Language death is like no other form of disappearance. When people die — David Crystal

"There is little scientific data on the point, but evidently people do speak to themselves."

"The subject matter ranges from subtle forms of intellectual sarcasm and humor to the crudest possible attacks on a persons courage, sexual prowess, or relatives. At one level, attacks may be subtle and indirect, involving allusion and figurative speech; at another, there may be explicit taunts, boasts, name calling, and jokes at the others expense."

"Fluency [is] smooth, rapid, effortless use of language."

"Joke exchanges are carried on in deadly earnest, like a verbal duel-mouth-to-mouth combat. Bang, bang: you’re (linguistically) dead."

"The aim of linguistics is to go beyond the study of individual languages to determine what the universal properties of language are, and to establish a ‘universal grammar’ that would account for the range of linguistic variation that is humanly possible."

"Pragmatics studies the factors that govern our choice of language in social interaction and the effects of our choice on others."