Languages of Chile that derive from English migrants in the 19th century. According to the World Federation of the Deaf 2008 survey report for South America, Chile's official number of deaf citizens is 66,500. The number who master Chilean Sign Language is uncertain, but if it follows the general norm of one in four deaf persons having learnt sign language, the number of sign language users in Chile should be around 16,000. Languages of Chile The Republic of Chile is an overwhelmingly Spanish-speaking country, with the exceptions of isolated native and immigrant communities. According to Ethnologue, Chile has nine living languages and seven
History of Chile descended partly from the most ancient settlers). No elaborate, centralized, sedentary civilization reigned supreme. The Araucanians, a fragmented society of hunters, gatherers, and farmers, constituted the largest Native American group in Chile. A mobile people who engaged in trade and warfare with other indigenous groups, they lived in scattered family clusters and small villages. Although the Araucanians had no written language, they did use a common tongue. Those in what became central Chile were more settled and more likely to use irrigation. Those in the south combined slash-and-burn agriculture with hunting. Of the three Araucanian groups, the one that mounted