A Comparative Study of the Andean Languages

Fieldwork Locations

 

Contents

 

Which Andean Languages Do We Cover?  Why These?

Map of Fieldwork Locations

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

Colour Coding Key

Language Names and Spellings

 

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Which Andean Languages Do We Cover?  Why These?

For Quechua we have so far covered fifteen varieties, from Ecuador (2), Peru (10), and Bolivia (3).  As far as possible within the practical limitations on travel and time available thus far in our research project, we made our particular selection of varieties has been made on the basis of three criteria, i.e. in order to offer:

   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.

 

 

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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

 

 

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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-
mento

Provincia

Distrito

Parroquia / Comunidad Campesina

Comunidad

FW

Chimborazo

NQ

Ecuador Andes

3189 m

01° 50.143' S

78° 43.583' W

Ecuador

‑‑

Chimborazo

(cantón) Colta

Columbe

El Troje (‘Troje Grande’)

FW

Tena

NQ

Ecuador Amazon

563 m

01° 05.576' S

77° 55.756' W

Ecuador

‑‑

Napo

Tena?

Talag?

Serena

FW

Inkawasi

NPQ

Inkawasi-Cañaris

3030 m

06° 14.144' S

79° 19.008' W

Peru

Lambayeque

Ferreñafe

Inkawasi

 

 

FW

Cañaris

NPQ

Inkawasi-Cañaris

1300 m

06° 01' S

79° 12' W

Peru

Lambayeque

Ferreñafe

Cañaris

 

(caserío) Chilasque

FW

Cajamarca

NPQ

Cajamarca

2811 m

07° 08.815' S

78° 40.364' W

Peru

Cajamarca

 

Chetilla

 

 

FW

Corongo

CQ

Corongo

2867 m

08° 37.125' S

77° 51.867' W

Peru

Ancash

Corongo

Yánac

 

 

FW

Chavín

CQ

Huari

3638 m

09° 34.597' S

77° 12.849' W

Peru

Ancash

Huari

Chavín de Huantar

Huancapampa

Chacpar

FW

Laraos

IQ

Laraos

3513 m

12° 20.830' S

75° 47.173' W

Peru

Lima

Yauyos

Laraos

 

Laraos

FW

Huancavelica

SQ

Huancavelica

4092 m

12° 45.629' S

74° 54.230' W

Peru

Huancavelica

Huancavelica

Yauli

 

Atalla, anexo  Tunsukuchu

FW

Kawki

CA

Kawki

1283 m

12° 46.797' S

75° 55.106' W

Peru

Lima

Yauyos

 

 

Cachuy  & Canchán

FW

Jaqaru

CA

Jaqaru

3150 m

12° 50' S

75° 45' W

Peru

Lima

Yauyos

Tupe

 

Tupe & Aisa

FW

Apolobamba

SQ

N.Bolivia

3753 m

15° 07.804' S

68° 59.992' W

Peru

La Paz

Bautista Saavedra

municipio: Curva

sección segunda

Tilinwaya ('Lagunillas')

FW

Taquile

SQ

Titicaca

3900 m

15° 50' S

69° 43' W

Peru

Puno

Puno

Amantaní

 

Isla Taquile

FW

Huancané

SA

Peru W.Titicaca

3820 m

15° 15' S

69° 43' W

Peru

Puno

Huancané

Vilque Chico

Kulachata

 

FW

Puno

SQ

Puno

3820 m

15° 55' S

70° 03' W

Peru

Puno

Puno

ciudad de Puno