Died 1965 Occupation Linguist | Name Mary Yee | |
Full Name Mary Joachina Ygnacio Born 1897 Near Santa Barbara, California Known for Last speaker of the Barbareno language Children Valentina Yee, Josie Yee, John Yee, Angela Yee, and Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto Parent(s) Mother, Lucretia Garcia Relatives Grandmother, Luisa Ignacio | ||
Mary Joachina Yee (née Ygnacio, 1897–1965) was the last first-language speaker of the Barbareño language, which was also the last Chumash language to have first-language speakers.
Born in an adobe house near Santa Barbara, the home of her grandmother, in the late 1890s, Yee was one of only a handful of children brought up to speak any Chumash language. She memorized several old Chumash stories.
In her fifties, Yee began to take part in the analysis, description, and documentation of her language, for many years working closely with the linguist J. P. Harrington, who had also worked with Yee's mother Lucretia García and her grandmother Luisa Ignacio. Yee and Harrington corresponded with each other in Chumash. After retiring in 1954, Yee worked with Harrington nearly every day. She also worked with linguist Madison S. Beeler. Over the course of her work she became a linguist in her own right, analyzing paradigms and word structure. She also illustrated stories published by her daughter Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto.
Yee's story appears in the documentary film, 6 Generations: A Chumash Family History.