*grin*...my beloved spouse, Ferrara, didn't mention she was reading and commenting in this thread.....I must comment on her sentence:
"I'm also in favor of supporting people in holding on to their cultural uniqueness rather than trying to meld into the "mainstream."

"Rather than?".......Nowhere did I say, or suggest that it had to be either/or!!!! I am of Scots/Irish ancestry, and I sometimes go to the Scottish Games, where kilts are worn, dialects are polished, and food and traditions are celebrated and FLAUNTED! It is a good thing to remember, celebrate, understand and generally keep alive your heritage and its underlying language...but there are reasons for "when in Rome, do as the Romans"...at least while the Romans are listening, and if you want something from the Romans!

a careful reading of my comments will reveal that NOWHERE did I say that one should never use slang or vernacular...or cultivate one's cultural dialect....etc...I only note the difficulties that result when it is used to the exclusion of 'standard' language in groups that don't get it. Some creative play with language is fun, interesting...and even useful---but some is awkward and ephemeral and designed to exclude and obfuscate....and lets face it, some is so convoluted in its references that even the users can't really explain it...even to each other!

The metaphor of "The Tower of Babel" was supposed to be instructive...*wry grin*