Algy Paterson (died 6 August 1995) was the last fluent speaker of the
Martuthunira language
Martuthunira is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language, that was the traditional language of the Martuthunira people of Western Australia.
The last fluent speaker of Martuthunira, Algy Paterson, died on 6 August 1995. From 1980 he worked ...
of
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
.
Algy's father was a
European
European, or Europeans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
, which made him eligible to be removed from his family by the authorities under the policy now known as the
Stolen Generation
The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church mis ...
. His family avoided this by hiding in
the bush
"The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, where it is largely synonymous with hinterlands or backwoods. The fauna and flora contained within the bush is typically native to the regi ...
, where they lived a traditional
nomad
Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
ic lifestyle. Algy grew up speaking Martuthunira and
Kurrama, and did not learn any
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
until he was fifteen.
From 1980 he worked with the
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
Alan Dench to preserve the Martuthunira language in writing.
See also
*
Kurrama people
The Kurrama people, also known as the Puutu Kunti Kurrama people, are an Aboriginal Australian people from the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples, although of different language groups, are repres ...
*
Language death
In linguistics, language death occurs when a language loses its last native speaker. By extension, language extinction is when the language is no longer known, including by second-language speakers, when it becomes known as an extinct langua ...
References
*
1995 deaths
Year of birth missing
Indigenous Australians from Western Australia
Last known speakers of an Australian Aboriginal language
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