Quechua

From WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia

Quechua (Quechuan: Runa Simi) is a native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language. It is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably some 8–10 million speakers.

History[edit | edit source]

Quechua had already expanded across wide ranges of the central Andes long before the expansion of the Inca Empire. The Inca were one among many peoples in present-day Peru who already spoke forms of Quechua. In the Cusco region, Quechua was influenced by local languages such as Aymara. Hence, there is a divergence of Quechua dialects in the region.

Dialects[edit | edit source]

There are many dialects of Quechua, which can be grouped into certain categories. Some of these dialects include:

  • Central Quechua
  • Peripheral Quechua
  • Southern Quechua
  • Wanka Quechua

Phonology[edit | edit source]

Quechua has three vowels: /i/, /a/, /u/, but the sequence /ji/ is often realized as [e]. Quechua also has a complex set of phonological rules that affect the final vowel of a word.

Morphology[edit | edit source]

Quechua is an agglutinative language, where words are built up from basic roots followed by several suffixes. The language structure is subject–object–verb.

Syntax[edit | edit source]

Quechua syntax is topic-prominent, and it features topic–comment structure.

Vocabulary[edit | edit source]

Quechua has a rich vocabulary, especially when it comes to the natural world. Many words in Quechua are onomatopoeic.

Writing system[edit | edit source]

The Quechua languages have been written using the Latin script since the Spanish conquest.

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]


External links[edit | edit source]

Quechua Resources

Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD