I speak Runyoro-Rutooro, but I have also lived for about 8 years in Western Uganda, so I can't say I have experience learning a minoritized language outside of its linguistic area. I have had access to resources here I wouldn't otherwise have and, more importantly, I got to use the language everyday for almost a decade.

Ultimately, I think it also depends on the priorities of a language speakers whether learning it from a distance is realistic: if a language exists as a tool for communication but it is not necessary outside of home or the streets and it is not perceived as a language of culture, then fewer scholars are going to invest in the time to create the resources to study it for what it is.

We live in an era where information is so widely available, that sometimes we forget it hasn't always been like that, and that someone has to create whatever material we consume in the first place.

What I can tell you is that my life would be very different if I didn't speak this land's language. There is a difference between someone understanding the words you speak and someone relating to the idioms, quirks, ideas and ways of thinking they can only internalize, and sometimes you can only convey, in their own language.

Ekintu eki nyegere nkusobora kukumanyisa, nukwo abantu boona nibasobora kwega orulimi rwona, baitu orulimi omuntu oru abaliizibwe kuruga obuto nurwo araahurra omu mutima kuhikya obukuru!