Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Yahgan, Yaghan, Yamana, Yámana, Yamaná, Tequenica, Yapoo, Yagán, Háusi Kúta
CLASSIFICATION		Isolate, South American
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		yag
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “Cristina Calderón, last speaker of Yaghan language, dies in Chile at 93” . Federico Rivas Moreno (2022)

Dormant
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Cristina Calderón, the last known fluent speaker of Yagan, passed on February 16, 2022.

DATE OF INFO: 2022

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: "Even in the last years of her life, Calderón was determined to preserve and pass on everything she knew about her language and her culture. Together with her granddaughter, Cristina Zárraga, she created a Yaghan-Spanish dictionary that includes a CD where some words can be heard. They also published a book of indigenous legends, songs and stories called Hai Kur Mamašu Shis (I want to tell you a story). Her daughter Lidia Calderón promised, as a member of Chile’s constitutional convention, to defend her mother’s legacy and the Yaghan language, despite the challenges that this entails: 'Even if with her death we lose a wealth of empirical knowledge, especially valuable in linguistic terms, the possibilities for the rescue and systematization of the language are open.'"

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
100
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Ethnic population data: (W. Adelaar 2000)

(unchanged, 2016.)

DATE OF INFO: 2003

PLACES: Chile;

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Patagonia, Isla Navarino, Puerto Williams, Ukika hamlet.

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1
Native speakers worldwide

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1
Native speakers worldwide

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
1,685 / 70
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Today only one elderly female speaker of Yahgan remains in Villa Ukika on Isla Navarino.

PLACES: Chile

0199255911			2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer	Oxford University Press		New York			2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.											-55.0,-68.0
		16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International		Dallas, TX	http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	100	1	2003	1-9	Ethnic population data: (W. Adelaar 2000) (unchanged, 2016.)		Critically Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	Patagonia, Isla Navarino, Puerto Williams, Ukika hamlet.	Chile;
		3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing		Paris	http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		1		1-9			Critically Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)			-55.0028,-67.4615
	February		2022	Cristina Calderón, last speaker of Yaghan language, dies in Chile at 93					El Pais		https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-02-18/cristina-calderon-last-speaker-of-yaghan-language-dies-in-chile-at-93.html	Federico Rivas Moreno					2022		Cristina Calderón, the last known fluent speaker of Yagan, passed on February 16, 2022.	"Even in the last years of her life, Calderón was determined to preserve and pass on everything she knew about her language and her culture. Together with her granddaughter, Cristina Zárraga, she created a Yaghan-Spanish dictionary that includes a CD where some words can be heard. They also published a book of indigenous legends, songs and stories called Hai Kur Mamašu Shis (I want to tell you a story). Her daughter Lidia Calderón promised, as a member of Chile’s constitutional convention, to defend her mother’s legacy and the Yaghan language, despite the challenges that this entails: 'Even if with her death we lose a wealth of empirical knowledge, especially valuable in linguistic terms, the possibilities for the rescue and systematization of the language are open.'"	Dormant ()
				World Oral Literature Project							http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			1		1-9			Critically Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
			2012	Language endangerment in South America: The clock is ticking	The Indigenous Languages of South America: A Comprehensive Guide	167-234	Lyle Campbell and Veronica Grondona	Mouton de Gruyter		Berlin		Crevels, Mily	Crevels, Mily. 2012. "Language Endangerment in South America: The Clock Is Ticking." In The Indigenous Languages of South America: A Comprehensive Guide, edited by Hans Henrich Hock et al.. 167-234. Mouton de Gruyter.		1,685 / 70	1		1-9	Today only one elderly female speaker of Yahgan remains in Villa Ukika on Isla Navarino.		Critically Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)		Chile

Yagan

Language metadata

Language information by source

Dormant

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Discussion

Yagan

Language metadata

Language information by source

Dormant

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1

Discussion

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