| Kalinago | |
|---|---|
| Igneri, Iñeri, Inyeri | |
| Kalhíphona | |
| Native to | Windward Islands (Guadeloupe to Grenada, except Barbados) |
| Ethnicity | Kalinago, Igneri |
| Extinct | 1920s in Dominica (survives in Garifuna) |
Arawakan
| |
Early form | |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | crb |
crb | |
| Glottolog | isla1278 |
 Iñeri (Kalinago) among other Pre-Columbian languages of the Antilles | |
The Kalinago language, also known as Island Carib and Igneri (Iñeri, Inyeri, etc.), was an Arawakan language historically spoken by the Kalinago of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. Kalinago proper became extinct by about 1920 due to population decline and colonial period deportations resulting in language death, but an offshoot survives as Garifuna, primarily in Central America.
Despite being known as Island Carib, the language was not closely related to the Carib language of the mainland Caribs. Instead, it appears to have been a development of the Arawakan language spoken by the islands' earlier Igneri inhabitants, which incoming Caribs adopted in the pre-Columbian era. During the French colonial period, Carib men also spoke a Cariban-derived pidgin amongst themselves.