Algy Paterson

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Algy Paterson (d. August 6, 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.

[edit] See also

• Martuthunira people
• Kurrama people
• Language death

[edit] References

• Dench, Alan (1994). Martuthunira: A Language of the Pilbara Region of Western Australia. Canberra: 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