Spanish is the ''de facto'' official and administrative language of Chile. Spoken by 99.3% of the population in the form of Chilean Spanish, as well as Andean Spanish and Chilean Catalan, Spanish in Chile also receives the title of "castellano." Although an officially recognized Hispanic language does not exist at the governmental level, the Constitution itself- as well as all official documents- is written in this language. Indigenous peoples make up 4.58% of the Chilean population according to the 2002 Census, and the major languages of the population are as follows:

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

is spoken by an estimated 100,000-200,000 people; Aymara by 20,000 individuals;

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

by 8,200 individuals; and

Rapa Nui Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly ...

by 3,390 people. However, it is not explicit if the above-mentioned speakers use these as their primary language. According to Law 19253, also known as "The Indigenous Law" (1993), indigenous languages are officially recognized for use and conservation, as well as Spanish, in the zones in which they are spoken. They can be used for instruction, the promotion of media communication, as names in the

Civil Registry Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events ( births, marriages, and deaths) of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database has different names in different countries and even in differ ...

, as well as artistic and cultural promotion. Bilingual programs in areas occupied by indigenous communities are also under development. However, these programs exist only as small, isolated projects dedicated to the maintenance and promotion of indigenous languages, specifically

and Aymara, both with varying degrees of success.

Indigenous languages of Chile

In Chile, there are 15 different linguistic dialects spoken that could be considered distinct languages. These languages are varied, and in Chile-- unlike other Southern American countries-- no large linguistic family exists. Therefore, all indigenous languages are isolated or belong to small families of three or four languages.

Indigenous Languages Currently Spoken

: Mainly spoken in the Biobío, Aracuanía, Metropolitan, and Los Ríos regions by around 100,000 to 200,000 people with different levels of linguistic competency. The ''Chesungun'' or ''Huilliche'' dialect, spoken by only 2,000 Huilliche people in the Los Lagos region, is a divergent dialect that some experts consider a distinct language from Mapuche. 718,000 people of a total Chilean population of 17,574,003 are Mapuche. * Aymara: Spoken by 20,000 people in the

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capita ...

and Parinacota regions of Tarapacá. It is close to Bolivian Aymara. *

Chilean Quechua South Bolivian Quechua, also known as Central Bolivian Quechua, is a dialect of Southern Quechua spoken in Bolivia and adjacent areas of Argentina, where it is also known as ''Colla''. It is not to be confused with North Bolivian Quechua, which is ...

, one of the varieties of Southern Quechua: Considered identitical to Sub-Bolivian, it is spoken by around 8,200 people in the region between

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...

and Bolivia.Within the Peruvian immigrants residing in established big cities, there are also speakers of distinct Quechuan dialects of Peru. *

: Used by only 3,390 speakers, majority of speakers are of

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

, and a few reside in continental cities like

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Indigenous Languages in Danger of Extinction

Kawésqar The Kawésqar, also known as the Alacalufe, Kaweskar, Alacaluf or Halakwulup, are an indigenous people of South America, indigenous people who live in Chilean Patagonia, specifically in the Brunswick Peninsula, and Wellington Island, Wellington, ...

: Spoken by a dozen people in Puerto Edén. * Tehuelche: Spoken by the ''Aonikenk'' or Tehuelches people, this language disappeared in Chile during the 20th century and is dwindling in Argentina. Only about 4 speakers remain.

Extinct Indigenous Languages

* Cacán: The language was spoken by the Diaguita Pueblo in the North region of Chile. * Chono: It is conserved in one linguistic registry and is connected to Chiloé and the Guaitecas Islands; it may have been a northern dialect of

. * Gününa këna: Spoken by the Gününa küne or Puelche people. *

Kunza Kunza is an extinct language isolate 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 ...

: Spoken by the ''Atacameño'' people around

San Pedro de Atacama San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km (60 mi) southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. ...

. It disappeared during the 20th century, and only a few hundred words are remembered. Currently, work is being done to recover it. *

Ona Ona or ONA may refer to: Anthropology * Ona people, an indigenous people of southern Argentina and Chile ** Ona language, a language once spoken in Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego * Ona, a pre-Aksumite culture in Sembel, Eritrea Geography * On ...

: Spoken by the ''Selk'nam'' people on the island of

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...

, this language disappeared in Chile during the 20th century, and in Argentina during the 21st century. *

Yaghan Yaghan, Yagán or Yahgan may refer to: * Yahgan people, an ethnic group of Argentina and Chile * Yahgan language, their language * Yaghan (dog), an extinct domesticated fox See also

* Yagan (disambiguation) * Yagha, a province of Burkina Faso ...

: In Puerto Williams, Cristina Calderón, died in 2022, was the last speaker. Calderón created the dictionary for the continuation and survival of the Yaghan language.

Classification of Indigenous Languages

The native languages of Chile belong to four or five linguistic families. In addition, half a dozen other languages are known, including isolated and unclassified languages, many of which are extinct today (indicated by the sign †). The following list includes more than a dozen indigenous languages amongst living languages and extinct languages in the country: See also: Anexo:Lenguas indígenas de América

Non-indigenous languages spoken by distinct communities or immigrants

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: maintained by the descendants of German immigrants who arrived in the south in the mid-19th century, mainly standard High German (acquired through education), but also vernacular forms such as

German dialects German dialects are the various traditional local varieties of the German language. Though varied by region, those of the southern half of Germany beneath the Benrath line are dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant s ...

from the shores of Lake Llanquihue. *

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...

: used by the Haitian community. * Croatian: spoken by Croatian immigrant communities, especially in the south of the country. *

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

: spoken by immigrants and their descendants. *

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: spoken within the Italian immigrant community. *

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

: Spoken by the Romani people. * Chilean Sign Language: Used by the country's Deaf community.

References

# Lewis, M. Paul; Gary F. Simons y Charles D. Fennig (eds.) (2009). «Ethnologue report for Chile». ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (en inglés) (16th Edition) (Dallas, Texas: SIL International). Accessed October 29, 2009. # Moreno Fernández, Francisco, y Jaime Otero Roth (2006). «2. Demolingüística del dominio hispanohablante - 2.5 Demografía del español en el mundo hispánico»(PDF). ''Demografía de la lengua española''. pp. 20-21. Consultado el 12 de noviembre de 2011. # Sáez Godoy, Leopoldo (2001). «El dialecto más austral del español: fonética del español de Chile». ''II Congreso internacional de la lengua española. Unidad y diversidad del español''(Valladolid). Consultado el 9 de abril de 2011. # Cavada, Francisco J. (1914). «Estudios lingüísticos». ''Chiloé y los chilotes''. Santiago: Imprenta Universitaria. pp. 448. # Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE) (marzo de 2003). «Censo 2002: Síntesis de resultados» (PDF). www.ine.cl. # Zúñiga, Fernando (2006). «Los mapuches y su lengua». ''Mapudungun. El habla mapuche''. Santiago: Centro de Estudios Públicos. p. 402. # Albó, Xavier. «Aymaras entre Bolivia, Perú y Chile». ''Estudios atacameños''(Antofagasta: Universidad Católica del Norte) (19): 43-73. # Ministerio de Planificación y Cooperación (MIDEPLAN) (5 de octubre de 1993). «Ley 19253 de 1993 del Ministerio de Planificación y Cooperación» (HTML). Consultado el 24 de abril de 2011. «El Estado reconoce como principales etnias indígenas de Chile a: la Mapuche, Aimara, Rapa Nui o Pascuenses, la de las comunidades Atacameñas, Quechuas y Collas del norte del país, las comunidades Kawashkar o Alacalufe y Yámana o Yagán de los canales australes». # ''Language of the land: The politics of ... - kb.osu.edu''. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/87588/GutmannFuentesAndrea_Thesis.pdf. # Lewis, M. Paul (ed.) (2009). «Ethnologue report for language code: ayr - Aymara, Central». ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (en inglés) (16.ª edición) (Dallas, Texas: SIL International). Consultado el 9 de mayo de 2012. # Wagner, Claudio (Septiembre de 2006). «Sincronía y diacronía en el habla dialectal chilena». ''Estudios Filologicos''. . Consultado el 28 de diciembre de 2016. # De Ruyt, Felipe (19 de abril de 2015). «Capacitan en idioma créole a matronas para atender a creciente población haitiana migrante» (HTML). El Mercurio On-Line. Consultado el 9 de noviembre de 2015. # Zlatar Montan, Vjera (2005). ''Los croatas, el salitre y Tarapacá'' (PDF) (2.ª edición). Iquique: Hrvatski Dom. p. 286. . Consultado el 22 de abril de 2012. # «La inmigración italiana». ''Ciudad de Valparaíso''. 2008. Archivado desde el original el 7 de julio de 2011. Consultado el 27 de marzo de 2011.

External links

Ethnologue: Chile

Chilean Slang… from A to Z – This is Chile

Chilean Expressions – This is Chile
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