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Chile

Languages

Description

Spanish is the de facto official and administrative language of Chile.
It is spoken by 99.3% of the population in the form of Chilean Spanish, as well as Andean Spanish and Chilean Catalan.
Spanish in Chile is also mentioned as Castellano.
The Constitution itself, as well as all official documents, are written in this language.

Indigenous peoples make up 4.58% of the Chilean population according to the 2002 Census.
According to "The Indigenous Law" (1993), indigenous languages are officially recognized for use and conservation, in addition to 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, as well as for artistic and cultural promotion.
It is not known whether all these speakers use the language as their primary language.
The major languages of the population include:

• Mapuche or Mapudungun is spoken by an estimated 100,000–200,000 individuals
  
• Aymara by 20,000 individuals
  
• Quechua or Runasimi by 8,200 individuals
  
• Rapa Nui or Rapanui by 3,390 people - also known as Pascuan or Pascuense
  

Word List(s)

Spanish

• Spanish Genealogical Word List
• Useful Spanish phrases (Omniglot)

Mapuche or Mapudungun

• Mapuche Indian Language (NativeLanguages)

Aymara

• Useful phrases in Aymara (Omniglot)

Quechua or Runasimi

• Quechua or Runasimi Vocabulary (Wikipedia)
• Useful phrases in Cuzco Quechua (Omniglot)

Rapa Nui or Rapanui

• Useful phrases in Rapa Nui (Omniglot)

Other Genealogical Word Lists that might be helpful include:

• German Genealogical Word List
• Latin Genealogical Word List
• Polish Genealogical Word List
• Portuguese Genealogical Word List
• French Genealogical Word List

Most materials used in Chilean research are written in Spanish. However, many other languages are spoken in Chile because some European immigrant groups preserved their native languages and cultures after settling in Chile. You may also find some early Roman Catholic Church records written in Latin.

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Spanish

• Spanish Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)
• Spanish Pronunciation Dictionary (Forvo)
• Spanish grammar (Wikipedia)

Mapuche or Mapudungun

• Mapuche or Mapudungun Phonology (Wikipedia)
• Mapudungun alphabet (Wikipedia)
• Mapuche Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Aymara

• Aymara Phonology (Wikipedia)
• Aymara Orthography (Wikipedia)
• Aymara Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Quechua or Runasimi

• Quechua or Runasimi Phonology (Wikipedia)
• Quechua alphabet (Wikipedia)
• Quechua or Runasimi Grammar (Wikipedia)
• Quechua Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Rapa Nui or Rapanui

• Rapa Nui or Rapanui Phonology (Wikipedia)
• Rapa Nui or Rapanui Orthography (Wikipedia)
• Rapa Nui Alphabet and Pronunciation (Omniglot)

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Spanish

• Spanish Letter Writing Guide
• Spanish Handwriting Clarified
• Learn Spanish (duolingo)
• Spanish dictionary (Lexilogos)
• English to Spanish Dictionary (Glosbe)
• The Spanish Script Tutorial (byu.ed)

Mapuche or Mapudungun

• English to Mapudungun Dictionary (Glosbe)
• Zúñiga, Fernando. Mapudungun. Munich, Germany: Lincom Europa, 2000. Available at: WorldCat.

Aymara

• English to Aymara Dictionary (Glosbe)
• Coler, Matt. A grammar of Muylaq' Aymara : Aymara as spoken in Southern Peru. Leiden: Brill, 2014. Available at: WorldCat.

Quechua or Runasimi

• English to Chilean Quechua Dictionary (Glosbe)

Rapa Nui or Rapanui

• English to Rapanui Dictionary (Glosbe)

Additional Resources

• Dutton, Brian, L. P. Harvey, and Roger M. Walker. Cassell's concise Spanish-English, English-Spanish dictionary. London: Cassell, 1977. Available at: WorldCat.
• Dictionary of Indigenous Languages: Aymara, Quechua, Mapuche and Rapa Nui
• Appendix:Wichí, Aymara, Kunza, Mapudungun, Rapa Nui and Spanish Swadesh lists (Wiktionary)

Because of the many languages used in creating records, the way your ancestor’s name is recorded may vary from record to record. For help in understanding Spanish name variations specifically, see Chile Names, Personal.