Wukchumni dialect


Wukchumni is a dialect of Tule-Kaweah Yokuts that was historically spoken by the Wukchumni people of the east fork of the Kaweah River of California.
Marie Wilcox, born 1933, is currently the only remaining native speaker of the language.

Phonology

The following tables are based on Gamble.

Consonants

Allophones of include.

Vowels

A long vowel can be lowered to when occurring before an. The central vowels /ɨ/ and /ə/ are partially rounded.
All phonetic short vowel allophones include.

Status

Wukchumni is categorized as 8a or "moribund" on the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale.

Revitalization efforts

In the early 2000s, Marie Wilcox, aided by her daughter Jennifer Malone, began compiling a Wukchumni dictionary.
Wilcox and Malone currently hold classes teaching beginner and intermediate Wukchumni to interested tribal members.
Efforts to revive Wukchumni have additionally been organized through the Master-Apprentice Language Learning Program.

Possibility of more native speakers

Destiny Treglown, Marie Wilcox's great-granddaughter is raising her son, Oliver, as a Wukchumni speaker. If Oliver reaches fluency, he will become the only other native speaker of the language and the first in four generations.