Cuzco Quechua language

Last updated
Cuzco Quechua
Qusqu runasimi
Native to Peru
Native speakers
(c. 1.5 million cited 1989–2002) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Either:
quz  – Cusco
qve  – Eastern Apurímac
Glottolog cusc1236   Cusco
east2551   Eastern Apurímac
ELP Cuzco Quechua

Cuzco Quechua (Quechua : Qusqu qhichwa simi) is a dialect of Southern Quechua spoken in Cuzco and the Cuzco Region of Peru.

Contents

It is the Quechua variety used by the Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua in Cuzco, which also prefers the Spanish-based five-vowel alphabet. [2] On the other hand, the official alphabet used by the ministry of education has only three vowels. [3]

Phonology

Vowels

Quechua only has three vowel phonemes: /a//i/ and /u/, with no diphthongs. Monolingual speakers pronounce them as [ æ , ɪ , ʊ ] respectively, but Spanish realizations [ ä , i , u ] may also be found. When the vowels appear adjacent to uvular consonants (/q/, /qʼ/, and /qʰ/), they are rendered more like [ ɑ , ɛ , ɔ ], respectively. [4] There is debate about whether Cuzco Quechua has five /a,e,i,o,u/ or three vowel phonemes: /a,ɪ,ʊ/. [5]

While historically Proto-Quechua clearly had just three vowel phonemes /*a, *ɪ, *ʊ/, and although some other Quechua varieties have an increased number of vowels as a result of phonological vowel length emergence or of monophthongization, the current debate about the Cuzco variety seems to be not phonological in matter but just orthographic. [6]

PhonemeIPA Phonetic realizations3-vowel alphabet5-vowel alphabet
/a/[æ,a,ɑ]aa
/i/[i,ɪ,e,ɛ]ii [i, ɪ], e [e, ɛ]
/u/[u,ʊ,o,ɔ]uu [u, ʊ], o [o, ɔ]

Consonants

Cusco Quechua consonant phonemes
Bilabial Alveolar Post-alv./
Palatal 		Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ
Stop/
Affricate 		plain p t tʃ k q
aspirated pʰ tʰ tʃʰ kʰ qʰ
ejective pʼ tʼ tʃʼ kʼ qʼ
Fricative s ʃ h
Semivowel j w
Liquid lateral l ʎ
rhotic ɾ

Gemination of the tap /ɾ/ results in a trill [ r ].

About 30% of the modern Quechua vocabulary is borrowed from Spanish, and some Spanish sounds (such as /f/, /b/, /d/, /ɡ/) may have become phonemic even among monolingual Quechua speakers.

Grammar

Pronouns

[7] Cuzco QuechuaNorthern QuechuaAncash QuechuaEnglish
1ºnoqa/ñoqañukanuqaI
2ºqankanqamyou
3ºpaypaypayhe, she, it
4ºnoqanchis/ñoqanchisñukanchik (ñukapash kanpash)nuqantsikwe (inclusive)
5ºnoqayku/ñoqaykuñukanchik (shinapash mana kan/kikin)nuqakunawe (exclusive)
6ºqankunaqamkunaqamkunayou (plural)
7ºpaykunapaykunapaykunathey

Nouns

Examples using the word wasi 'house'
FunctionSuffixExampleTranslation
Suffix indicating numberPlural-kunawasikunahouses
Possessive suffix1st person singular-ywasiymy house
2nd person singular-ykiwasiykiyour house
3rd person singular-nwasinhis/her/its house
1st person plural (incl.)-nchiswasinchisour house (incl.)
1st person plural (excl.)-y-kuwasiykuour house (excl.)
2nd person plural-yki-chiswasiykichisyour (pl.) house
3rd person plural-n-kuwasinkutheir house
Suffixes indicating case nominative –wasithe house (subj.)
accusative -(k)tawasitathe house (obj.)
instrumental -wanwasiwanwith the house, and the house
abessive -naqwasinaqwithout the house
dative -paqwasipaqto the house
genitive -q/-pawasiqof the house
causative -raykuwasiraykubecause of the house
benefactive -paqwasipaqfor the house
locative -piwasipiat the house
directional -manwasimantowards the house
inclusive -piwan, puwanwasipiwan, wasipuwanincluding the house
terminative -kama, -yaqwasikama, wasiyaqup to the house
transitive -(rin)tawasintathrough the house
ablative -manta, -piqtawasimanta, wasipiqtaoff/from the house
comitative -(ni)ntinwasintinalong with the house
immediate -raqwasiraqfirst the house
intrative -purawasipuraamong the houses
exclusive -lla(n)wasilla(n)only the house
comparative -naw, -hinawasinaw, wasihinalike the house

Adjectives

Verbs

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cusco at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
    Eastern Apurímac at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  2. ↑ Nancy Hornberger & Kendall King, "Authenticity and Unification in Quechua Language Planning" Language, Culture and Curriculum11 3 (1998): 390 - 410. http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=gse_pubs
  3. ↑ Nonato Rufino Chuquimamani Valer. Yachakuqkunapa Simi Qullqa - Qusqu-Qullaw Qhichwa Simipi Archived 2011-08-24 at the Wayback Machine (Quechua-Quechua-Spanish dictionary). Lima: Ministerio de Educación, 2005.
  4. ↑ Ebina, Daisuke (2011). Cusco Quechua. In Yasuhiro Yamakoshi (ed.), Grammatical Sketches from the Field: Tōkyō: Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. pp. 1–39.
  5. ↑ Parker, Steve (2007). Un análisis acústico del quechua del Cusco (An acoustic analysis of Cusco Quechua) (PDF). GIALens: Electronic Notes Series.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  6. ↑ Adelaar, Willem F. H. (2014). The Andean three-vowel system and its effect on the development of a modern orthography for the Aimaran and Quechuan languages. Scripta, 6, 33–46. Available at <https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/handle/1887/71388>.
  7. ↑ "Personal pronouns in Quechua Cusco". Quechua Language. 2019-12-23. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-03-05.


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