Latin is called a "dead language," and in a way this is true: There are no speakers left who learned Latin as a native language. Latin is survived by its descendants, including Spanish, Italian, and French; and Latin is taught in schools. Do you think Latin is dead? Ainu is a language spoken by just a few people in the far north of Japan. There are no languages known to be related to Ainu. If Ainu ceases to be spoken, do you think it will be dead in the same way as Latin?