纵观人类历史，强势群体的语言四处传播的另一面是弱小文明的语言消亡。

Language defines a culture, through the people who speak it and what it allows speakers to say.

数学模型描述了一种语言如何能够统治另一种语言，并显示语言的灭亡是多么的容易，这些都促使主导语言加速其他语言消亡的危险持续加剧。

That fear has been exacerbated by mathematical models describing how one language can dominate another and showing how easily extinctions happen.

语言消亡之时也会带走很多东西，其使用者社团的文化可能大部分都无法保存，因为有时候这些文化遗产是无法用别的语言来表达的。

But something is lost when languages die as well - the knowledge held by that community of speakers, much of which may not exist - and sometimes may not be able to be expressed, in other languages.