17 Jun
2026
17 Jun
'26
6:48 a.m.
On Jun 17, 2026, at 4:25 AM, Doug Jackson via cctalk
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
...
Perhaps a better definition of a dead language is one for which there is
nobody left who can read it, write it, teach it, or care about it. By that
standard, many of the languages being discussed here are very much alive.
You could use the linguistic definition, which is similar to what you said but a bit
different. Dead languages are those that are no longer used in conversation. For
example, Sumerian is dead by that definition, as is Latin, but (interestingly enough) not
Sanskrit. To a linguist, dead languages may be well understood (broadly, or only by a
few) such as Sumerian, or not understood anymore either, like Pictish (I think).
paul