178.89.150.30: /* Classification of indigenous languages */

2025-06-20T07:24:08Z

Classification of indigenous languages

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{{Expand Spanish|date=August 2021}}

{{Languages of
| country = Chile
|image=File:Puerto Montt - Paneu trilingue (mapuche).jpg
|caption=Sign in [[Puerto Montt]] in Spanish, English and [[Mapuche language|Mapuche]]
| official = [[Spanish language|Spanish]] (''[[de facto]]'')
| indigenous = {{Collapsible list
| expand = yes
| framestyle = border:none; padding:0;
| titlestyle =
| title = [[Indigenous languages of the Americas|Currently spoken]]
| liststyle =
| hlist =
| bullets = on
| 1 = [[Aymara language|Aymara]]
| 2 = [[Kawésqar language|Kawésqar]]
| 3 = [[Mapuche language|Mapudungun]]
| 4 = [[Chilean Quechua|Quechua]]
| 5 = [[Rapa Nui language|Rapa Nui]]
}}
{{Collapsible list
| framestyle = border:none; padding:0;
| titlestyle =
| title = [[Extinct language|Extinct]] or [[Language revitalization|sleeping languages]]
| liststyle =
| hlist =
| bullets = on
|1 = ''[[Cacán language|Cacán]]''
|2 = ''[[Chono language|Chono]]''
|3 = ''[[Puelche language|Gününa këna]]''
|4 = ''[[Kunza language|Kunza]]''
|5 = ''[[Selkʼnam language|Selkʼnam]]''
|6 = ''[[Tehuelche language|Tehuelche]]''
|7 = ''[[Yaghan language|Yaghan]]''
}}
| regional =
* [[Croatian language|Croatian]]
* [[Greek language|Greek]]
* [[Italian language|Italian]]
* [[English Chileans|English]]
* [[French language|French]]
* [[Kreyòl]]
* [[German language|German]]
* [[Vlax Romani language|Romani]]
| foreign = [[English language|English]], [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| sign =
* [[Signed Spanish]]
* [[Chilean Sign Language|Chilean Sign Language (LSCh)]]
|vernacular=[[Chilean Spanish]], [[Rioplatense Spanish|Patagónico]]
|keyboard = [[List of QWERTY keyboard language variants#Latin America, officially known as Spanish Latinamerican sort|Spanish Latinamerican QWERTY]]
|keyboard image = [[File:KB Latin American.svg|200px]]
}}
[[File:Mapuche woman chile.jpg|thumb|A [[Mapuche]] woman in traditional dress]]
Spanish is the ''de facto'' official and administrative language of Chile. It is spoken by 99.3% of the population in the form of Chilean Spanish, as well as Andean Spanish. Spanish in Chile is also referred to as ''"castellano''". Although an officially recognized Hispanic language does not exist at the governmental level, the Constitution itself, as well as all official documents, are written in this language.

Indigenous peoples make up 4.58% of the Chilean population according to the 2002 Census, and the major languages of the population are as follows: [[Mapuche language|Mapuche]] is spoken by an estimated 100,000–200,000 people; [[Aymara language|Aymara]] by 20,000 individuals; [[Quechuan languages|Quechua]] by 8,200 individuals; and [[Rapa Nui language|Rapa Nui]] by 3,390 people. However, it is not explicit whether all these speakers use the language as their primary language.

According to Law 19253, also known as "The Indigenous Law" (1993), indigenous languages are officially recognized for use and conservation, in addition to Spanish, in the zones in which they are spoken. They can be used for instruction, the promotion of media communication, as names in the [[Civil registration|Civil Registry]], as well as for artistic and cultural promotion.

Bilingual programs in areas occupied by indigenous communities are also under development. However, these programs exist only as small, isolated projects dedicated to the maintenance and promotion of indigenous languages, specifically [[Mapuche language|Mapuche]] and [[Aymara language|Aymara]], both with varying degrees of success.

== Indigenous languages of Chile ==
In Chile, there are 15 different linguistic dialects spoken that could be considered distinct languages. These languages are varied, and in Chile—unlike other Southern American countries—no large linguistic family exists. Therefore, all indigenous languages are isolated or belong to small families of three or four languages.

=== Indigenous languages currently spoken ===

* '''[[Mapuche language|Mapuche]]''': Mainly spoken in the [[Biobío Region|Biobío]], [[Araucanía Region|Aracuanía]], Metropolitan, and [[Los Ríos Region|Los Ríos]] regions by around 100,000 to 200,000 people with different levels of linguistic competency. The ''Chesungun'' or ''Huilliche'' dialect, spoken by only 2,000 Huilliche people in the [[Los Lagos Region|Los Lagos]] region, is a divergent dialect that some experts consider a distinct language from Mapuche. 718,000 people of a total Chilean population of 17,574,003 are Mapuche.
* '''[[Aymara language|Aymara]]''': Spoken by 20,000 people in the [[Arica]] and [[Parinacota Province|Parinacota]] regions of Tarapacá. It is close to Bolivian Aymara.
* '''[[Chilean Quechua]],''' '''one of the varieties of Southern Quechua''': Considered identitical to Sub-Bolivian, it is spoken by around 8,200 people in the region between [[Antofagasta]] and Bolivia.Within the Peruvian immigrants residing in established big cities, there are also speakers of distinct Quechuan dialects of Peru.
* '''[[Rapa Nui language|Rapa Nui]]:''' Used by only 3,390 speakers, majority of speakers are of [[Easter Island]], and a few reside in continental cities like [[Valparaíso]] or [[Santiago]].

=== Indigenous languages in danger of extinction ===

* '''[[Kawésqar language|Kawésqar]]''': Spoken by a dozen people in [[Villa Puerto Edén|Puerto Edén]].

=== Extinct indigenous languages ===

* '''[[Cacán language|Cacán]]''': The language was spoken by the Diaguita Pueblo in the North region of Chile.
* '''[[Chono language|Chono]]''': It is conserved in one linguistic registry and is connected to [[Chiloé Archipelago|Chiloé]] and the Guaitecas Islands; it may have been a northern dialect of [[Kawésqar language|Kawésqar]].
* '''[[Gününa Këna language|Gününa këna]]:''' Spoken by the Gününa küne or Puelche people.
* '''[[Kunza language|Kunza]]''': Spoken by the ''Atacameño'' people around [[San Pedro de Atacama]]. It disappeared during the 20th century, and only a few hundred words are remembered. Currently, work is being done to recover it.
* '''[[Selkʼnam language|Selkʼnam]]''' (Ona): Spoken by the ''Selkʼnam'' people on the island of [[Tierra del Fuego]], this language disappeared in Chile during the 20th century, and in Argentina during the 21st century.
* '''[[Tehuelche language|Tehuelche]]''': Spoken by the ''Aonikenk'' or Tehuelches people, this language disappeared in Chile during the 20th century and is dwindling in Argentina. Extinct in 2019.
* '''[[Yaghan language|Yaghan]]:''' In [[Puerto Williams]], [[Cristina Calderón]], died in 2022, was the last speaker. Calderón created the dictionary for the continuation and survival of the Yaghan language.

=== Classification of indigenous languages ===
The native languages of Chile belong to four or five linguistic families. In addition, half a dozen other languages are known, including isolated and unclassified languages, many of which are extinct today (indicated by the sign '''†'''). The following list includes more than a dozen indigenous languages amongst living languages and extinct languages in the country:

{| class="wikitable"
|+Classification of Indigenous Chilean Languages
!Family
!colspan="2" |Group
!Language
!Territory
|-
| colspan="3" rowspan="1" |'''[[Aymaran languages|Aymara Languages]]'''
A widely practiced language, the southern branch of Chile still has many speakers.
|[[Aymara language|Aymara]]
|[[Arica y Parinacota Region|Arica and Parinacota]], [[Región de Tarapacá|Tarapacá]]
|-
| rowspan="1" |'''[[Austronesian languages|Austronesian Languages]]'''
An extended linguistic family of the Pacific Ocean, which reached [[Easter Island]] around the 5th century.
| rowspan="1" |'''[[Malayo-Polynesian]]'''
| rowspan="1" |'''[[Polynesian languages|Polynesian]]'''
|[[Rapa Nui language|Rapa Nui]]
|[[Easter Island]]
|-
| rowspan="3" |'''[[Chonan languages|Chonan Languages]]'''
The Chon languages form a clear phylogenetic group and only recent evidence has been provided to link it to Puelche.
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |'''[[Chonan languages|Chon]]'''
|[[Selkʼnam language|Selkʼnam]] '''(†)'''
|[[Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena|Magallanes]]
|-
|[[Tehuelche language|Tehuelche]] '''(†)'''
|[[Región Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo|Aysén]], Magallanes
|-
| colspan="2" rowspan="1" |'''[[Puelche people|Puelche]]'''
|[[Gününa Këna language|Gününa këna]] '''(†)'''
|[[Los Ríos Region|Los Ríos]], [[Región de Los Lagos|Los Lagos]]
|-
| colspan="3" rowspan="2" |'''[[Huarpean languages|Huarpe Languages]]'''
Originally from Cuyo, during the 17th century, many Huarpes were deported to Santiago where they became a large community.
|[[Allentiac language|Allentiac]] '''(†)'''
|[[Región Metropolitana de Santiago|Santiago]]
|-
|[[Millcayac language|Millcayac]] '''(†)'''
|Santiago
|-
|'''[[Quechuan languages|Quechuan Languages]]'''
These languages constitute different families of languages since not all varieties of Quechua are mutually understandable.
| colspan="2" |'''[[Quechua II]]'''
|[[Southern Quechua]]
|[[El Loa]]
|-
| colspan="3" rowspan="4" |'''[[Language isolates|Language Isolates]]'''
Attempts have been made to group these languages into larger families but without success.
|[[Kawésqar language|Kawésqar]]
|Magallanes
|-
|[[Kunza language|Kunza]] '''(†)'''
|[[Región de Antofagasta|Antofagasta]]
|-
|[[Mapuche language|Mapuche]]
|[[Araucanía Region|Araucanía]], [[Santiago Metropolitan Region|Metropolitan Region of Santiago]], [[Región del Biobío|Biobío]], Los Ríos, Los Lagos
|-
|[[Yaghan language|Yaghan]] '''(†)'''
|Magallanes
|-
| colspan="3" rowspan="2" |[[List of unclassified languages of South America|'''Unclassified''' '''Languages''']]
There is also a group of languages very scarcely documented and references to languages of extinct peoples, which have not been classified due to lack of information.
|[[Cacán language|Cacán]] '''(†)'''
|[[Región de Atacama|Atacama]]
|-
|[[Chono language|Chono]] '''(†)'''
|Los Lagos, Aysén
|}
See also: Anexo:Lenguas indígenas de América

== Non-indigenous languages spoken by distinct communities or immigrants ==

* '''[[Arabic]]''': spoken by the Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian and Turkish communities.
* '''[[Croatian language|Croatian]]:''' spoken by Croatian immigrant communities, especially in the south of the country.
* '''[[English language|English]]''': spoken by immigrants and their descendants.
* '''[[German language|German]]''': maintained by the descendants of German immigrants who arrived in the south in the mid-19th century, mainly standard High German (acquired through education), but also vernacular forms such as [[German dialects]] from the shores of [[Llanquihue Lake|Lake Llanquihue.]].
* '''[[Haitian Creole]]:''' used by the Haitian community
* '''[[Italian language|Italian]]''': spoken by the Italian immigrant community.
* '''[[Korean language|Korean]]''': spoken by the Korean Community.
* '''[[Mandarin Chinese]]:''' spoken by the Chinese and Taiwanese communities.
* '''[[Romani language|Romani]]''': Spoken by the Romani people.
* '''[[Chilean Sign Language]]:''' Used by the country's Deaf community.

== References ==

# Lewis, M. Paul; Gary F. Simons y Charles D. Fennig (eds.) (2009). «Ethnologue report for Chile». ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (en inglés) (16th Edition) (Dallas, Texas: SIL International). Accessed October 29, 2009.
# Moreno Fernández, Francisco, y Jaime Otero Roth (2006). «2. Demolingüística del dominio hispanohablante - 2.5 Demografía del español en el mundo hispánico»(PDF). ''Demografía de la lengua española''. pp. 20–21. Consultado el 12 de noviembre de 2011.
# Sáez Godoy, Leopoldo (2001). «El dialecto más austral del español: fonética del español de Chile». ''II Congreso internacional de la lengua española. Unidad y diversidad del español''(Valladolid). Consultado el 9 de abril de 2011.
# Cavada, Francisco J. (1914). «Estudios lingüísticos». ''Chiloé y los chilotes''. Santiago: Imprenta Universitaria. pp. 448.
# [[National Statistics Institute (Chile)|Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas]] (INE) (marzo de 2003). «Censo 2002: Síntesis de resultados» (PDF). www.ine.cl.
# Zúñiga, Fernando (2006). «Los mapuches y su lengua». ''Mapudungun. El habla mapuche''. Santiago: Centro de Estudios Públicos. p. 402. {{ISBN|956-7015-40-6}}
# Albó, Xavier. «Aymaras entre Bolivia, Perú y Chile». ''Estudios atacameños''(Antofagasta: Universidad Católica del Norte) (19): 43–73.
# Ministerio de Planificación y Cooperación (MIDEPLAN) (5 de octubre de 1993). «Ley 19253 de 1993 del Ministerio de Planificación y Cooperación» (HTML). Consultado el 24 de abril de 2011. «El Estado reconoce como principales etnias indígenas de Chile a: la Mapuche, Aimara, Rapa Nui o Pascuenses, la de las comunidades Atacameñas, Quechuas y Collas del norte del país, las comunidades Kawashkar o Alacalufe y Yámana o Yagán de los canales australes».
# ''Language of the land: The politics of ... - kb.osu.edu''. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/87588/GutmannFuentesAndrea_Thesis.pdf.
# Lewis, M. Paul (ed.) (2009). «Ethnologue report for language code: ayr - Aymara, Central». ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (en inglés) (16.ª edición) (Dallas, Texas: SIL International). Consultado el 9 de mayo de 2012.
# Wagner, Claudio (Septiembre de 2006). «Sincronía y diacronía en el habla dialectal chilena». ''Estudios Filologicos''. {{doi|10.4067/S0071-17132006000100017}}. Consultado el 28 de diciembre de 2016.
# De Ruyt, Felipe (19 de abril de 2015). «Capacitan en idioma créole a matronas para atender a creciente población haitiana migrante» (HTML). [[EMOL|El Mercurio On-Line]]. Consultado el 9 de noviembre de 2015.
# Zlatar Mountain, Vjera (2005). ''Los croatas, el salitre y Tarapacá'' (PDF) (2.ª edición). Iquique: Hrvatski Dom. p. 286. {{ISBN|956-7379-24-6}}. Consultado el 22 de abril de 2012.
# «La inmigración italiana». ''Ciudad de Valparaíso''. 2008. Archivado desde el original el 7 de julio de 2011. Consultado el 27 de marzo de 2011.

== External links ==
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=CL Ethnologue: Chile]
* [http://www.thisischile.cl/frmContenidos.aspx?SEC=361&ID=1211&eje=acerca Chilean Slang… from A to Z – This is Chile]
* [http://www.thisischile.cl/frmContenidos.aspx?SEC=361&ID=1209&eje=acerca Chilean Expressions – This is Chile]

{{Languages of Chile}}
{{Chile topics}}
{{South America topic|Languages of}}
{{South American languages}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Languages of Chile| ]]

Languages of Chile - Revision history

178.89.150.30: /* Classification of indigenous languages */