In the U.S., more than 130 Native American languages are endangered, and some are spoken by only a handful of people. Marie Wilcox is the last fluent speaker of the Wukchumni language. At 81 years old, the great-grandmother is one of only 200 Wukchumni left living in the San Joaquin Valley of California and has taken it upon herself to revive the language.

The process has taken seven years and required Wilcox to learn to use a computer. She and her grandson Donovan — a quick study in the language — are now trying to record the dictionary, from A to Z.

“I’m uncertain about my language and who wants to keep it alive,” she said. “It seems weird that I am the last one and it will just be gone one of these days, maybe, I don’t know. It might go on and on.”

Read the full article in WITW and watch the video here: http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2015/11/11/last-remaining-speaker-of-native-language-painstakingly-creates-dictionary/

See also: 81-Year-Old Woman, Last Fluent Speaker of Her Language, Learns to Type to Make a Dictionary

Subscribe to the translation news daily digest here. See more translation news.