A Comparative Study of the Andean Languages
Fieldwork Locations
Contents
Which Andean Languages Do We Cover? Why These?
Information on Fieldwork Locations and Informants
and links to photo-pages on selected locations
A Working Classification of the Varieties Covered
The Traditional Quechua ‘Family Tree’
Further Varieties to be Included
Data Sources:
Fieldwork and Dictionaries
Which Andean Languages Do We Cover? Why These?
For Quechua we have so far
covered fifteen varieties, from
• Coverage of all the main varieties within all the main branches of the ‘family tree’ of the language – or rather, family of closely related languages – that is Quechua. For more details, see the map and ‘family tree’ structure table below, and a brief note on how different the varieties are from each other.
• Coverage of all the various degrees of difference between varieties within the Quechua family, to give us a perspective on all relative degrees of difference we find in our database: accents, dialects, closely related languages. At the ‘less different’ end of this scale, this involved including focusing, for on a number of highly similar varieties spoken over the just one very large area, that of Southern or Cuzco-Collao Quechua, which also allows us to test the discriminatory power of our method.
• More intensive coverage of the areas considered most significant for a better understanding of the history, origins and development of the Quechua family (and its early contact with Aymara), that is in particular the areas whose varieties of Quechua are in some senses ‘intermediate’ between the two principal branches of the family: Northern Peruvian Quechua, Laraos, etc. Here there remain other varieties of particular interest in order to complete our coverage, not least Pacaraos and Yaru Quechua.
Applying the same principles to Aymara, the study will cover:
• three forms of southern (or ‘Altiplano’) Aymara, one for each of its principal varieties;
• for central (or ‘Tupino’) Aymara: both varieties, namely Jaqaru, and Kawki.
For more information on Jaqaru and Kawki, particularly an in-depth look at the question of their endangerment and, for Jaqaru, the chances of long-term survival (Kawki is sadly already doomed), click to read the following article, in Spanish, by Dante Oliva León: Jacaru y Cauqui, al Borde del Silencio.
We have also been generously granted data, from other researchers’ fieldwork, on the Bolivian Andean language Uru‑Chipaya, unrelated to either Quechua or Aymara.
Map of Fieldwork Locations
Showing (in the boxes) each of the varieties covered in the study.
This map was put together
mostly on the basis of book Lingüística Quechua, Cerrón-Palomino
(1987) – see the inset.
for more details on the
sources for it see the dialect variation page

Information on Fieldwork Locations and Informants
The table below gives a summary presentation of the Andean language varieties for which data are already collected and which are covered in this study. For more information, and a selection of photographs of my informants, other speakers, and their home towns and villages, click on any language name link in the second column in this table to see their entry page on our Sounds of the Andean Languages website.
• The first column indicates whether the source for my data was my own fieldwork (fw, in 19 cases), and/or from dictionaries (dct, in three cases).
• The fieldwork locations are arranged geographically north to south.
• Varieties in black are from the Quechua language family, those in brown are from the Aymara family (also known as Jaqi or Aru), while Chipaya (a separate family) is in green.
|
SOURCE: Field- work / Dictionary? |
My Name for this language variety |
|
Language Branch |
Altitude |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Country |
Departa- |
Provincia |
Distrito |
Parroquia / Comunidad Campesina |
Comunidad |
|
FW |
NQ |
|
3189 m |
01° 50.143' S |
78° 43.583' W |
|
‑‑ |
Chimborazo |
(cantón)
Colta |
Columbe |
El Troje (‘Troje Grande’) |
|
|
FW |
NQ |
|
563 m |
01° 05.576' S |
77° 55.756' W |
|
‑‑ |
Napo |
Tena? |
Talag? |
Serena |
|
|
FW |
NPQ |
Inkawasi-Cañaris |
3030 m |
06° 14.144' S |
79° 19.008' W |
|
Lambayeque |
Ferreñafe |
Inkawasi |
|
|
|
|
FW |
Cañaris |
NPQ |
Inkawasi-Cañaris |
1300 m |
06° 01' S |
79° 12' W |
|
Lambayeque |
Ferreñafe |
Cañaris |
|
(caserío) Chilasque |
|
FW |
NPQ |
Cajamarca |
2811 m |
07° 08.815' S |
78° 40.364' W |
|
Cajamarca |
|
Chetilla |
|
|
|
|
FW |
CQ |
Corongo |
2867 m |
08° 37.125' S |
77° 51.867' W |
|
Ancash |
Corongo |
Yánac |
|
|
|
|
FW |
CQ |
Huari |
3638 m |
09° 34.597' S |
77° 12.849' W |
|
Ancash |
Huari |
Chavín
de Huantar |
Huancapampa |
Chacpar |
|
|
FW |
IQ |
Laraos |
3513 m |
12° 20.830' S |
75° 47.173' W |
|
|
Yauyos |
Laraos |
|
Laraos |
|
|
FW |
SQ |
Huancavelica |
4092 m |
12° 45.629' S |
74° 54.230' W |
|
Huancavelica |
Huancavelica |
Yauli |
|
Atalla, anexo Tunsukuchu |
|
|
FW |
CA |
Kawki |
1283 m |
12° 46.797' S |
75° 55.106' W |
|
|
Yauyos |
|
|
Cachuy & Canchán |
|
|
FW |
CA |
Jaqaru |
3150 m |
12° 50' S |
75° 45' W |
|
|
Yauyos |
Tupe |
|
Tupe & Aisa |
|
|
FW |
SQ |
N.Bolivia |
3753 m |
15° 07.804' S |
68° 59.992' W |
|
|
Bautista
Saavedra |
municipio:
Curva |
sección
segunda |
Tilinwaya ('Lagunillas') |
|
|
FW |
SQ |
Titicaca |
3900 m |
15° 50' S |
69° 43' W |
|
Puno |
Puno |
Amantaní |
|
Isla Taquile |
|
|
FW |
SA |
|
3820 m |
15° 15' S |
69° 43' W |
|
Puno |
Huancané |
Vilque Chico |
Kulachata |
|
|
|
FW |
SQ |
Puno |
3820 m |
15° 55' S |
70° 03' W |
|
Puno |
Puno |
ciudad
de Puno |