Guaicaro (Guaïcaro) is an extinct, unclassified language of

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

known only from a 19-word list and personal names. The Guaicaro people apparently lived on the

Brunswick Peninsula Brunswick Peninsula () is a large peninsula in Magallanes y la Antártica Region, Patagonia, Chile, at . Geography The Brunswick Peninsula is triangular in shape, joined to the mainland in the north by a wide isthmus. It widens to almost in t ...

, bordering the Tehuelche to their northeast in around Laguna Blanca. The Guaicaros (also rendered ''Guaïkaros, Guaicurúes, Huacurúes'') were apparently the same people known as the '' Huemules'' (''Güemules'') and ''Supalios''.

Classification

It is only known from personal names and a list of 19 words elicited using gestures from the last documented speaker, a medicine man living among the Tehuelche, and published in 1896. Most of the words can be explained as Central Alacaluf or Tawókser (or both), though ''mer'' 'arm' appears to come from

Chon CHNOPS and CHON are mnemonic acronyms for the most common elements in living organisms. "CHON" stands for carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, which together make up more than 95 percent of the mass of biological systems. "CHNOPS" adds ...

Vocabulary

Word list of Guaicaro documented by

Ramón Lista Ramón Lista (13 September 1856 – 23 November 1897) was an Argentinian soldier and explorer. He was the second governor of the Territorio Nacional de Santa Cruz, precursor of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. He played a key role in the Selkʼna ...

(1896):Lista, Ramón (1896). Lenguas argentinas: los tehuelches de la Patagonia. ASCA, 42: 35-43. :

References

{{South American languages Extinct languages of South America Unclassified languages of South America Alacalufan languages Languages attested from the 19th century Languages extinct in the 20th century