Kunza language
| Kunza | |
|---|---|
| Atacameño, Ckunsa | |
| Likanantaí, Ckunsa | |
| Native to | Chile, Peru, Bolivia |
| Region | Atacama Desert |
| Ethnicity | 2,000 Atacama |
| Extinct | after 1964? |
| Revival | 2020s |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kuz |
| Glottolog | kunz1244 |
Possible historic geographical extent of the Kunza language | |
Atacameño is classified as Extinct by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Kunza (Kunza: Likanantaí) 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.