The Last Known Speaker of His Language

TommyWho do you talk to if you are the last known speaker of your language? And, more importantly, who is left to pass on the 48,000-year history of your culture? Kuku Thaypan, the language of an Aboriginal tribe in Australia, has only one known speaker of the language left.

Tommy (once known in his native language as Awu Laya) and his brother were both given honorary Doctorates for their diligence and attempts in trying to preserve their native language.

Tommy said, "It might die in the throat, but it stays in the heart."

The current thrust to save Aboriginal languages in Australia is motivated by the fact that of the over 300 native languages spoken before the British came to Australia with English as their native tongue, only 100 are expected to survive past 2050. Already, 120 Aboriginal languages have been lost.

The United States has the same possibility to lose many of its native languages as well, particularly in the Northwest, Texas, and New Mexico.  Because these languages are not written, the loss of a language means a loss of stories, healing methods, and the worldview that is individual to each language.

The New York Times reports that there are a multitude of on-going projects meant to preserve languages, but many take countless hours of tape-recording and three to four years of actual time.