Haush language
The Haush language (also Manekʼenk) was an indigenous language spoken by the Haush people and was formerly spoken on the island of Tierra del Fuego. The Haush were considered the oldest inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego; at the time of first European contact, they inhabited the far eastern tip of the Mitre Peninsula.
Before 1850, an estimated 300 people spoke Haush. The last speaker of Haush died around 1920 and the language is considered extinct.
Haush is considered to be related to the Selkʼnam, Gününa Yajich, Teushen, and Tehuelche languages, which collectively belong to the Chonan language family.
Vocabulary
Carlo Luigi Spegazzini (1899) cites the following Haush vocabulary.
Words
Phrases
anan
canoe
k-as-pe-nk
AN-inside-be(.sitting)-CER.M
naʔ
DEI1
'He is in the canoe.'
hajketa(s)
3
sola-n(k)
be.strong-CER.M
'He is strong.'
asi
INTERR
n
?
a-ma:
DISP-DEI3
čeʔne-s
come-DUB
'Who's coming?'
a-ma(a)
DISP-DEI3
henk
man
čeʔne-s
come-DUB
'A man comes.'
naʔ
DEI1
pe-j
be(.sitting)-IMP
ma(a)
2
n
?
'Sit here.'
ma(a)
2
(a)jam-i
light-IMP
so:l
fire
'You, light the fire.'
asa ma(a)
why
k-ameč’-i
AN-grab-INF
k’om-nk
AUX.NEG-CER.M
'Why won't you grab?'
kar
something
k-ʔaj-Ø
AN-give-IMP
o(n)
INFR
a(a)
for
t’a-Ø
eat-INF
'Give me something to eat.'