Linguists in the northwestern Australian state of Pilbara have released a 100-page Putijarra dictionary as part of their attempt to preserve this Aboriginal language, now only spoken by four elderly people. The Wangka Maya Aboriginal Language Centre compiled the dictionary and grammar guide from stories told by these local speakers. The Wangka Maya works to promote the use of Aboriginal languages of the region by recording them, developing language resources such as grammar books and dictionaries, and providing support for educational language programs. According to the United Nations, a language disappears on average every two weeks, while about half the world's 6,000 languages are threatened with extinction.
