Quechuan languages

Quechua, also called Runa simi meaning "people's language," is a group of indigenous languages that began in central Peru and spread through the Andes mountains. It comes from an ancient ancestor called "Proto-Quechua" and is the most widely spoken language family from before European arrival in the Americas. Today, many people speak Quechua.

Quechua was very popular long before the Incas ruled a large empire. Even after the Spanish arrived, people were allowed to keep using Quechua. Because of this, many people in Peru still speak Quechua as their main language. In Ecuador, a version called Kichwa is the second most spoken language after Spanish.

This language has a rich history and is very important to the cultures and identities of many people in South America.

History

Main article: Classical Quechua

Quechua probably started in central Peru. It may have been used by ancient cultures like the Chavín and Wari. Before the Inca Empire became big, many people in the Andes already spoke different forms of Quechua. The Inca made Quechua their official language, which helped it spread.

After the Spanish conquest of Peru, Quechua continued to be used by local people and even by Spanish rulers and church leaders. Missionaries wrote books in Quechua to teach about their faith. Later, colonial leaders stopped using Quechua in official places, which made the language less common in cities. But in rural areas, many still spoke Quechua. Today, about 7 million people across South America still use Quechua, making it the most spoken indigenous language family in the Americas. Recently, Quechua has seen a revival with universities teaching it and communities working to keep the language alive.

Current status

In 1975, Peru became the first country to recognize Quechua as an official language. Later, Ecuador and Bolivia also gave Quechua official status. Quechua faces challenges because there are not many books or written materials in the language. Efforts are being made to teach Quechua in schools along with Spanish in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Some people still prefer Spanish for their children, hoping it will help them succeed.

Quechua and Spanish often mix together, with many words from each language used in the other. For example, in parts of Bolivia, Quechua words are commonly used even by people who mainly speak Spanish. Quechua has also influenced other languages in the Americas, like Mapuche. Radio stations in Peru also broadcast news and programs in Quechua.

Number of speakers

It is hard to know exactly how many people speak Quechua because different sources give different numbers. Some estimates say there are around 10 million speakers, while others are lower. The number can vary a lot depending on where you look and when the data was collected. For example:

• Argentina: 900,000 (1971)
• Bolivia: 2,100,000 (2001 census); 2,800,000 South Bolivian (1987)
• Chile: few, if any; 8,200 in ethnic group (2002 census)
• Colombia: 4,402 to 16,000
• Ecuador: 2,300,000 (Adelaar 1991)
• Peru: 3,800,000 (2017 census); 3,500,000 to 4,400,000 (Adelaar 2000)

Many Quechua speakers also live outside their home countries, so the total number is still unknown.

Classification

Quechua is a family of languages spoken by many people in the Andes mountains. It is mainly spoken in Peru, and also in Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, and other nearby areas. There are two main groups: Quechua I (central) and Quechua II (peripheral).

Quechua I is spoken in the central highlands of Peru and has many different forms. Quechua II is split into three parts: Northern (spoken in Ecuador and Colombia), North Peruvian (scattered in Peru), and Southern (spoken from southern Peru through Bolivia and into Argentina).

The Southern group is the most common and has the most speakers. People who speak different forms of Quechua can often understand each other, but sometimes they cannot if they live far apart. This is why experts call Quechua a language family and not just one language. The many different forms of Quechua make it a rich and diverse group of languages.

Vocabulary

Quechua has borrowed many words from Spanish, such as piru meaning "but," bwenu meaning "good," and iskwila meaning "school." Many Quechua words have also become part of English and French through Spanish. Examples include coca, condor, guano, jerky, llama, and poncho.

In Bolivia, Quechua words are used often, even by people who don’t speak Quechua as their first language. Words like wawa for "baby" and misi for "cat" are common. The language has also influenced how people speak Spanish in the area.

Phonology

In Quechua, some sounds are made with a strong puff of air. This is called a glottalized consonant. These special sounds are found in Cusco Quechua, North Bolivian Quechua, and South Bolivian Quechua. They are also in some Kichwa spoken in Ecuador.

The way words sound can change a little in different places where Quechua is spoken.

In most Quechua dialects, the stress is on the second-to-last syllable. But in some areas like Chachapoyas Quechua, the stress starts at the beginning of the word. Sometimes, when words lose their last sound, the stress might be on the final syllable.

Orthography

Main article: Quechua alphabet

Further information: Southern Quechua § Standard Quechua

Quechua uses the Roman alphabet and has since the Spanish conquest of Peru. Not many Quechua speakers write the language because there isn't much material printed in it.

Until the 1900s, Quechua writing used Spanish letters. In 1975, Peru made a new way to write Quechua. This new system uses different letters to better show the sounds of the language. For example, some sounds are written with "w" instead of "hu."

Today, people still argue about the best way to write Quechua. Some like the old way, while others think the new way is better. Sometimes writers also use Spanish words in their work, changing them to fit Quechua or leaving them as they are.

Grammar

Quechua is an agglutinating language. This means words are made by adding small parts called suffixes to a basic root. These suffixes change the meaning in many ways. In Quechua, sentences usually follow the order of subject, object, then verb.

Quechua has special ways to show if the speaker knows something from direct experience, a guess, or something they heard from someone else. This helps make communication very clear.

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Literature

Many interesting stories and poems in Quechua were written down with Latin letters after Europeans arrived in South America. These writings often share traditions and beliefs from before that time. One famous book from around 1598 is called the Huarochirí Manuscript. It tells myths and religious ideas from the Huarochirí valley. It is sometimes called "an Andean Bible" and is similar to the Popol Vuh from nearby regions.

After Europeans came, many plays were written in Quechua. Some of these plays tell about the Inca leaders, while others discuss religious ideas from Europe. Well-known plays include Ollantay and stories about the life of Atahualpa. Writers like Juan de Espinosa Medrano created several plays in Quechua. Poets such as Juan Wallparrimachi wrote beautiful poems in Quechua.

In the 1600s, church leaders in Lima created books to teach Christian beliefs. These included a special book called a catechism written in three languages: Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara. More books like this were made later. There is also a version of the Bible written in Quechua.

Later, in the 1800s and 1900s, more books, poems, and stories were written in Quechua. Many of these were traditional tales passed down by mouth. A writer named Johnny Payne helped share some Quechua stories by translating them into Spanish and English.

One interesting example is a Quechua version of the famous story Don Quixote, written by Demetrio Túpac Yupanqui.

Media

A news broadcast in Quechua called "Ñuqanchik" started in Peru in 2016. It means "all of us."

Many musicians from the Andes write and sing in Quechua and other native languages. Some well-known groups include Los Kjarkas, Savia Andina, and Uchpa. There are also bloggers and a podcast in Quechua. The 1961 Peruvian film Kukuli was the first movie spoken in Quechua. In the 1977 film Star Wars, an alien character speaks a simple version of Quechua. The game Overwatch 2 includes a Peruvian character with some lines in Quechua, and the show Pluribus features another Peruvian character speaking Quechua in its first season finale.