Kunza is an extinct

language isolate Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The num ...

once spoken in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and southern Peru by the Atacama people, who have since shifted to Spanish. The last speaker was documented in 1949. Other names and spellings include Cunza, Likanantaí, Lipe, Ulipe, and Atacameño.

History

The language was spoken in northern Chile and southern Peru, specifically in the Chilean villages of Peine, Socaire (near the

Salar de Atacama Salar de Atacama is the largest salt flat in Chile. It is located south of San Pedro de Atacama, is surrounded by mountains, and has no drainage outlets. In the east it is enclosed by the main chain of the Andes, while to the west lies a secondar ...

), and Caspana. The last Kunza speaker was found in 1949, although some have been found since according to anthropologists. There are 2,000

Atacameño The Atacama people, also called Atacameño, are indigenous people from the Atacama Desert and altiplano region in the north of Chile and Argentina and southern Bolivia, mainly Antofagasta Region. According to the Argentinean Census in 2010, 13,93 ...

s (W. Adelaar). Unattested varieties listed by Loukotka (1968): *Atacameño of Bolivia - spoken in a small village on the frontier of Potosí Department, Bolivia, and

Antofagasta Province Antofagasta Province ( es, Provincia de Antofagasta) is one of three provinces in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta (II). The capital is the port city of Antofagasta. Located within the Atacama Desert, it borders the El Loa and Tocopil ...

of Chile *Lipe (Olipe) - extinct language once spoken south of the

Salar de Uyuni Salar de Uyuni (or "Salar de Tunupa") is the world's largest salt flat, or playa, at over in area. It is in the Daniel Campos Province in Potosí in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes at an elevation of above sea level. The Sal ...

, Potosí Department, Bolivia

Classification

Kaufman (1990) found a proposed connection between Kunza and the likewise unclassified Kapixaná to be plausible; however, the language was more fully described in 2004, and the general consensus among linguists was that both languages are isolates.

Language contact

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Mochika, Kandoshi,

Jaqi Aymaran (also Jaqi or Aru) is one of the two dominant language families in the central Andes alongside Quechuan. The family consists of Aymara, widely spoken in Bolivia, and the endangered Jaqaru and Kawki languages of Peru. Hardman (1978) propo ...

, Kechua,

Mapudungun Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...

, and Uru-Chipaya language families due to contact.

Phonology

References

External links

Kunza Swadesh vocabulary list
(from Wiktionary'
Swadesh-list appendix

Spanish-Kunza dictionary online Bibliography about Kunza
*Alain Fabre, 2005, ''Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: KUNZA
Kunza
(

Intercontinental Dictionary Series The Intercontinental Dictionary Series (commonly abbreviated as IDS) is a large database of topical vocabulary lists in various world languages. The general editor of the database is Bernard Comrie of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary An ...