As a native speaker of a geographically confined language, I've come to the conclusion that a small language can be a prison. Here, in the small corner of the w

As a native speaker of a geographically confined language, I've come to the conclusion that a small language can be a prison. Here, in the small corner of the world where I just happened to be born, I understand everything. Every nuance, every idiom, even speech with a heavy regional accent. As soon as I move 100 miles in any direction, this clarity disappears. Despite my decent grasp of English, I miss things. It is like my verbal IQ is lower, and I have become hard of hearing. I don't understand slang, and regional accents are difficult to make out. Every mispronunciation or malapropism is a risk of ridicule or misunderstanding. Linguistic diversity may seem nice in theory, but not for the sake of performing a of quaint tribal dance for tourist dollars. It is simply undeniably more useful to be a native speaker of a major language. I'm trying to raise my kids as native speakers of English, to prevent them from being trapped the way their old man was. As far as I'm concerned, minority languages are better off going the way of Latin or Etruscan.