Deg Xinag, the language of a small group of Western Athabaskans known as the Deg Hit’an, has only about fifteen native speakers left. To preserve and pass on this endangered language, a unique college course is being taught at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, connecting elders with students around Alaska and outside the state via email and conference calls. The Daily News notes that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization deems 100,000 native speakers necessary for the survival of a language. Yet in the words of instructor Alice Taff, "As long as every generation continues to speak it, (a language) continues to live. [And] we do know that if there's no documentation, there's no way to revive any part of it -- ever."
