| Araucanian | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Andes ofChile,Argentina |
| Linguistic classification | One of the world's primarylanguage families |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | arau1255 |
TheAraucanian languages/ˌærɔːˈkeɪniən/[1] are a smalllanguage family ofindigenous languages of the Americas spoken in centralChile and neighboring areas ofArgentina. The living representatives of this family areMapudungun (ISO 639-3: arn) andHuilliche (ISO 639-3: huh), spoken respectively by theMapuche andHuilliche people. These are usually considered divergent dialects of a singlelanguage isolate.
It is estimated that there are approximately 200,000 Mapudungun speakers in Chile and 40,000 speakers in Argentina. Huilliche is the native language of a few thousand Chileans.
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with theKunza,Mochika,Uru-Chipaya,Arawak,Pano,Cholon-Hibito, andKechua language families due to contact.[2]
Internal classification of Araucanian languages byMason (1950):[3]
Internal classification by Jolkesky (2016):[2]
Loukotka (1968) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Mapuche (Araucanian) language varieties.[4]
| gloss | Mapuche | Picunche | Pehuenche | Huiliche | Chilote | Ranquelche |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | kiñe | kiñe | kiñe | kiñe | kenge | kiñe |
| two | epu | epue | epu | epu | epo | epú |
| three | küla | kela | kela | kila | köla | kʔla |
| head | longko | lonko | rlonko | lonkó | ||
| hand | kũ | kúü | kuü | ghechu | keñeu | |
| water | ko | ko | ko | ko | ku | go |
| sun | antu | antü | ante | ante | ánte | ant'ü |
| moon | kuyen | küyén | küyen | kiyen | kién | kiyet |
| maize | voe | wa | wa | waká | wa | |
| bird | gunún | üñem | küñüm | giñum | trarú | |
| dog | thehua | thewa | thewa | trehua | cheuá | |
| jaguar | nahuel | nahuel | nawel | nahuel | naue |
