An Indigenous language from the southernmost region of South America has completely disappeared following the death of its last native speaker.
Mrs. Cristina Calderon was the last speaker of the Yamana language of the Yagan community. (Photo: Reuters).
On Wednesday (February 16), Mrs. Cristina Calderon passed away at the age of 93. Her primary language was Yamana, spoken by the Yagan community. After the death of her sister in 2003, Calderon became the last person in the world capable of speaking this language. She endeavored to preserve her knowledge by compiling a dictionary in Yamana with translations into Spanish.
Lidia Gonzalez, Calderon’s daughter, stated on Twitter: “After my mother passed away, an important part of our cultural memory is no longer with us.” Gonzalez is currently one of the representatives drafting a new constitution in Chile.
However, Gonzalez also believes that the dictionary her mother compiled will help preserve the Yamana language. She said: “Although countless valuable linguistic knowledge was lost with my mother’s passing, we still have the ability to salvage and systematize the Yamana language.”
Despite there being still a few dozen Yagan people worldwide, over generations, members of the community have stopped learning this language.
Calderon lived in a modest home and made a living selling knitted socks in the town of Villa Ukika, Chile, a town established by the Yagan community on the outskirts of Puerto Williams.
The ancestors of this community once inhabited the islands in the southernmost part of South America, now known as Chile and Argentina, in an area close to the icy Antarctic.
