I'm not a linguist, just a person struggling to learn the language of my grandmother and to me the language and the culture are so intertwined that without each other they are not whole. You can learn the language, but you lose something if it isn't coupled with the culture. Those of you fortunate enough to have close contact with people who speak the language should take time to study it, and hold it closely to your heart, once a language is learned, it is yours forever.
Real understanding comes slowly.
People still repeat that mistaken belief even all these years later. Perhaps the languages can be studied, and written down without involving the culture, but I feel that something would be lost by doing this.