Kawésqar language

Kawésqar (Qawasqar), also known as Alacaluf,[3] is a critically endangered Alacalufan language spoken in southern Chile by the Kawésqar people. Originally part of a small family,[4] only the northern language remains. In 2009, only a handful of elderly people spoke the language, most of whom lived on Wellington Island off the southwest coast of Chile.[2]

Kawésqar
Alacaluf
Kawésqar, Qawasqar
Native toChile
RegionChannel Region, western Patagonia, Wellington Island off south Chilean coast, 49° south, with centre in Puerto Edén.
Ethnicity2,600 Alacaluf people (2002 census)[1]
Native speakers
10 (2019)[2]
Alacalufan
  • Kawésqar
Language codes
ISO 639-3alc
Glottologqawa1238
ELPKawésqar
Kawésqar is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Phonology

Vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open æ a

Consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive Plain p t t͡ɕ k q ʔ
Ejective pʼ tʼ t͡ɕʼ kʼ
Fricative f s x h
Tap / flap ɾ
Trill r
Approximant w l j

Alphabet

The alphabet in use has the following letters: a, æ, c, cꞌ, e, f, h, i, j, k, kꞌ, l, m, n, o, p, pꞌ, q, r, rr, s, t, tꞌ, u, w, x. However, differences are reported between dialects, and some sounds are not represented.

Morphology and syntax

Kawésqar has a complex system of grammatical tense, which includes a basic morphological contrast between future, present, immediate past, recent past, distant past, and mythological past events.

See also

Bibliography
  • Aguilera Faúndez, Oscar (1978). Léxico Kawesqar-Español, Español-Kawesqar. Boletín de filología (Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras) 29.
  • Aguilera Faúndez, Óscar (2001): Gramática de la lengua kawésqar. Temuco: Corporación de Desarrollo Indígena.
  • Clairis, Christos (1987): El qawasqar. Lingüística fueguina. Teoría y descripción. Valdivia: Universidad Austral de Chile [Anejo de Estudios Filológicos 12].
  • Pieter C. Muysken. 2004. The Languages of the Andes. Cambridge Language Surveys. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

References
  1. Kawésqar language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. "Kawésqar". www.endangeredlanguages.com. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  3. Spelling variants include Kaweskar, Kawaskar, Qawashqar, Kaueskar and Alakaluf, Halakwulup, Halakwalip; other names include Tawókser, Aksanás/Aksana and Hekaine.
  4. Hammarström, Harald; Forke, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2020). "Qawasqar". Glottolog 4.3.
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