Here is something to think about. The olelo noeau is indeed true, “Make ke kalo a ola i ka palili.” (The oldsters die, but they live on through their offspring.)* Language however is something that needs to be consciously worked at, for if we let it disappear, “when you cover him with dirt, language is not like a plant that grows again…”

N|u, South Africa (N|u language)
http://www.pbs.org/thelinguists/For-Educators/Video-Extras.html

*The old taro stalk dies, but lives on through the shoots. Also seen as “Make ke kalo, ola i ka naio.”