Algy Paterson

Algy Paterson (died 6 August 1995) was the last fluent speaker of the Martuthunira language of Western Australia.

Algy's father was a European, which made him eligible to be removed from his family by the authorities under the policy now known as the Stolen Generation. His family avoided this by hiding in the the bush, where they lived a traditional nomadic lifestyle. Algy grew up speaking Martuthunira and Kurrama, and did not learn any English until he was fifteen.

From 1980 he worked with the linguist Alan Dench to preserve the Martuthunira language in writing.

ee also

*Martuthunira people
*Kurrama people
*Language death

References

*cite book |last=Dench |first=Alan |authorlink=Alan Dench |year=1994 |title=Martuthunira: A Language of the Pilbara Region of Western Australia |location=Canberra |publisher=Pacific Linguistics

Persondata
NAME=Paterson, Algy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Last fluent speaker of Martuthunira
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=6 August 1995
PLACE OF DEATH=