Huilliche language

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

Huilliche is composed of at least two varieties, called Huillichesungun and Tsesungun by their speakers. Huillichesungun is spoken in Wequetrumao, on the island of Chiloé, and Tsesungun is spoken Choroy Traiguen, on the coast of Osorno province. Huilliche is closely related to Mapudungun, the language of the Mapuche, though more research is needed to determine the degree of mutual intelligibility between the two. The "Enduring Voices" project of National Geographic reports the following:

The Jesuit priest Luis de Valdivia reported in 1606 that there was linguistic unity in the territory between Coquimbo and Chiloé, from the Pacific to the Andes, and that this was composed of varieties whose differences were mostly in pronunciation and vocabulary. This analysis is supported by researchers at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, such as Félix de Augusta or Rodolfo Lenz, and by those in the second half of the 20th century, such as Robert Croese. The latter two noted that Huilliche was the most divergent of the varieties of Araucanian, as did Pilar Álvarez-Santullano, a researcher in the phonology and syntax of Chesungun on the Osorno coast.