Minority languages are often in danger of dying out due to dictatorship (acknowledged or not) by another language, eg Welsh & Gaelic in the UK, or (here) Languages in countries of the former USSR which were almost wiped out by Russian. Therefore even if only as a symbol, they should not be allowed to die out - most people in the west still think of Ukraine as sort of an extension of Russia, whcih horrifies Ukrainians. A separate language *proves* a separate identity to some extent. Just some thoughts, I'm far from home. And the more languages you can speak, the more people you can talk to! Hurray! jayohjo in Russia XXX