WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER 8l 



language. Children from homes where one parent is a non-Araucanian 

 do not speak Araucanian. There were two such homes in Alepue : in 

 one, the mother was Chilean, in the other, the father. Nearly one-half 

 of the children in an Alepue school could read and write Araucanian, 

 having learned to do so at home. None, however, could write the 

 Araucanian alphabet in order. (For alphabet, see Felix Jose, 1916, 

 vol. I, p. 14; and 1910, pp. 5 and 6.) 



In pre-Spanish days the Araucanians had neither a written language 

 nor pictography ; according to Felix Jose, the Jesuit Fathers compiled 

 the first vocabularies (191 6, vol. i, p. 7). 



Both children and adults took occasion to teach me and my field 

 assistant Araucanian. "Mapuche is easily learned, more easily than 

 Spanish," said a little girl. "If two things are spoken of, use the word 

 epu ; if many, merely the word pu, like pu ruka. The syllable pu in 

 any word anywhere means more than two. No, the plural is not 

 formed by repeating the word like in mari mari and Bio Bio. If you 

 can say kaliil correctly, you will know how to pronounce all words 

 that have liil as a syllable." Picking up an avellano nut the little girl 

 continued : "This is the nut of the qefii. Now say that word : r)efu." 



In all areas informants pointed out dialectic differences between 

 Araucanian as spoken by them and as spoken in other areas (cf. 

 p. 7). Cooper, basing his information on Felix Jose, wrote regard- 

 ing the Araucanian language that it is an independent linguistic 

 family ; that each region and tribal subdivision has its dialectic differ- 

 ences, but that these are "mostly relatively minor ones, consisting of 

 phonetic shifts, different meanings for the same word, different words 

 for the same meaning, slight differences in formation of plural of sub- 

 stantives, etc. The dialects are mutally intelligible, but in some cases 

 only with considerable or very great difficulty." Cooper also notes 

 that Araucanian has incorporated in it a considerable number of loan 

 words from Quechua (1946, pp. 695-696). 



ORATORY 



Oratory is highly esteemed; so is the facility to speak well on all 

 occasions and the ability to carry on a koyaqtun (p. 64). Formerly 

 every boy was trained in all three ; many are still so trained. "Boys 

 must be trained to speak well ; they are the ones that must do the 

 talking for their families, not only in our meetings but in dealing with 

 Chileans as well. One thing every boy must also be trained in is to 

 carry on a koyaqtun." A boy today usually learns the formalized ex- 

 pressions used at the koyaqtun by listening in to elders. However, 



