Language is related to identity, culture, and memory.
Language erosion is cultural genocide. 1 These views have gained ground in recent years. The double standards in relation to the cultural heritage of Britain can increasingly be seen from the attitude on the one hand to the minority languages as a precious heritage to be protected, and on the other to our traditional weights and measures as something to be derided and abandoned. Not long ago it was a common practice to punish children who spoke Welsh or Gaelic at school in the classroom or the playground. The same attitude often resulted in forcing left-handed children to write with the right hand, however unhappily.