten past. They're the words of our mothers and fathers, of our grandparents, and they're an undeniable link to our pasts. We may not all have the motivation, or money, to travel to distant lands in order to document languages before they are lost forever, but we can certainly spare an hour to call up relatives or old acquaintances and ask them about their L1. It certainly makes my grandfather's day!