Tule-Kaweah Yokuts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tule-Kaweah Yokuts |
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| Region | San Joaquin Valley, California |
| Ethnicity | Yokuts people |
| Native speakers | 0 (2021)eth |
| Language family | |
| Dialects |
Bokninuwad
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Distribution of Tule-Kaweah Yokuts
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Tule-Kaweah is a special language that was once spoken by the Yokuts people in California. It is a type of Yokuts language. Sadly, no one speaks Tule-Kaweah as their first language anymore. This means it is a language that needs to be saved.
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Saving the Wukchumni Language
The last part of Tule-Kaweah that was still spoken was called Wukchumni. For a long time, only one person was a native speaker of Wukchumni. Her name was Marie Wilcox. A native speaker is someone who learned the language from birth.
Marie Wilcox's Dictionary
Marie Wilcox worked very hard to create a dictionary for the Wukchumni language. A dictionary is a book that lists words and explains what they mean. Her dictionary helped record the language so it would not be forgotten. She also made recordings of the words so people could hear how they sounded.
Sharing the Language
Marie Wilcox and her daughter, Jennifer, taught Wukchumni classes every week. They wanted to share the language with other members of their tribe. This helped more people learn about Wukchumni words and how to use them.
A Special Documentary
Marie Wilcox's amazing work was featured in a short movie. It was called "Marie's dictionary." This film showed how important her dictionary was for keeping the language alive. Marie Wilcox passed away on September 25, 2021.
Different Kinds of Tule-Kaweah
The Tule-Kaweah language had three main parts, or dialects. These were:
