1416: What isn't a 'Textbook Language' Oct 27, 2018

One of the best signs to see if a language is being used is to see how it is changing; even if many people are fluent in a language, unless it is developing with time it is unlikely that people are really using the language. This is sometimes the case with minority languages, that they can sometimes be seen to be 'textbook languages, i.e. most second-language speakers must learn from varied sources but without much of any non-native speakers for sources. For instance, just about any textbook for Yiddish will list 'window' as 'der fenster' (דער פענצטער) but now most people, especially within North America would say 'di vinde' (די װינדע) or 'tryn' (טרײן) instead of the earlier, and more German 'pruvn' (פּרווון).