Kunza language
Extinct language of Chile and Peru
title: "Kunza language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["indigenous-languages-of-the-andes", "atacama-desert", "languages-of-chile", "extinct-languages-of-south-america", "languages-extinct-in-the-1950s", "language-isolates-of-south-america", "macro-paesan-languages", "ataguitan-languages"] description: "Extinct language of Chile and Peru" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunza_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Extinct language of Chile and Peru ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Kunza |
| altname | Atacameño, Ckunsa |
| nativename | Likanantaí, Ckunsa |
| states | Chile, Peru, Bolivia |
| ethnicity | 2,000 Atacama |
| extinct | after 1964? |
| ref | |
| familycolor | American |
| family | Language isolate |
| iso3 | kuz |
| glotto | kunz1244 |
| glottorefname | Kunza |
| region | Atacama Desert |
| revived | 2020s |
| map2 | Lang Status 01-EX.svg |
| mapcaption2 | |
| map | Kunza language map.svg |
| mapcaption | Possible historic geographical extent of the Kunza language |
| :: |
| name = Kunza | altname = Atacameño, Ckunsa | nativename = Likanantaí, Ckunsa | states = Chile, Peru, Bolivia | ethnicity = 2,000 Atacama | extinct = after 1964? | ref = | familycolor = American | family = Language isolate | iso3 = kuz | glotto = kunz1244 | glottorefname = Kunza | region = Atacama Desert | revived = 2020s | map2 = Lang Status 01-EX.svg | mapcaption2 = | map = Kunza language map.svg | mapcaption = Possible historic geographical extent of the Kunza language
Kunza () is a mostly extinct and revitalizing language isolate 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 1964; however, it has since been learned that the language is still spoken in the desert.
Other names and spellings include Cunza, Ckunsa, Likanantaí, Lipe, Ulipe, and Atacameño. The word Ckunsa means 'our' in Kunza.
From what data is available, it is believed that it was a polysynthetic language. However, there is not sufficient information to determine which languages it was related to, if any. Thus, it is conventionally classified as a language isolate.
History
The language was spoken in northern Chile, specifically in the Chilean villages of Peine, Socaire (near the Salar de Atacama), and Caspana, and in southern Peru.
The last Kunza speaker was found in 1949, although there are reports of some having been found in 1953 according to anthropologists. Loukotka (1968) reports a few speakers in Bolivia and in the village of Peine in Chile. There are 2,000 Atacameños as of 2004.
A revitalization effort was initiated in the 21st century.
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.
Unattested varieties listed by Loukotka (1968):
- Atacameño of Bolivia – spoken in a small village on the frontier of Potosí Department, Bolivia, and Antofagasta Province of Chile
- Lipe (Olipe) – extinct language once spoken south of the Salar de Uyuni, Potosí Department, Bolivia
Language contact
Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Mochika, Kandoshi, Jaqi, Kechua, Mapudungun, and Uru-Chipaya language families due to contact.
Phonology
Consonants
The vocabulary of Kunza is well-documented, but the phonetic realizations of lexical transcriptions are not so certain due to the widely differing systems of transcription that were used. Because of this, the accepted phonologic system for Kunza is tentative, and potentially even speculation. Even so, it is well known that the stops and affricates were distinguished between plain and glottalized (the latter being represented by a doubled consonant in some transcriptions, even in initial position). ::data[format=table title="Consonants{{Cite book|last1=Adelaar|first1=Willem|title=The Languages of the Andes|last2=Muysken|first2=Pieter|publisher=New York: Cambridge University Press|year=2004|pages=380}}"] | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | plain | sibilant | Nasal | Stop/ Affricate | voiceless | ejective | Fricative | voiceless | voiced | Approximant | Trill | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | () | () | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | () | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::
is only present in loanwords. and are not directly attested, but are presumed to have been present based on data collected in 1981. Velar and uvular sounds are not consistently distinguished in the data.
Vowels
The use of doubled vowels in transcriptions suggest the existence of a contrast of length. Very few words begin with a vowel, almost all of them being non-lexical grammatical words. The only vowels possible in initial position are . ::data[format=table title="Vowels"]
| Front | Central | Back | Close | Mid | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| () | |||||
| :: |
Grammar
Pronouns
According to the work of Vaïsse, Peyró, Schuhmacher and Adelaar, the following schema can be proposed:
Personal pronouns
::data[format=table]
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| 1st person | aqʼ |
| 2nd person | čʼem |
| 3rd person | a, i |
| :: |
Note that ikot corresponds to the relative i with the plural marker -kot. The forms with the added absolutive case suffix would be: aqʼa, kuna, čʼema, čime, ia, ikota.
Possessive pronouns
::data[format=table]
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| 1st person | aqʼsa |
| 2nd person | čʼemsa |
| 3rd person | isa |
| :: |
Note that the possessive marker is the suffix -sa, which is added directly to the roots of the personal pronouns.
San Román proposed a different way of marking possession, by means of prefixes added to the possessed object. The phonetic realizations are only hypothetical:
::data[format=table]
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| 1st person | qʼ |
| 2nd person | sʼ |
| 3rd person | ai |
| :: |
According to this system, the possessive is marked in a way demonstrated in the following table, using the words tikʼan (father) and lokma (dog) as examples. Note that the final suffix -ia is a copula.
::data[format=table]
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| 1st person | tikʼan |
| lokma | (aqʼsa) qʼ lokmaia |
| 2nd person | tikʼan |
| lokma | (čimsa) sʼ lokmaia |
| 3rd person | tikʼan |
| lokma | (ikotsa) ai lokmaia |
| :: |
San Román also proposed a system of conjugation that is exemplified with the verb yokontur (to speak) in the following table: ::data[format=table]
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| 1st person | (aqʼa) qʼ yokona |
| 2nd person | (čʼema) se yokona |
| 3rd person | (ia) yokona |
| :: |
Sample text
In 1867, Johann Jakob von Tschudi collected two versions of the prayer Our Father in Kunza. Version 1 santi hijia chea vaclo. cum cachia chema reino lepalo. as voluntas acquis en la oiri penii cachi li cielo. hi tancta cumsa he capin vasina canalo aun capin. i cum perdonácalo cun manuya acquis pen cuna perdonama cun deudorctpas. i cum deja chacalo cum colac cutia y tentacioniyas. hichucul cumas librácolo hiri malipanta. i kis yaclo.}} Version 2 chema halu acs koytans levaldise. Señor voluntad tansiacs koytansi cielo sacuma ctanta acsa viñayapun acsancalo anjapin acperdona acs deuma chancosinys acperdona acsec- tunas andejachaculo colcoma en tentación aca librame Señor hualchas unic. Amen.}}
References
References
- Loukotka, Čestmír. (1968). "Classification of South American Indian Languages".
- Bartlett, John. (October 17, 2024). "In Chile a language on the verge of extinction, stirs into life".
- Vaïsse, Emilio F. (1896). "Glosario de la Lengua Atacameña". Imprenta Cervantes.
- (2007). "The vanishing languages of the Pacific rim". Oxford University Press.
- (2024-05-17). "Saving a Language in Chile".
- Kaufman, Terrence. (1990). "Amazonian linguistics: studies in lowland South American languages". University of Texas Press.
- Campbell, Lyle. (2024). "The indigenous languages of the Americas: history and classification". Oxford University Press.
- Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery. (2016). "Estudo arqueo-ecolinguístico das terras tropicais sul-americanas". University of Brasília.
- (2004). "The Languages of the Andes". New York: Cambridge University Press.
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