Kawésqar language

Kawésqar
Alacaluf
Native to	Chile
Region	Channel Region, western Patagonia, Wellington Island off south Chilean coast, 49° south, with centre in Puerto Edén.
Ethnicity	Alacaluf people
Native speakers	12 (2006)^[1]
Language family	Language isolate
Language codes
ISO 639-3	`alc`
Glottolog	`kawe1237`^[2]

Kawésqar (Qawasqar), also known as Alacaluf,^[3] is an language isolate spoken in southern Chile by the Kawésqar people. Originally there were three regional dialects: northern, central, and southern. (Kakauhua, a.k.a. Chono, is sometimes listed as a related language, but it is completely unattested.) Only about 20 speakers of Kawesqar remain, half of them on Wellington Island, off the southwestern coast of Chile.

1 Phonology
- 1.1 Vowels
- 1.2 Consonants
2 Writing system
3 Morphology and syntax
4 Bibliography
5 References
6 External links

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	p	t	t͡ʃ	k	q	ʔ
Ejective	pʼ	tʼ	t͡ʃʼ	kʼ
Fricative	f	s				h
Rhotic		r - ɾ
Approximant	w	l	j

Writing system

The alphabet in use is as follows [1]: 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, there are reported to be differences between dialects, and some sounds that are not represented here.

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.

Bibliography

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

^ Kawésqar at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
^ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Kawésqar". Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
^ Spelling variants include Kaweskar, Kawaskar, Qawashqar, Kaueskar and Alakaluf, Halakwulup, Halakwalip; other names include Aksanás, Aksana and Hekaine.

External links

Qawasqar dictionary online (select simple or advanced browsing)
Kawésqar
SerIndigena - Territorio Kawesqar
Kawésqar at the World Atlas of Language Structures Online

List of primary language families

Africa

Isolates	Bangime Hadza Sandawe

Europe and Asia

Isolates	Basque Burushaski Elamite Hattic Korean Kusunda Nihali Nivkh Sumerian Hruso? Miju? Puroik?

Sign languages	British French German Japanese Swedish Chinese Indo-Pakistani Arab Other sign languages

New Guinea
and the Pacific

Isolates	Abinomn Busa Kaure Kol Kuot Porome Pyu Taiap Yalë Abun? Amberbaken? Dem? Hattam? Isirawa? Lepki? Kapori? Kosare? Massep? Murkim? Pawaia? Sulka? Waia?

Australia

Isolates	Giimbiyu Marrgu Tiwi Wagiman

North America

Isolates	Chimariko Haida Karuk Kutenai Siuslaw Takelma Timucua Waikuri Washo Yana Yuchi Zuni

Mesoamerica

Isolates	Cuitlatec Huave Seri Tarascan/Purépecha

South America

Isolates (extant in 2000)	Aikanã? Andoque? Camsá Candoshi Chimane Chiquitano Cofán? Fulniô Guató Hodï/Joti Irantxe? Itonama Karajá Kawésqar Krenak Leco Maku of Roraima Movima Mura-Pirahã Nukak? Ofayé Puinave Rikbaktsa Huaorani Trumai Urarina Warao Yamana Yuracaré

Categories

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Kawésqar language