First edition of a dictionary and grammar of the Mapuche or Mapudungun language, still spoken widely in Chile. This remained the standard work in the field through the early 20th century.

Mapuche (/mæˈpʊtʃi/) or Mapudungun (from mapu ‘land’ and dungun ‘speak, speech’) is an Araucanian language related to Huillichespoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from mapu ‘land’ and che ‘people’). It is also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu. It was formerly known as Araucanian, the name given to the Mapuche by the Spaniards; the Mapuche avoid it as a remnant of Spanish colonialism.

Mapudungun is not an official language of Chile or Argentina and has received virtually no government support throughout its history. It is not used as a language of instruction in either country’s educational system despite the Chilean government’s commitment to provide full access to education in Mapuche areas in southern Chile.

There is an ongoing political debate over which alphabet to use as the standard alphabet of written Mapudungun. There are approximately 144,000 native speakers in Chile and another 8,400 in west central Argentina.