Was Perl destoyed when require was added? Was it destroyed when use and proper module support supplanted the most common uses of require? What about when the /x flag was added for regexes? Did adding say, pragmas, Encode, perlio layers, or tied variables destroy the language?

How exactly does adding syntax that's been under development and testing as a module for years to the core destroy a language? Did Turbo Pascal destroy Pascal? Did the ANSI C changes destroy C? Did the extensions in glibc and in the GNU coreturils package destroy Unix? Did Bash 4 destroy Bash? Did Bash destroy the Bourne shell? Did adding DirectX, WSL, or Windows Defender destroy Windows? Please explain how in your thinking adding features you're not required to use in your own projects destroys a project. Perhaps I'm being dense today, but I don't see it.

«…Please explain…»

I’ll try it. This quote inspired me:

«As Rob Pike put, "complexity is multiplicative": fixing a problem by making one part of the system more complex slowly but surely adds complexity to other parts. With constant pressure to add features and options and configurations, and to ship code quickly, it’s easy to neglect simplicity, even though in the long run simplicity is the key of good software.» (Donovan, Kernighan 2016, xiii)

Best regards, Karl

«The Crux of the Biscuit is the Apostrophe»

If you're looking for a simple language with few features then perhaps Perl is already a poor choice for you.