Quechuan languages

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The Quechuan languages are a family of related languages in South America.

It has between two and 46 members, depending on how one counts languages and dialects. All of them can be called varieties of Quechua; the best-known variety is the dialect of Cusco, an early variety of which was the official language of the Inca Empire.

Quechuan languages, especially that of the south, share a large amount of vocabulary with Aymara, and the languages have often been grouped together as Quechumaran. This proposal is controversial, however; the shared vocabulary may be better explained as intensive borrowing due to long-term contact.

[edit] Subdivisions

This macrolanguage is subdivided as follows:

Quechua I or Quechua B or Central Quechua or Waywash, spoken in Peru's central highlands and coast.
- The most widely spoken varieties are Huaylas Ancash, Huaylla Wanca, Northern Conchucos Ancash, and Southern Conchucos Ancash.
Quechua II or Quechua A or Peripheral Quechua or Wanp'una, divided into
- Yunkay Quechua or Quechua II A, spoken in the northern mountains of Peru; the most widely spoken dialect is Cajamarca.
- Northern Quechua or Quechua II B, spoken in Ecuador (Kichwa), northern Peru, and Colombia
  - The most widely spoken varieties are Chimborazo Highland Quichua and Imbabura Highland Quichua.
- Southern Quechua or Quechua II C, spoken in Bolivia, southern Peru, Chile, and Argentina.
  - The most widely spoken varieties are South Bolivian, Cuzco, Ayacucho, and Puno.

The most diverse dialects are found in the Quechua I area, which is therefore believed to be the homeland of the language family - not, as was once assumed, the Cuzco area. However, the Incas spread Quechua far beyond their homeland.

[edit] Samples

A sampling of words in several Quechuan dialects:

	Standardized Southern Quechua	Ayacucho	Cuzco	Bolivia	Ecuador	Cajamarca	San Martin	Junin	Ancash
'ten'	chunka	chunka	chunka	chunka	chunga	trunka	chunka	trunka	chunka
'sweet'	misk'i	miski	misk'i	misk'i	mishki	mishki	mishki	mishki	mishki
'he gives'	qun	qun	qun	qun	kun	qun	kun	un	qun
'one'	huk	huk	hux	ux	shuk	suh	suk	huk	huk
'white'	yuraq	yuraq	yuraq	yuraq	yurak	yuraq	yurak	yulaq	yuraq