Language death
by planetparker
The death has taken place in Anchorage, Alaska of Marie Jones 89, the last surviving speaker of the indigenous Eyak language. With her has died a living vernacular which had evolved and survived for maybe thousands of years.
During her often difficult life Marie was aware of the position she held as a linguistic repository. She helped produce a dictionary of the language along with University of Alaska linguists, and she worked tirelessly as a champion of indigenous culture.
I often wonder what will happen when the last native speaker of Irish dies. Will it be noted? Of course there will still be those who claim to speak the bastardized ersatz of “official” civil service Irish.
I often feel that the last speaker of common sense has long ago passed from life’s stage.
