Kawésqar language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kawésqar |
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| Alacaluf Kawésqar, Qawasqar |
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| Native to | Chile | |||
| Region | Channel Region, western Patagonia, Wellington Island off south Chilean coast, 49° south, with centre in Puerto Edén. | |||
| Ethnicity | 2,600 Alacaluf people (2002 census) | |||
| Native speakers | 7 (2009) | |||
| Language family |
Alacalufan
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Kawésqar (Qawasqar), also known as Alacaluf, is a critically endangered language isolate spoken in southern Chile by the Kawésqar people. Originally part of a small family, only the northern language remains. In 2009, only 7 elderly speakers of the language remained, most of them on Wellington Island off the southwestern coast of Chile.
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 | [[Error using : IPA symbol "t͡ɕʼ" not found in list|t͡ɕʼ]] | kʼ | |||
| Fricative | f | s | x | h | |||
| Rhotic | r, ɾ | ||||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | ||||
Alphabet
The alphabet in use has the following letters: a, æ, c, c', e, f, h, i, j, k, k', l, m, n, o, p, p', q, r, rr, s, t, t', 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
In Spanish: Idioma kawésqar para niños
