Huilliche language

Huilliche
chesungun, chedungun
Native toChile
RegionLos Lagos, Los Ríos
EthnicityHuilliche people
Native speakers
A few elderly speakers (2012)
Araucanian
  • Huilliche
Dialects
Language codes
ISO 639-3huh
Glottologhuil1244
ELPHuilliche
willi
"south"
PeopleHuilliche
LanguageChedungun
CountryFutahuillimapu

Huilliche (which can also be found spelt Williche, Huiliche or Veliche) is a moribund branch of the Araucanian language family. In 1982 it was spoken by about 2,000 ethnic Huilliche people in Chile, but in 2012 it was spoken by only a few elderly speakers. It is spoken in the nation's Los Lagos and Los Ríos regions; and mountain valleys, between the city of Valdivia and south toward the Chiloé Archipelago.