Even languages with many speakers are losing chances of maintaining these statistics. After decades of social change and attempts by authorities to eradicate native language use, native California languages are rarely spoken at home, so children do not learn from them. Most languages are spoken only by a few elders.
Some languages have only one fluent speaker left, and for many, there are none.
The Chumash people have eight distinct languages, with an approximated population of about 5,000 spread throughout the territories. There is not one fluent speaker of any of the eight languages. There is a handful of novice speakers that represent three languages with many eager to learn. Wishtoyo is proud to sponsor, along with Liz Dominguez and Dr. Richard Applegate, the Chumash Living Language Revitalization Project. The mission of this project is to provide published materials that will afford anyone with the desire to learn, the opportunity to study the languages that were potentially lost and will greatly increase chances of culture survival.