Józef Gara

Józef Gara (Wymysorys: Tołer-Jüza; 29 January 1929 – 10 July 2013) was a miner who spoke the endangered language of Wilamowice, Wymysorys, which had only 70 native speakers, and created the Wymysorys alphabet.^{[citation needed]} He also wrote poetry in Wymysorys. In 2003 he published Zbiór wierszy oraz słownik języka wilamowskiego (transl. A collection of poems and the dictionary of Wymysorys language). In 2004 he collected old Wymysorys songs, corrected and extended the old ones with a view of releasing them. Between 2004 and 2006 he taught Wymysorys in a primary school in Wilamowice.

In 2010 Gara featured in the film The Mill and the Cross voicing the part of a Flemish character. He worked with Wikimedia Polska to produce a digital dictionary of Wymysorys, although the project was not completed due to his death.

• "Zbiór wierszy o wilamowskich obrzędach i obyczajach oraz słownik języka wilamowskiego" (A collection of poems and the dictionary of Vilamovian language), TIMEX printing house/Stowarzyszenie Na Rzecz Zachowania Dziedzictwa Kulturowego Miasta Wilamowice "Wilamowiane" (Association for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage of the City of Wilamowice "Wilamowiane"), Bielsko-Biała, 2004, ISBN 83-914917-8-1
• Kronika historyczna miasteczka Wilamowice (Historical chronicle of the town of Wilamowice), TIMEX printing house, Wilamowice, 2007
• "Wymysöjer śtytła": miasteczko Wilamowice oraz jego osobliwości zawarte w zbiorze piosenek wilamowskich Józefa Gary ("Wymysöjer śtytła: Wilamowice town and its sights set on a set of Vilamovian songs of Józef Gara), Wilamowice: Miejsko-Gminny Ośrodek Kultury (Municipal-Gmina Culture Center), 2007.