...and thanks for bringing this interesting discussion back into the light of day!
I agree dxb.
My high school teacher told us the French expression that "You are as many times a person as languages you know." You cannot learn a language without learning about the culture. And IMO the more you learn about other cultures the wider your mind will be and the better you will be at judging your own culture and what it takes for granted.
I love to travel and I try to learn at least how to be polite in the language of that country. Partly to be respectful and acknowledge that it is their home not mine and partly because when I do the culture seems to open a little wider and let me just a little further into it's life.
Not to condone the culturecide that is occurring but I have to point out that it is not new. From the Spanish origins of Tagalog, to the Norman invasion of England and probably back to the Babylonians every empire has tried to impose it's own language as the language of the educated or the upper class. Certainly as the language of prosperity.
