Sometimes It’s O.K. to Let a Language Die | The New Yorker
archive.today webpage capture Saved from no other snapshots from this url 20 Jul 2026 10:51:08 UTC All snapshots from host www.newyorker.com WebpageScreenshot sharedownload .zipreport bug or abuseBuy me a coffee Skip to main content Newsletter Sign In Search The Latest News Books & Culture Fiction & Poetry Humor & Cartoons Magazine Puzzles & Games Video Podcasts Goings On Shop Books Sometimes It’s O.K. to Let a Language Die When cultural preservationists cast every extinction as murder, they can ignore speakers’ decisions—and the costs of keeping a fading tongue alive. By Nikhil Krishnan July 20, 2026 Historically considered, every language spoken at scale has supplanted other tongues. When countries such as India choose multilingualism, there are political costs as well as benefits.Illustration by Vivek Thakker Listen • 26 minutes How sad should we be when a language dies? Consider the case—call it callous or simply tough-minded—for saying, “Not at all.” A language, when it comes