Complex sentence: The last deaf person born into the island's sign language tradition, Katie West, died in 1952, but a few elderly residents were able to recall MVSL as recently as the 1980s when research into the language began.
Split into simpler sentences: The last deaf person born into the island's sign language tradition, Katie West, died in 1952. However, a few elderly residents were able to recall MVSL as recently as the 1980s when research into the language began.