List of last known speakers of languages

Any language is determined to be an extinct language when the last native or fluent speaker of that language dies.

Out of the nearly 7,000 living languages, there are some 500 classified as nearly extinct because "only a few elderly speakers are still living".^[1]

Last known speakers of languages

Last known speakers of languages

Name	Born	Died	Language	Taxonomy	Notes
Marchant, ChestenChesten Marchant	unknown	1676	Cornish (last monoglot speaker)	Indo-European – Celtic – Insular Celtic – Brittonic	[notes 1]
McMurray, MargaretMargaret McMurray	unknown	1760	Galwegian dialect, Scottish Gaelic	Indo-European – Celtic – Insular Celtic – Goidelic – Scottish Gaelic
Pentreath, DollyDolly Pentreath	unknown	1777	Cornish (traditionally known as the last fluent native speaker; disputed)[2]	Indo-European – Celtic – Insular Celtic – Brittonic	[notes 2]
Shanawdithit	c. 1801	1829	Beothuk	unclassified
Sutherland, WalterWalter Sutherland	unknown	c. 1850	Norn	Indo-European – Germanic – North Germanic – West Scandinavian
Juana Maria	unknown	1853	Nicoleño	Uto-Aztecan – Northern – Takic (unclassified beyond the Takic family)
Nikonha	c. 1765	1871	Tutelo	Siouan – Western Siouan – Ohio Valley Siouan – Virginia Siouan	[notes 3]
Trugernanner	c. 1812	1876	an unidentified Tasmanian language	unknown; there were multiple language families in Tasmania	[notes 4]
Davey, JohnJohn Davey	1812	1891	Cornish (some knowledge)	Indo-European – Celtic – Insular Celtic – Brittonic	[notes 5]
Udaina, TuoneTuone Udaina	1823	1898	Dalmatian	Indo-European – Italic – Romance – Italo-Dalmatian
Smith, Fanny CochraneFanny Cochrane Smith	1834	1905	an unidentified Tasmanian language	unknown; there were multiple language families in Tasmania	[notes 6]
Fielding, FideliaFidelia Fielding	1827	1908	Mohegan-Pequot	Algic – Algonquian – Eastern Algonquian
Toney, SantuSantu Toney	1835	c. 1910	Beothuk (some knowledge)	unclassified	[notes 7]
Mann, JohnJohn Mann	1834	c. 1914	Cornish (extent of proficiency unclear)	Indo-European – Celtic – Insular Celtic – Brittonic	[notes 8]
Ishi	c. 1860	1916	Yana	language isolate	[notes 9]
Noble, SallySally Noble	unknown	1922	Chimariko	language isolate
Solorsano, AscencionAscencion Solorsano	unknown	1930	Mutsun	Yok-Utian – Utian – Ohlone/Costanoan – Southern	[5]
Johnson, FrancesFrances Johnson	unknown	1934	Takelma	language isolate
Trruúlmani	unknown	1934	Puelche	Chon
Watt Sam and Nancy Raven	unknown	late 1930s	Natchez	language isolate
Meadows, IsabelIsabel Meadows	1846	1939	Rumsen	Yok-Utian – Utian – Ohlone/Costanoan – Southern
Decloux, DelphineDelphine Decloux	1871	1940	Chitimacha	language isolate
Youchigant, SesostrieSesostrie Youchigant	unknown	1940s	Tunica	language isolate
Nalig, JamesJames Nalig	c. 1870s	1954	Utaha	Austronesian – Malayo-Polynesian – Southern Oceanic – Oceanic	[6]
Yee, MaryMary Yee	1897	1965	Barbareño	Chumashan – Southern – Central	[notes 10]
Wood, ManfriManfri Wood	unknown	1968	Welsh Romani	Indo-European – Romani – Northern Romani	[7]
Maddrell, NedNed Maddrell	1877	1974	Manx	Indo-European – Celtic – Insular Celtic – Goidelic	[notes 11]
Loij, ÁngelaÁngela Loij	c. 1900	1974	Selk’nam[notes 12]	Chon
Lunel, ArmandArmand Lunel	1892	1977	Shuadit (Jewish dialect of Occitan)	Indo-European – Italic – Romance – Western – Ibero-Romance – Occitan
Palmer, AlfAlf Palmer	c. 1891	1981	Warrungu	Pama-Nyungan – Maric
Butler, JackJack Butler	1901	1986	Jiwarli dialect, Mantharta	Pama-Nyungan – Kanyara–Mantharta – Mantharta
Nolasquez, RoscindaRoscinda Nolasquez	1892	1987	Cupeño	Uto-Aztecan – Northern – Takic – Cupan – Cahuilla-Cupeño
Plotnikova, KlavdiyaKlavdiya Plotnikova	c. 1895	1989	Kamassian	Uralic – Samoyedic – Core Samoyedic – Kamas–Selkup
Munro, MorndiMorndi Munro	unknown	1990s	Unggumi dialect, Worrorra	Worrorran – Western – Worrorra
Bernat, FidelaFidela Bernat	1898	1991	Roncalese (Erronkarriko) dialect, Basque	Basque is a language isolate
Esenç, TevfikTevfik Esenç	1904	1992	Ubykh	Northwest Caucasian
Asai, TakeTake Asai	c. 1901	1994	Sakhalin Ainu	Ainu
Paterson, AlgyAlgy Paterson	unknown	1995	Martuthunira	Pama-Nyungan – Ngayarta
Dailey, Truman WashingtonTruman Washington Dailey	1898	1996	Otoe-Missouria dialect, Chiwere	Siouan – Western Siouan – Mississippi Valley – Chiwere–Winnebago – Chiwere
Vyie	unknown	1997	Sirenik Eskimo	Eskimo-Aleut – Eskimo – Yupik?
Charles, CarmelCarmel Charles	1912	1999	Nyulnyul	Nyulnyulan – Western
Neidjie, Big BillBig Bill Neidjie	c. 1920	2002	Gaagudju	Arnhem
Thompson, Edward LeonardEdward Leonard Thompson	1904	2002	Unami Lenape	Algonquian–Eastern Algonquian	[notes 13]
Jones, Marie SmithMarie Smith Jones	1918	2008	Eyak	Na-Dené – Athabascan-Eyak
Ms. Boro	unknown	2009	Aka-Kora	Great Andamanese – Northern
Rozario, WilliamWilliam Rozario	unknown	2010	Cochin Indo-Portuguese creole	Portuguese Creole – Indo-Portuguese Creoles
Pan Jin-yu	1914	2010	Pazeh	Austronesian – Northwest Formosan
Boa Sr.	c. 1925	2010	Aka-Bo	Great Andamanese – Northern
Hogg, BobbyBobby Hogg	1920	2012	Cromarty fisher dialect, Scots	Indo-European – Germanic – West Germanic – Anglo-Frisian – Anglic
Kristiņa, GrizeldaGrizelda Kristiņa	1910	2013	Livonian	Uralic – Finnic	[notes 14]
Sampson, HazelHazel Sampson	1911	2014	Klallam	North Straits Salishan Languages – Salishan Languages	[notes 15]
McLemore, DorisDoris McLemore	1927	living	Wichita	Caddoan – Northern	[8]
Calderón, CristinaCristina Calderón	May 24, 1928	living	Yaghan	language isolate
Benson, EdwinEdwin Benson	1931	living	Mandan	Siouan – Western Siouan
Mungulda, CharlieCharlie Mungulda	unknown	living	Amurdag	Iwaidjan	[9]
Steckley, JohnJohn Steckley	unknown	living	Wyandot	Iroquoian – Northern – Lake Iroquoian – Five Nations – Huronian	[notes 16]
Parker, VerdenaVerdena Parker	unknown	living	Hupa	Na-Dené – Athabaskan-Eyak – Athabaskan – Pacific Coast Athabaskan	[10][11][notes 17]
Sen, Gyani MaiyiGyani Maiyi Sen	c. 1937	living	Kusunda	language isolate	[12] [notes 18]
Abegaz	c. 1920	after 2001	Mesmes	West Gurage - Ethiopian Semitic language	[13] [14]
Wilcox, MarieMarie Wilcox	1933	living	Wukchumni	Yok-Utian – Yokutsan – General Yokuts – Nim – Tule-Kaweah	[15]

See also

• Language death
• Extinct language
• Lists of endangered languages
• List of languages by time of extinction

Notes

1. Believed to have been the last monoglot Cornish speaker, as opposed to other speakers such as Dolly Pentreath who could also speak English. See Last speaker of the Cornish language.
2. Possibly the last fluent native speaker of the Cornish language, was monoglot until her twenties. See Last speaker of the Cornish language.
3. Last full-blooded speaker, though partial knowledge of this language continued among mixed Cayuga-Tutelo descendants for some time.
4. Considered to be the last full-blood speaker of a Tasmanian language;^[3] however, Fanny Cochrane Smith, who spoke one of the Tasmanian languages, outlived her.
5. A Cornish farmer who was one of the last people with some traditional knowledge of the Cornish language.^[4] See Last speaker of the Cornish language.
6. Considered to be the last fluent speaker of a Tasmanian language.
7. Recorded a song in Beothuk in 1910.
8. The last attested native Cornish language speaker, part of a group of children who conversed in Cornish, interviewed in 1914 at the age of 80.^[2] See Last speaker of the Cornish language.
9. Last member of the Yahi, the last surviving group of the Yana people who spoke Yana
10. Last attested speaker of a Chumashan language
11. Last surviving native speaker; the language has since been revived.
12. The last full-blooded Selknam Indian, but some have suggested certain people remained fluent in the languages until the 1980s.
13. Brother of Lenape traditionalist and language preservation activist Nora Thompson Dean
14. Last surviving native speaker; some children still learn it as a second language.
15. Last surviving native speaker; it is being taught as a second language on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.
16. Not a native speaker of the language
17. Last fluent speaker; several non-fluent speakers remain
18. Last fluent native speaker; several non-fluent speakers remain

References

1. Endangered languages Ethnologue: Languages of the World. (Archived at WebCite)
2. "Legend of Dolly Pentreath outlived her native tongue". This is Cornwall. 2011-08-04. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
3. Field linguistics: a beginner's guide.
4. De Bruxelles, Simon (21 May 2008). "After centuries, Cornish agree how to speak their language". The Times.
5. Archived 4 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
6. "What happened to Erromango's languages?" by Terry Crowley, The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 106:33-64, No. 1 (1997)
7. Kenrick, Donald (2010). The A to Z of the Gypsies (Romanies). Toronto: Scarecrow Press. p. 289. ISBN 9780810875616.
8. "The Last Living Speaker of Wichita : NPR" (Audio interview).
9. "Scientists Race Around World to Save Dying Languages". Fox News. Associated Press. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
10. Evans, Nicholas (2010). Dying words: endangered languages and what they have to tell us. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-23305-3.
11. Newberry, Daniel. "Rescuing Languages From Extinction: The Experience of the Hoopa Valley, Karuk, and Yurok Tribes". Jefferson Public Radio. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
12. "Obscure language isolate will die with this woman". The Hot Word - Hot & Trending Words Daily Blog at Dictionary.com. 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
13. Ahland, Michael Bryan. (2010). Language death in Mesmes. Dallas: SIL International and the University of Texas at Arlington.
14. Bustorf, Dirk. (2007). "Mäsmäs”, in: Siegbert Uhlig (ed.): Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, vol. 3: D-Ha, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p. 838-39.
15. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/opinion/who-speaks-wukchumni.html