Rudolph would not approve

Throughout the Caucuses there are hundreds of little mountain villages. For centuries, the steep and rough terrain kept the people who lived in these villages apart. In some cases, villages were separated by only a few miles but due to the complete isolation, absolutely different cultures developed and evolved. As invading forces moved through the region, certain languages merged, evolved or died. According to this map, at least 28 languages are spoken throughout the Caucuses today, including cool-sounding Talish, Ingush and Abkahaz.

In honor of St. Patrick's day, the WaPo has a great article on extinct languages (and the endangered Irish language). It also points to Russian-language-only policies as one of the animating forces behind disappearing languages, especially in Siberia. It's worth reading if only for this one paragraph:

Russian-language-only policies have virtually extinguished many Siberian languages, including Tofa, which lets speakers use a single word to say "a two-year-old male, un-castrated, ridable reindeer."

It just sounds dirty. (Perhaps the motivating factor for just using one word. Necessity is the mother and all that.) I think the real question here is what the Tofa people were doing castrating those other little reindeer. PETA should be informed. Immediately.