Quechua Bibliography

Coronel-Molina, Serafin (2002) Quechua Phrasebook (2nd edition)
Lonely Planet Publications: Hawthorn, Australia
ISBN: 1864503815 Nr of Pages: 224 Prices (2002): US$7.99 GB£4.5
In: English Available from: Web
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

Warning: the book above is excellent and highly recommended, but the book below – the first edition – is very poor! See my review below. I’d have to advise you not to buy it!

Wright, Ronald (1990) Quechua Phrasebook (1st edition)
Lonely Planet Publications: Hawthorn, Australia
ISBN: 0864420390 Nr of Pages: 96 Prices (2002): US$3.95 GB£2.5
In: English 5-Vowel Cuzco Quechua Available from: Web

The second edition by Serafín Coronel-Molina is a quantum leap, a vast improvement on the first edition by Ronald Wright. It should not really be considered a ‘second edition’ at all: the original one was rightly completely discarded and the whole book has been written anew. I cannot urge you more strongly to make sure you get the professional, serious, fully re-written and much more comprehensive second edition, not the rather amateurish first edition!

Serafín Coronel-Molina’s version can be recommended as a reliable, valuable and accurate book in the first place on the strength of its author alone. He is a respected, professional and dedicated native-speaker of Quechua, and above all a career linguist specialising in the language, well known through his own valuable Quechua website. So if buying this book, make sure you get the second edition by searching by the ISBN 1864503815, or by the author name Serafín Coronel-Molina (only beware, Amazon.com for one have got his name wrong twice, and call him Serafin Coronal-Molin, poor chap!).

A full review of Serafín Coronel-Molina’s edition will follow shortly.

What follows here, then, is our review of the first edition, so the criticisms below have nothing to do with Serafín Coronel-Molina’s edition, and relate only to the first one, by Ronald Wright (ISBN 0864420390). As for that one though … oh dear. I’m not one to criticise other people’s work out of malice, but this book and the attitude that it betrays deserve on the part of the author and publisher little other than criticism. It is almost scandalous that it got published at all. I have to wonder at how the author dared consider himself competent; and Lonely Planet clearly did not do their homework in ensuring they found a suitable author.

OK, so Ronald Wright’s book is only meant to be a phrasebook anyway. To that extent, it does have its uses, yes, and it’s very portable and cheap. But ‘only meant to be a phrasebook’ is no excuse for it being downright wrong and, perhaps even worse in a phrasebook, completely misleading to the newcomer.

The book starts with a section on pronunciation which, if you have a grounding in basic phonetics, is only really worth looking at for entertainment value. Now of course there are some phonetic details that wouldn’t matter so much to the general ‘layman’ reader, but the point is that this book is particularly bad for beginners too, precisely because the author is hopelessly confused about the Quechua spelling and pronunciation system, and passes that confusion on to the unsuspecting newcomer to the language. The system is actually very straightforward and logical, and should not cause much difficulty, but this author manages to make it sound complex and unstructured. Not surprisingly, the spelling throughout the book is inconsistent too, sometimes on the same word, presumably because the author hasn’t even noticed that there are various different alphabets used for Quechua (and big arguments about them).

The grammar section is equally revealing of an author who is out of his depth to the point of not really know what he’s talking about. Take page 20, where it is written: “-qa which also indicates uncertainty, is important because it is often used for ‘if’”. This is plain wrong and is completely misleading. You will never get across the meaning if just by using ‑qa, which generally has a completely different function in Quechua (to do mostly with the grammatical concept of ‘topic’, which the author seems to have no clue about, and which is anyway rather beyond the scope of a phrasebook). If the author had cared to look twice at the two examples he himself gives, he would have found that both include, before the ‑qa, the different suffix ‑qti‑: it’s this one that primarily carries the meaning if. It’s only ever when ‑qa occurs alongside this ‑qti‑ that the two combined can have the meaning if, as opposed to when ‑pti‑ occurs alone, in which case it tends to be equivalent to English when. This distinction, indeed, is pretty useful for basic communication, yet the author fails to explain it at all. (For a few details on this suffix, see Cerrón‑Palomino (1995: 175‑176), who unlike Wright uses the official spelling ‑pti‑). Wright also completely passes over the fact that ‑qa is used with great frequency in Quechua, probably in at least one sentence in two, without indicating ‘uncertainty’ or if whatsoever, but various completely different things.

For a few more examples, the health section contains model sentences which are simply grammatically wrong in Quechua, where the author has got the subject and object mixed up, presumably because he has not realised that the Quechua construction is different to the English one. Even the map on the back of the book purporting to show where Quechua is spoken is inexcusable broad-brush guesswork. The location of Quechua speakers in Bolivia is crazy, while the shading over most of northern Peru covers vast areas where Quechua is almost, or completely, extinct – and even where it isn’t, the form of Quechua spoken there is so different as to be effectively a completely different language from the one described in the book, which would therefore be of little use there.

The introduction likewise contains numerous statements which are at best questionable, at worse nonsense, such as that Quechua “survives precariously in Ecuador”. Despite the worrying long-term outlook for all varieties of Quechua, it still has well over a million (perhaps up to two million) speakers in Ecuador, and its position there can hardly be described as much more precarious than anywhere else. In fact, if you had to bet money on it, on current trends you would expect Quechua to die out in the Cuzco region before it dies out in Ecuador.

All of this information – on the status and distribution of the language, its phonetics, grammar, and so on – was perfectly well available well before the publication of this first edition, so there is simply no excuse. It is depressing how some authors feel so overconfident as to publish on a subject without even knowing enough to realise how little they actually know about it, and how their mistakes and ignorance will mislead others who read their work. The author has since made quite a career out of other popular history books, on the Maya of Central America, for example; one has to hope that those at least are informed by real expert knowledge, and that he has not continued with the same cavalier attitude he took to publishing on Quechua.

Ronald Wright’s Quechua Phrasebook does not deserve your money – get the second edition instead, which certainly does. For thankfully, Lonely Planet seem to have wised up to their author’s failings, and (apparently in the middle of production) dropped him for a new, professional author, this time a native Quechua-speaking linguist. Phew!

[As a little aside, all of this makes for a big dent in the reputation of Lonely Planet that they got it so wrong the first time. Sadly, this is not altogether surprising, since their series more generally takes a ‘populist’ approach which means that plenty of their guidebooks too seem to be written by self‑assured authors whose in-depth knowledge of the country they are writing about similarly leaves a good deal to be desired. Try Rough Guides or, even better for Latin America, Footprint Handbooks, whose in‑depth knowledge of the countries concerned is, in my wide travel experience, much more professional and reliable.]

Back to Contents

Coursebooks and ‘Teach Yourself’ Books

I understand that there will be a pretty serious coursebook in English coming out eventually (2008), but for now there’s still really not very much out there that’s much good. What follows is roughly in order of best first for the courses in English and Spanish, then there are a few courses in German and French.

For other possible coursebooks in English, you might also want to try to contact universities in the USA which teach Quechua.

In Cuzco, available in local bookshops, you can find plenty of locally-produced small-scale books in Spanish, but most of them are unfortunately pretty amateurish and not much good at all – any of those listed below are considerably better.

Morató Peña, Luís & Luís Morató Lara (2000) Quechua Boliviano Trilingüe – Curso Avanzado
Editorial Los Amigos del Libro: La Paz, Bolivia
ISBN: 8483702703 Nr of Pages: 224 Prices (2002): US$16
In: English & Spanish 5-Vowel Bolivian Quechua (Cochabamba) Available from: Los Amigos del Libro

Probably the best in English so far, reasonable explanations and course structure. This advanced level one has some nice (rare!) Quechua texts to practice on. Apparently used as a coursebook in some American universities, so may be available there too. (I haven’t found it on internet bookshops yet).

Morató Peña, Luís (1993) Quechua Boliviano Trilingüe – Curso Elemental (2nd edition)
Editorial Los Amigos del Libro: La Paz, Bolivia
In: English & Spanish 5-Vowel Bolivian Quechua (Cochabamba) Available from: Los Amigos del Libro

The companion Introductory Level volume to the above, should also be pretty good, and like it apparently used as a coursebook in some American universities. Availability as for the advanced level one.

Soto Ruiz, Clodoaldo (1993) Quechua – Manual de Enseñanza (2nd edition)
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
ISBN: 848930324X Nr of Pages: 442 Prices (2002): US$11 S/.40
In: Spanish 3-Vowel Ayacucho Quechua Available from: CBC IEP

Pretty good, well-structured course and very long, so lots of practice.

Coronel-Molina, Serafin (2002) Quechua Phrasebook (2nd edition)
Lonely Planet Publications: Hawthorn, Australia
ISBN: 1864503815 Nr of Pages: 224 Prices (2002): US$7.99 GB£4.5
In: English Available from: Web
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

Not a coursebook, but a phrasebook, but failing a decent coursebook you might want to give this a look too, as it will be much bigger and better than its predecessor. This is the new much expanded second edition of the Lonely Planet Quechua Phrasebook, and should be easily available everywhere once it’s published, some time around August 2002. But don’t confuse this with the amateurish first edition by a different author - click here for my review.

Grondin, Marcelo (1980) Metodo de Quechua – Runa Simi (2nd edition)
Los Amigos del Libro: La Paz, Bolivia
In: Spanish Bolivian Quechua Available from: Los Amigos del Libro

While nothing particularly special, this is a pretty reasonable book to start with, lots of exercises and drills. Note there is also a companion Método de Aymara volume by the same author and publisher..

Bills, Garland (196?) Introduction to Spoken Bolivian Quechua
University of Texas Press:
ISBN: 0292700199 Nr of Pages: 449
In: English Bolivian Quechua Available from: Out of Print
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

A very old and venerable production, typewritten, but not bad, with cassettes I think

Noble, Judith & Jaime Lacasa (1999) Introduction to Quechua ((+ cassette))
McGraw Hill:
ISBN: 084427206X Nr of Pages: 256
In: English 5-Vowel Bolivian Quechua Available from: Out of Print
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

You’ll probably be well disappointed! Very oddly structured, not really a course, just dull, tiresome and not very useful long, long lists of ‘model sentences’, repeated on the cassette. Little grammatical explanation, and what there is not great: sometimes unhelpful terminology, and gives up entirely on explaining certain things (e.g. focus and topic suffixes), just saying they are for ‘euphony’ – not really true, and no help to the learner at all. Is available from some internet bookshops, though often with a long wait (up to 8 weeks, if it ever comes).

Salas Cruz, Américo & Edith F. Zevallos Apaza (1998?) Runasimi Qusqu Qullaw – Texto de Enseñanza
Instituto de Pastoral Andina: Cuzco, Peru
ISBN: ??? Nr of Pages: 250 Prices (2002): US$14.5 S/.50
In: Spanish 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua Available from: CBC

Fairly OK and useful for practice, though useless on alphabet and pronunciation. Not written by a professional though – the ‘phonetics table’ is no help and actually wrong in places. Given the publisher, intended presumably for priests and nuns working with Quechua-speakers in Southern Peru.

There are also basic coursebooks in other European languages:

Hartmann, Roswith (1987) ‘Rimaykullayki’ – Unterrichtsmaterialien zum Quechua Ayacuchano
Reimer: Berlin
ISBN: 3496025204 Prices (2002): €17.9
In: German Ayacucho Quechua Available from: Web
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

Dunkel, Winfried (1995) Kauderwelsch, Quechua für Peru-Reisende (Audio Cassette)
Reise Know-How Verlag: Bielefeld, Germany
ISBN: 3894160780 Nr of Pages: 160 Prices (2002): €7.9
In: German Available from: Web
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

Dunkel, Winfried (1997) Kauderwelsch, Quechua für Peru-Reisende (3rd Edition)
Reise Know-How Verlag: Bielefeld, Germany
ISBN: 3894161108 Nr of Pages: 160 Prices (2002): €7.9
In: German Available from: Web
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

Itier, César (1997) Parlons Quechua (Cassette Also Available)
L’Harmattan: Paris?
ISBN: 2738456022 Nr of Pages: 208 Prices (2002): €18.29
In: French Cuzco Quechua Available from: FNAC Paris
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

With cassettes but a pretty basic book which won’t take you very far. Available from FNAC in Paris at least if you look hard! Cuzco Quechua I think.

Back to Contents

Linguistic Reference Grammars

Grammars in Spanish

The Six Main Peruvian Dialects: the IEP Grammars

In 1976 the Peruvian Instituto de Estudios Peruanos and Ministerio de Educación published a series of six reference grammars (and a companion series of six dictionaries, see below), one for each of the main regional dialects in Peru.

The grammar for the Cuzco-Collao dialect, by Antonio Cusihuamán, has recently been re-edited by the CBC (as has the accompanying dictionary), with some very useful additions, such as a proper reference index of all suffixes, and a section on spelling and pronunciation ‘problems’. Also, it’s in a handier more compact format, and doesn’t fall to bits like the old editions do! It sticks with the old 5-vowel alphabet though (and, inevitably therefore, there are a few inconsistencies).

Here’s the full list of the books then:

Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo (1976a) Gramática Quechua: Junín-Huanca
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish 3-Vowel Available from: IEP

Coombs, David & Heidi Carlson & Robert Weber (1976a) Gramática Quechua: San Martín
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish Available from: IEP

Cusihuamán, Antonio (1976a) Gramática Quechua: Cuzco-Collao (1st Edition)
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish 5-Vowel Available from: CBC IEP

Cusihuamán, Antonio (2001a) Gramática Quechua: Cuzco-Collao (2nd Edition - with Index!)
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$10 S/.35
In: Spanish 5-Vowel Cuzco Quechua Available from: CBC IEP

Parker, Gary (1976a) Gramática Quechua: Ancash-Huailas
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish Available from: IEP

Quesada C., Félix (1976a) Gramática Quechua: Cajamarca-Cañaris
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish Available from: IEP

Soto Ruiz, Clodoaldo (1976a) Gramática Quechua: Ayacucho-Chanca
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish Availability: IEP

Note: for Quechua-speaking areas outside Peru:

• Bolivian Quechua belongs to the Cuzco-Collao dialect, though with some fairly big differences.

• As for Argentinean, Chilean, Colombian and Ecuadoran Quechua, I’m afraid I have no information as yet.

Review and Availability

These grammars are written by linguists, and for linguists. And they are in Spanish. Each is between 200 and 300 pages long.

For those who don’t know much linguistics, this series will seem very technical and probably not of much use. They are reference grammars, with no exercises. However, the more linguistics you know, the more you will get out of them. For trained linguists, they constitute valuable, very comprehensive, accurate descriptions. I found the one I’ve used most so far (Cuzco-Collao) a godsend, and very highly recommend the series to any linguist. In particular Rodolfo Cerrón-Palomino’s one for Junín-Huanca Quechua is excellently written, and very clear – though beware that that dialect is quite different from southern (Cuzco‑Bolivian) Quechua.

Be aware, though, that in 1976 the Peruvian Education Ministry’s ‘official’ alphabet for Quechua was still the old 5-vowel one, not the revised 3-vowel (phonemic) alphabet that replaced it in 1985. And since the Peruvian Education Ministry was the instigator of these grammars, it’s not surprising that some of the authors chose to toe the official line and use five vowel letters in their spellings.

The 2^nd edition (2001) of the Cuzco‑Collao grammar is easily available from the CBC bookshops in Cuzco, price 35 soles (US$ 10), or by mail order from them. The other dictionaries and grammars in the series are fairly hard to get hold of (you might find them second-hand in Cuzco or in libraries), except direct from the IEP bookshop, which still has old copies of most of the series (for just US$3 each!). If you’re in Cuzco, not Lima, the CBC can get hold of them for you through its contacts at the IEP, for a small mark-up.

Another reference grammar for Cuzco Quechua is this one, again by a very professional Quechua linguist, though the analysis is pretty theoretical and wordy and technical at times, making it heavy to get through and in practice a lot less useful than one might have hoped. The topic and focus systems are (as ever!) not described in much detail.

Pérez, Julio Calvo (1998) Pragmática y Gramática del Quechua Cuzqueño
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Nr of Pages: 475 Prices (2002): US$7 S/.25
In: Spanish 3-Vowel Cuzco Quechua Available from: CBC

Grammars in English

For the Huánuco region dialect, even more comprehensive (490 pages) is another linguistic reference grammar:

Weber, David John (1989) A Grammar of Huallaga (Huánuco) Quechua
in: University of California Publications in Linguistics - 112
In: English Available from: Web (2nd hand)

For the Ayacucho region dialect:

Parker, Gary (1969) Ayacucho Grammar and Dictionary
Mouton de Gruyter: The Hague
In: English

Back to Contents

General Quechua (and Andean) Linguistics

• General Linguistics of the Quechua Family

This book is excellent – by far the best general book on Quechua for linguists:

Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo (2003) Reprint of original 1987 edition Lingüística Quechua
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
In: Spanish 3-Vowel All Quechua Dialects Available from: CBC Reprinted 2003

Review and Availability

A work by a linguist and aimed at linguists. Much more than a descriptive reference grammar, it is a broad survey of Quechua: geographical distribution, origins and historical development, classification into dialects, and a survey of phonology and grammar (though not as in-depth as in dedicated linguistic grammars), including all the main dialectal variations.

This book is rightly very popular, and this had long meant that unfortunately it was out of print and very hard to get hold of. In 2003 it was reprinted, though, and is now easily available from the publishers CBC in Cuzco, Lima, or internationally by mail order.

• Andean Linguistics and Languages in General

Click for my bibliography on the languages of the Aymara family (also known as Jaqi or Aru).

Released in June 2004, this book Languages of the Andes below promises to be good – it’s by two very respected and experienced Quechua linguists from the Netherlands – and will fill a lacuna in the coverage of the Andean languages in English. Includes 13 maps and 103 tables. The (typically very expensive) prices given are for the hardback edition, let’s hope they’ll eventually bring out a paperback version!

Adelaar, Willem F.H. & Pieter C. Muysken (2004) Languages of the Andes
Cambridge University Press: Cambridge
ISBN: 0521-36275-X Nr of Pages: 550 Prices (2002): US$110 €100 GB£70
In: English

In 2003 this book appeared, another completely different and very valuable survey of Andean languages. This one is in Spanish, by a respected Peruvian authority in the field, one of the two authors who first proposed (independently) the now generally accepted family tree of the Quechua languages. The book is very wide‑ranging, covering not just the main Quechua and Aymara (or rather in his terminology, Aru) language families in considerable detail, but also offering more concise surveys of other languages/families such as Mochica and Puquina. The book is concerned largely with the origins, history, geography, and types of relationships between all these language families (language contact, and the arguments for some of them being related to each other). Definitely one to recommend as a key introduction to the field of Andean linguistics.

Torero, Alfredo (2002) Idiomas de los Andes - Lingüística e Historia
Editorial Horizonte / IFEA: Lima, Peru

A very good linguistic atlas of Peru, plenty of excellent colour maps and as reliable figures for Quechua speakers as you’re likely to get anywhere – not that that’s always too reliable!:

Chirinos Rivera, Andrés (2001) Atlas Lingüístico del Perú
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Prices (2002): US$28 S/.100
In: Spanish All Quechua Dialects Available from: CBC IEP

One of the main academic journals, in which many Andean linguists publish, is the Spanish‑language journal Revista Andina at http://revistandina.perucultural.org.pe, edited by the CBC in Cuzco.

A new (2003) dictionary of the extinct northern Peruvian coastal language Mochica. Seems to get into some rather unorthodox computational analyses of the language, but certainly a valuable collection of reliable reference data on lexis and phonology.

Salas, José Antonio (2003) Diccionario de Mochica / Castellano
Universidad San Martín de Porres:

• Historical and Comparative Linguistics of the Quechua Family

Chirinos Rivera, Andrés (2001) Atlas Lingüístico del Perú
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Prices (2002): US$28 S/.100
In: Spanish All Quechua Dialects Available from: CBC IEP

Stark, L. (1970) A Reconsideration of Proto-Quechua
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima
In: English

Torero, Alfredo (1964) Los dialectos quechuas
in: Anales Científicos de la Universidad Agraria - 2: 446-476
Lima, Peru
In: Spanish

Torero, Alfredo (1972) Lingüística e historia de la sociedad andina
in: Escobar, A. (Ed.): El reto del multilingüismo en el Perú
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
In: Spanish

Torero, Alfredo (2002) Idiomas de los Andes - Lingüística e Historia
Editorial Horizonte / IFEA: Lima, Peru

This very interesting book gives a quick introduction to Aymara language structure (sound system and grammatical system), this book explains it by comparison with Quechua, highlighting certain differences but particularly a number of striking parallels. For readers who already know something of either language, this is a simple and valuable way of getting a good insight into the other.

Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo (1995) Quechumara: Estructuras Paralelas
Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 184 Prices (2002): US$13 S/.45
In: Spanish 3-Vowel Availability: CBC IEP

• Sociolinguistic Questions, the Quechua Alphabet and Standardisation

Chirinos Rivera, Andrés (2001) Atlas Lingüístico del Perú
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Prices (2002): US$28 S/.100
In: Spanish All Quechua Dialects Available from: CBC IEP

Escobar, Alberto (1972) Lingüística y política
in: Escobar, A.: El reto del multilingüismo en el Perú
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
In: Spanish

Godenzzi, Juan Carlos (Ed.) (1992) El Quechua en Debate – Ideología, Normalización y Enseñanza
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Nr of Pages: 306 Prices (2002): US$3.5 S/.12
In: Spanish Available from: CBC

• General Linguistics Texts which Mention or are Relevant to Quechua

This book makes brief mention of the Quechua modality system.

Palmer, F.R. (1986) Mood and Modality
Cambridge University Press: Cambridge
In: English Available from: Web

The next book does not actually mentions Quechua specifically at all, but it is the best linguistics book I know on the linguistic concepts of topic and focus, very important in Quechua, so if you’re into this, I recommend it (it’s particularly useful if you know colloquial spoken French well, since it too marks both):

Lambrecht, Knud (1994) Information Structure and Sentence Form – Topic, focus and the mental representations of discourse referents
Cambridge University Press: Cambridge
ISBN: 0521587042 Nr of Pages: 388 Prices (2002): GB£24
In: English

This book mentions some of the effects that contact with Quechua has had on the Spanish spoken in the Andes – attributing the effect essentially to the Aymara language, though it’s actually just as much an influence from Quechua.

Lipski, J.M. (1994) Latin American Spanish
Longman: London
Nr of Pages: 426
In: English Availability: Web

Back to Contents

Dictionaries

Online Dictionaries

There are a number of Quechua dictionaries online, of varying quality. One website is www.runasimipi.org, then follow the diccionarios link. Two major dictionaries are already available there – we review them below on this page, and would generally much recommend the first one rather than the second.

* By Teofilo Laime Ajacopa for the Ministerio de Educación de Bolivia (1997); in the new official spelling purpose‑designed for Quechua, with 3 vowels.

* By the Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua in Cuzco , in their own (inconsistent) spelling, in the old Spanish‑influenced 5‑vowel alphabet.

There are also fairly small and simple dictionaries by FreeLang, available for you to download and install free on your own computer, for Cuzco Quechua, though unfortunately the spellings used are very inconsistent (especially where a letter <q> is involved) because they use the old Spanish‑influenced 5‑vowel alphabet. There is also a similar dictionary for Bolivian Quechua, but the last time I tried the download link was not working.

Note! A Dictionary is Not Enough!

A very strong recommendation when trying to work out Quechua words, is to use – as well as a dictionary – a list of the ‘building-blocks’ Quechua uses to from new words (‘derivational morphemes’, in linguistic terminology). Very highly recommended for this is, for example for Cuzco-Bolivian Quechua, the chapter on derivation techniques in the linguistic grammar mentioned above, Cusihuamán G., Antonio (1976) Gramática Quechua Cuzco-Collao (chapter 7 Derivación de radicales). This gives a full list of all the building blocks used to derive new words, with many examples for each one.

It is particularly necessary - and very helpful and easy - to study these precisely because Quechua is such a spectacularly rich language in its derivation of new words from existing ones. How many languages do you know where there is a dedicated verb for ‘to build a house’, or ‘to feel like eating some meat’?

Quechua takes the root of the noun ‘house’, wasi, adds a derivational suffix -cha (plus the infinitive ending -y) and hey presto produces a verb wasichay, meaning ‘to build a house’.

Aycha is the noun ‘meat’, but add the derivational suffix ‑naya (plus again the infinitive ending -y) and you have the verb aychanayay, ‘to feel like eating some meat’.

Much of what is grammar in other languages can be analysed as derivation of new vocabulary in Quechua. So powerful is this means of deriving new words that one could never put all the possibilities into a dictionary - much like English dictionaries can never hope to contain all possible phrasal verbs (e.g. on the model of put across, turn out, think up and thousands upon thousands more). Often, then, you will come across a word in Quechua which is not in any dictionary. In this case, you’ll just have to work it out for yourself from the building blocks from which it is made. It’s really not a difficult process and you’ll soon delight in how easy it is to invent a new Quechua word for yourself whenever you’re stuck for vocabulary. It’s an amazingly flexible and powerful tool! Don’t be scared of it, you’ll learn to love it!

Peruvian Quechua Dictionaries
(some also useful for Bolivian Quechua)

I understand that a serious Cuzco Quechua dictionary is currently in preparation by a professional Quechua linguist, César Itier, due to appear in 2007. More details as and when I get them.

• The Series of Six Quechua-Spanish - Spanish-Quechua Dictionaries

Along with its series of reference grammars, the Peruvian Instituto de Estudios Peruanos and the Peruvian Ministerio de Educación published a series of six dictionaries, one for each of the main regional dialects in Peru, viz.:

Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo (1976b) Diccionario Quechua: Junín-Huanca
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish 3-Vowel Available from: IEP

Cusihuamán, Antonio (1976b) Diccionario Quechua: Cuzco-Collao (1st Edition)
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish 5-Vowel Available from: CBC IEP

Cusihuamán, Antonio (2001) Diccionario Quechua: Cuzco-Collao (2nd Edition - with Index!)
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$10 S/.35
In: Spanish 5-Vowel Cuzco Quechua Available from: CBC IEP

Park, Marinell, & Nancy Thiesen & Víctor Cenepo Sangama (1976b) Diccionario Quechua: San Martín
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish Available from: IEP

Parker, Gary & Amancio Chávez (1976b) Diccionario Quechua: Ancash-Huailas
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
In: Spanish Available from: IEP

Quesada C., Félix (1976b) Diccionario Quechua: Cajamarca-Cañaris
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish Available from: IEP

Soto Ruiz, Clodoaldo (1976b) Diccionario Quechua: Ayacucho-Chanca
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$3 S/.10
In: Spanish-Quechua Available from: IEP

Review and Availability

These dictionaries are actually fairly small (c. 200 pages), but are professionally done by linguists, and for many of the dialects they are still the best available. As are the accompanying grammars, these dictionaries are highly recommended.

The Cuzco‑Collao dictionary (and the accompanying grammar book) in this series has recently (2001) been republished by CBC, and is very easily available from their bookshops in Cuzco, price 31.50 soles (US$ 9), or by mail order from them. The other dictionaries and grammars in the series are fairly hard to get hold of (you might find them second-hand in Cuzco or in libraries), except for direct from the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos bookshop, which still has old copies of most of the series (for just US$3 each!).

• Cerrón-Palomino’s ‘Unified Southern Quechua Dictionary’

Besides being a handy and reliable dictionary in its own right (though fairly small, a couple of hundred pages), by one of the top Quechua linguists anywhere, this is also a very interesting one for linguists, as it represents the best attempt to date to devise a dictionary valid for all dialects of southern Quechua, from Ayacucho to Cuzco to Bolivia and right the way to Argentina. A very laudable move; and the dictionary pretty much proves the author’s main point that such a dictionary is possible and useful. It has some very useful insights, and also lists proposed reconstructions from which the words are derived, so it’s the closest thing to an etymological or at least historical dictionary of Quechua that I’ve come across.

It used to be possible to buy this from the bookshop of the Biblioteca Nacional del Perú, in Lima, and in theory every main library in Peru should have a copy.

Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo (1994) Quechua sureño: diccionario unificado
Biblioteca Nacional del Perú: Lima, Peru
Nr of Pages: 139 Prices (2002): US$6 S/.20
In: Spanish-Quechua Available from: Biblioteca Nacional del Perú???

The Cuzco Quechua Academy’s Quechua-Spanish - Spanish-Quechua Dictionary alias:

Quechua Language Academy, Cuzco, (1995)
Diccionario Quechua-Español-Quechua / Qheswa-Español-Qheswa Simi Taqe
Cuzco Quechua Academy:
Nr of Pages: 770 Prices (2002): US$27 S/.95
In: Quechua-Spanish 5-Vowel Cuzco Quechua Availability: Cuzco Quechua Academy

• hardback, 20.7 x 14.3 x 4.4 cm

• produced by the Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua (Qheswa Simi Hamut’ana Kuraq Suntur), based in Cuzco.

• published by Editorial MERCANTIL E.I.R. Ltda, Calle Teatro 344, Cuzco, Perú. Tel: 231354.

• with support from the Municipalidad del Qosqo and UNESCO.

Review and Availability

For Cuzco Quechua (also is useful for Bolivian Quechua) this is one of the biggest dictionaries available. The main Quechua-Spanish section, with 770 pages, is certainly the most complete I’ve found, but this is not to say that it is perfect, by any means. It should have been much better, especially given the funding the Academy was given by UNESCO to produce it, but given the Academy’s lack of linguistic expertise... Anyway, a shame though it is, it’s still probably the best around.

For a pretty devastating review of the dictionary, see this article (by the author of the best Quechua linguistics book recommended above):

Cerrón-Palomino, R. (1997)
El Diccionario Quechua de los académicos: Cuestiones lexicográficas, normativas y etimológicas
in Revista Andina 29, 151-205

The entire text is now available for download free, or online search, at: www.runasimipi.org.

(Though in preference I would actually recommend instead the other downloadable dictionary there, the one by Teófilo Laime Ajacopa.)

For a start, these 770 pages includes so many encyclopaedic reference entries (on Inca historical figures, placenames, etc.) that they take up a vast amount of space from vocabulary proper (though these entries are very interesting too, it must be said).

Much more serious is one thing you must beware of especially. This dictionary was composed by members of the Quechua Academy who have no training in phonetics and phonology, i.e. in the concepts on which alphabets are designed and spelling is based. Moreover, they adopt a haughty, uncompromising and very ill-informed position in the absurdly acrimonious debate on whether the Quechua alphabet should use three (a i u) or five (a e i o u) vowel symbols.

The net result is that their spellings are unsystematic and can completely misrepresent how Quechua is actually pronounced. The problem is not too serious, thankfully, since the cases of confusion are not too many (specifically, words derived from roots ending in ‑i and ‑u, by the addition of suffixes which include the letter q – for more details on this click here).

The Spanish-Quechua section, is, it must be said, too, somewhat disappointing. At 154 pages it’s much smaller than the Quechua-Spanish section. Moreover, the choice of words included is very random, covering lots of very rare words but glaringly omitting many everyday ones I was desperate to find!

However, despite these faults, and with the very big caveat of the spelling and pronunciation inconsistencies, it’s sheer size and relative up-to-dateness still make it the best dictionary I have found on the market, so overall it remains recommended.

Used to be widely available in bookshops in Cuzco, but only 2000 copies have been printed so this might not last. In Cuzco bookshops prices range from US $32-$38. The Quechua Academy itself (be warned! more from me about the Cuzco Quechua Academy) sells it considerably cheaper, at about US $27.

• Rimaycuna – Quechua de Huánuco

Diccionario del quechua del Huallaga, con índices en castellano y inglés

Weber, David John & et al (1998) Rimaycuna – Quechua De Huánuco
Instituto Linguistico de Verano (SIL): Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$29 S/.100
In: Quechua-Spanish-English 5-Vowel Huallaga Quechua (Huánuco) Available from: CBC

Review

OK, the good things first. This is the most comprehensive dictionary produced to a reasonably professional standard that is currently available for any Quechua dialect. It also has entries in the main section actually explained in Quechua (which is very rare indeed in Quechua dictionaries) followed by both Spanish and English equivalents, and example phrases to illustrate the use of that word.

The Spanish‑Quechua and English‑Quechua sections seem to cover all the same words, but are a lot smaller than the Quechua section because they are more like just a full index of Spanish and English words, with references to the corresponding Quechua entries so that you can look those up if you need more details and examples. It’s maybe a bit slower than a full bilingual dictionary, but it works, and you end up getting three dictionaries in one: Quechua monolingual, Quechua<>Spanish and Quechua<>English.

Of particular interest to linguists is that the Quechua entries are given complete with phonemic transcription and then a brief etymology, in the form of a reconstruction (which “approximates either proto central Quechua or … proto Quechua itself”), or for loanwords, the original Spanish form. (Specialists should note that the reconstructions follow one particular vision of Proto‑Quechua that not all other linguists would necessarily agree with. It assumes long vowels in the proto‑language, for example, and a palatal š rather than an apical/retroflex ŝ, unlike the reconstructions in Cerrón‑Palomino (1994).)

There is however one very disappointing big problem with this dictionary: on questionable grounds, the authors have chosen to use their own spelling system for this particular variety of Quechua which runs counter to the principles of writing any language (it is arguably in part phonetic rather than phonemic, and very influenced by Spanish), and particularly those for unifying Quechua as far as possible.

No surprise, then, that despite its generally high degree of accuracy and professionalism, you still end up with the typical same old mistakes, inconsistencies and duplicated entries as in all five‑vowel dictionaries. So, for example, look up the numeral nine or nueve and you’re given not one but two Quechua equivalents: isgon (on page 259) and isgun (on page 647). This is indeed what you get: one spelling isgon in the main Quechua section, but a different spelling isgun of exactly the same word in the list of numbers in Quechua at the back of the book. Likewise, many entries with g (in unified spelling q) are doubled up with alternative spellings: gunga‑ ~ gonga‑ for forget, wichej ~ wichij. The same goes for the inconsistency and vacillation in the spelling of Spanish loanwords such as gustu ~ gusto, octubre ~ octubri ~ uctubri, röpa ~ rüpa, etc.. It is true that in this dialect the status of the sound contrasts [e] ~ [i] and [o] ~ [u] in this dialect may be more complex and less clear‑cut than in some others, but the spelling adopted still fails to avoid this sort of mistakes and inconsistencies.

The use of the letter <g> for the phoneme /q/, written <q> almost universally even in other non-standard alphabets, is particularly baffling. The phonetic transcriptions given in the dictionary itself give it as the Quechua [q] sound, totally different in two respects from the Spanish [g]. Against all principles of good spelling systems, here, they use the same letter <g> for both these very different sounds: the [q] in gunga‑ ~ gonga‑ forget, but the [g] in gustu ~ gusto from Spanish gusto.

One would have thought that after three decades of such stuff, the linguists among the authors of this dictionary might have learnt… But then, the key motivation behind this book can be seen in who the publishers are. This attitude to spelling systems is unfortunately quite typical of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, a missionary-based organisation whose concern for bible translation seems to take precedence over any other considerations. (For an analysis of this trend, see Cerrón-Palomino (1992).) They adopt very Spanish‑based spellings poorly suited to and needlessly complicated for Quechua, and also different systems in different areas, for which the only real explanation would seem to be that they are keen to use whatever spellings most easily ingratiate them with their first local converts. This seems to suit their purposes more than making an effort to encourage instead a Quechua solidarity with other regions, to unify Quechua spellings as far as is possible across different dialects to help raise the language’s dangerously low prestige by giving Quechua a ‘critical mass’.

Indeed, the spelling system this book adopts runs completely to almost all the principles not only of the unified alphabet that many linguists are trying hard to ensure is used for all varieties of Quechua throughout the Andes, but even the standards used for this regional variant. Take the letter k, for which Spanish uses a confusing mixture of c and qu. For decades Quechua‑speakers have been using k without any problems in large areas of the Andes, and it now is finally winning out almost everywhere. The last main area still using c, hu and so on was Ecuador, which has also now switched to k and w (and is almost certain never to switch back). Real unification in this is starting to look a decent prospect.

How depressing it is, then, to see this fairly recent book going it alone and going straight back to the confusing use of the letter c for the simpler and consistent k. This means they have to use qu as well instead of k when the next vowel is an i or an e. Which also means they have to use g instead of q, with the result of bringing in all the Spanish confusions with g and gu as well. It also goes back to other non‑standard spellings like the use of umlaut/dieresis signs ¨ for long vowels, rather than simply doubling up the vowel, a better solution for various reasons (Peruvian keyboards have no ¨ for example), which is why it was chosen for the unified spelling system in the first place.

This dictionary could so, so easily have been a precious resource useful and impressive for Quechua speakers all over the Andes in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, and yet it will now simply confuse and frustrate them completely if they try to use it. A real mess, a real shame, and a real wasted opportunity to take a great step forward for a more unified Quechua spelling system, frustrating decades of efforts just as they are finally starting to pay off. Even more galling is that the main author, David John Weber, in his previous and excellent grammar of the language did indeed use a spelling system very close to the unified Andean one, so he clearly knows it works well for this dialect too! This book has reverted to this worse system!

Finally, there are also a few odd things in some of the English expressions (undulating river, head over heals, etc.), though this is not a big issue.

Comparative Quechua Dictionaries (Various Dialects Together)

• Vocabulario políglota incaico

If you’re interested in comparing various regional varieties of Quechua, and together with Aymara, the best dictionary I know of is the revised edition of the Vocabulario políglota incaico, the 1905 original produced by Franciscan missionaries on behalf of the Colegio de Propaganda Fide del Perú. This modern edition also includes spellings standardised to the 1983 official Quechua spelling. The editor is the Quechua linguist Rodolfo Cerrón-Palomino, and the specialists for each region Edith Pineda Bernuy (Cuzco), Haydée Rosales Alvarado (Ayacucho), Serafín M. Coronel-Molina (Junín), Víctor Reyes Padilla (Ancash), Felipe Huayhua Pari (Puno: Aymara). The bibliographical details are below, as well as a link for fuller details on the book and how to obtain it.

Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo (1998 [1905]) Vocabulario políglota incaico. Quechua, aimara, castellano
(revised and standardised edition of the 1905 original)
Ministerio de Educación: Lima, Peru
Nr of Pages: 574
In: Quechua, Spanish & Aymara Cuzco, Ayacucho, Junín & Ancash Quechua; Puno Aymara
Availability: Click here for fuller details on this book

• Ecuadoran Quichua Dialect Dictionary

There is also a very good comparative dictionary for all highland dialects of Ecuadoran Quichua, by Louisa Stark and Pieter Muysken. It is from the 1970s, however, and uses the now outdated spelling system.

Stark, Louisa R. (1977) Diccionario Español Quichua - Quichua Español
Publicaciones del los Museos del Banco Central del Ecua: Quito, Ecuador
Nr of Pages: 383
In: Quichua & Spanish Ecuadoran Quichua (All Highland Dialects) Availability: Out of Print

You may be able to photocopy this work in Quito, either at the Biblioteca del Banco Central del Ecuador, or at the library of the University behind the Abya-Yala centre (see above).

Bolivian Quechua Dictionaries

The best dictionary I know of is this one. Also, the entire text is now available for download free at: www.runasimipi.org.

Laime Ajacopa, Teófilo et al. (1996) Diccionario Bilingüe - Quechua – castellano, Castellano - Quechua (2ª edición (corregida y aumentada))
Secretaría Nacional de Educación: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 444
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 3-Vowel Bolivian Quechua Availability: Not to be Sold

This one is old, but a classic for its time, still useful and recommended.

Lara, Jesús (2001) Diccionario Queshwa-Castellano - Castellano-Qheshwa (reprint of original, 1971)
Los Amigos del Libro: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 440 Prices (2002): US$5.5
In: Spanish-Quechua 5-Vowel Bolivian Quechua (Cochabamba) Availability: Los Amigos del Libro

Review and Availability

Fairly small, he adopts his own unusual and fairly unhelpful approach to the 3 vs. 5 vowel problem (using umlauted ö and ë symbols!). Old, but still pretty useful. Reprinted recently, and available in some of the Los Amigos del Libro shops.

This one, of Cochabamba Quechua, recently re-edited, is pretty OK too:

Herrero, J. & Sánchez de Lozada, F. Diccionario Quechua

Herbas Sandoval, Angél (199?) Diccionario Castellano a Quichua
Cochabamba Quechua Academy: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 500 Prices (2002): US$20
In: Spanish-Quechua 5-Vowel Bolivian Quechua (Cochabamba) Available from: Cochabamba Quechua Academy

Herbas Sandoval, Angél (1998) Diccionario Quichua a Castellano
Cochabamba Quechua Academy: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 500 Prices (2002): US$20
In: Spanish-Quechua 5-Vowel Bolivian Quechua (Cochabamba) Available from: Cochabamba Quechua Academy

Review and Availability

These are big tomes, each over 500 pages of A4 size. Pretty useful in the sense of completeness, but there is a big problem in that the author is very keen on coining his own new Quechua words! So thousands of the entries, especially for more technical vocabulary, are his own pure inventions, which would not necessarily be recognised or understood by native‑speakers. And there is usually no indication of what is an existing established word, and what is the author’s invention.

Also, the author uses the 5‑vowel alphabet, though without an understanding of the issue, as one can tell from the thousands of ‘alternative pronunciations’ he has felt obliged to list, with recommendations as to which he prefers!

Both available from the Cochabamba Quechua Language Academy, or better still directly from the author, who you can meet there.

Ecuadoran Quechua Dictionaries

There is also a very good comparative dictionary for all highland dialects of Ecuadoran Quechua, by Louisa Stark and Pieter Muysken. It is from the 1970s, however, and uses the now outdated spelling system. Full details soon.

You may be able to photocopy this work in Quito, either at the Biblioteca del Banco Central del Ecuador, or at the library of the University behind the Abya-Yala centre (see above).

Details on a few more dictionaries later. For now there’s also this one on the web, at: www.dnai.com/~tuschman

Quechua-English Dictionaries

Various other dictionaries are available in Cuzco, including trilingual ones Quechua-Spanish-English. None of these are particularly good. Domingo Davila, a member of the Cuzco Quechua Academy, is currently working on a small but prospectively useful grammar and trilingual (Quechua-Spanish-English) thematic dictionary, i.e. with vocabulary grouped by theme (e.g. the body, the house, animals, time, etc.) rather than alphabetically. Contact him for details, through the Academy.

The only serious Quechua-English dictionaries I know of are Weber et al (1998) mentioned above, and this one:

Parker, Gary (1969) Ayacucho Grammar and Dictionary
Mouton de Gruyter: The Hague
In: English

Back to Contents

Quechua Prose Texts

For learners of Quechua who know Spanish, it is a great help that many books available in Quechua come complete with a translation in Spanish on facing pages: excellent for Quechua reading practice! The first, fascinating book below also now has an English translation.

• The Autobiographies of Gregorio Condori Mamani & Asunta Quispe Huamán

Valderrama Fernández, Ricardo & Carmen Escalante Gutiérrez (1982) Gregorio Condori Mamani – Autobiografía
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Prices (2002): US$4 S/.10
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 5-Vowel Cuzco Quechua Availability: CBC

This book is a fascinating account of the life of an orphan and his wife in the Cuzco region (the former capital of the Inca empire, and still the heart of Quechua-speaking Peru), in their own (Quechua) words. As the blurb on the back of the English edition (see below) puts it, the book “brings to vivid life the words, worldview, and historical consciousness of Gregorio and Asunta, who impart their accounts with stoicism, humour, and anger. Their descriptions of life in rural villages, isolated mines, semifeudal haciendas, and the houses of their powerful misti [non-Indian] masters in Cuzco are eloquent testimonies to the beauty and brutality of everyday life in the Andean highlands”. Very highly recommended in its own right for this.

Since Gregorio can’t read, his tale was recorded by Ricardo Valderrama and Carmen Escalante, who translated it into Spanish for the original bilingual edition, in Quechua and Spanish on facing pages. This means there are 99 pages in Quechua, with a facing Spanish translation: Excellent for Quechua reading practice.

The CBC who are also selling off (US$2) a cheap Spanish-only edition. This is book 2 in their own series Biblioteca de la Tradición Oral Andina, so international mail order should be possible for this title too. They also stock the English version described below.

The English translation of the above, translated from Quechua into English by Paul H. Gelles and Gabriela Martínez Escobar, is fairly easily available in Western countries (see below) is:

Valderrama Fernández, Ricardo & Carmen Escalante Gutiérrez (1996)   Andean Lives: Gregorio Condori Mamani & Asunta Quispe Huamán
University of Texas Press: Austin
Prices (2002): US$16 (or less second-hand on internet)    S/.40
In: English         Availability: CBC Web
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book
Click here for the publisher’s information on the English edition

This English translation runs to 117 pages of actual text and photos, plus an introduction and copious notes on aspects of Andean society, culture and beliefs that are needed for a fuller understanding of the text. But note that it does not include the original Quechua text though, or the Spanish.

This is fairly easily available the CBC in Peru, and in the West, for instance on Amazon.com and various other internet bookshops, price US$16 (on Amazon.com there are plenty of second-hand editions going too, for US$8 and upwards).

• The Peruvian Constitution, Translation into Quechua

This is highly recommended on various counts. Not least because it illustrates:

• How one can translate modern texts into natural Quechua: in particular the author seems to me to have adopted an eminently sensible and practical approach to the problem of when one should use Spanish words for Spanish concepts, and when and how to use or coin new Quechua phrases for them.

• How to use the official spelling system standardised for the whole of ‘Southern (sureño) Quechua’, now being implemented for Peru, and (with rather more success!) Bolivia. A good practical text showing how it works and giving practice in it if you feel you need it

Chirinos Rivera, Andrés (translator) (1999)   Perumanta Hatun Kamachina. Constitución Política del Perú
Fondo Editorial del Congreso de la República del Perú: Lima, Peru
ISBN: 9972 755 18 5     Nr of Pages: 248
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages]         3-Vowel         Southern Quechua (Official Standard)      Availability: CBC

• Tanteo Puntun Chaykuna Valen

This is a similar book, the autobiography of Ciprian Phuturi Suni, who lived most of his life in the community of Huilloc, in the Patacancha valley, a beautiful side-valley up from Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley near Cuzco.

Phuturi Suni, Ciprian & Darío Espinoza (1997a)   Tanteo Puntun Chaykuna Valen
Chirapaq - Centro de Culturas Indias: Lima, Peru
ISBN: 9972-679-00-4     Nr of Pages: 400     Prices (2002): US$3     €3     GB£2     S/.10
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages]     5-Vowel     Cuzco Quechua    Availability: Chirapaq

The book is mostly a transcription (spelling fairly reliable but not entirely so, and in the 5 vowel alphabet unfortunately) from many hours of interviews with ‘Tayta Ciprian’. A rare and very useful thing is that the recordings themselves are also available, on 11 hours of cassettes, and there is also a 30-minute video with footage of Tayta Ciprian relating his life and showing the community of Huilloc and surroundings.

Phuturi Suni, Ciprian & Darío Espinoza (1997b) Mi Vida al Infinito
Chirapaq - Centro de Culturas Indias: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$8 €8 GB£6 S/.30
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 5-Vowel Cuzco Quechua Availability: Chirapaq

The audio cassettes are good for practising Quechua listening comprehension, accent and perhaps for research into Quechua phonetics too. The recordings aren’t of perfect quality, they were mostly taken outside in an Andean village, but they are quite audible and understandable. You can also more or less follow the recordings against the text of the book that is based on them.

All of these are available in Lima from the CHIRAPAQ foundation (details soon), or in Cuzco, try contacting Darío Espinoza personally, who transcribed the text and translated it into the parallel pages Spanish version.

• Historical Texts – The Famous Huarochirí Quechua Manuscript of 1608(?)

For more details on this famous and fascinating Quechua text, I can do no better than direct you to an excellent website about it by Frank Solomon, who co-wrote the book on the manuscript, at www.wisc.edu/chaysimire/. His website includes a full bibliography relating to the manuscript, as well as excerpts of the text in Quechua with facing Spanish and English translations, and some other materials relevant to Quechua. The full reference for his book is:

Salomon, Frank & George L. Urioste (1991) The Huarochirí Manuscript: A testament of ancient and colonial Andean religion
University of Texas Press: Austin
In: Quechua & English

Alternatively, there’s also this set of three very handy small books, the original Quechua text in a good standardised spelling, a Spanish translation, and a short grammar of the Quechua dialect the original was written in, also highly recommended:

Taylor, Gerald (2001a) Huarochirí - Ritos y Tradiciones (vol. 1 of 3: Spanish translation)
Lluvia Editores - IFEA: Lima, Peru
ISBN: 9972-625-38-1 Nr of Pages: 189 Prices (2002): US$3.5 €3.5 GB£2.2 S/.12
In: Spanish 3-Vowel C17 Central Quechua Availability: CBC & IFEA

Taylor, Gerald (2001b) Waruchiri - Ñawpa machukunap kawsaŝqan (vol. 2 of 3: original Quechua text)
Lluvia Editores - IFEA: Lima, Peru
ISBN: 9972-627-43-8 Nr of Pages: 181 Prices (2002): US$3.5 €3.5 GB£2.2 S/.12
In: Quechua 3-Vowel C17 Central Quechua Availability: CBC & IFEA

Taylor, Gerald (2001c) Introducción a la Lengua General (vol. 3 of 3: Quechua grammar summay)
Lluvia Editores - IFEA: Lima, Peru
ISBN: 9972-627-43-8 Nr of Pages: 181 Prices (2002): US$3.5 €3.5 GB£2.2 S/.12
In: Spanish 3-Vowel C17 Central Quechua Availability: CBC & IFEA

The founder of the Cuzco Quechua Academy, Faustino Espinoza Navarro, was said a few years ago to have been working on an edition of what he claimed were some original Inca government edicts, which may have been published by now.

• Traditional Andean Folk Tales in Quechua

Note: folk tales such as these recorded as told by native speakers tend to have a heavy content of Spanish borrowings.

The first three below are part of the CBC’s series Biblioteca de la Tradición Oral Andina.

Itier, César (1999) Karu Ñankunapi – 40 Cuentos
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
ISBN: 9972691152 Nr of Pages: 251 Prices (2002): US$12 S/.30
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 3-Vowel Cuzco Quechua Availability: CBC

Lira, Jorge A. & et al (1984) Cuentos del Alto Urubamba
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] Cuzco-Collao Quechua Availability: Out of Print

Payne, Johnny & et al (1999) Cuentos Cusqueños (2nd Edition?)
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Nr of Pages: 230 Prices (2002): €6 S/.20
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] Cuzco Quechua Availability: CBC

Ernalsteen, Edgar & et al (1982) El Zorro en los Andes
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Perú
Prices (2002): US$1.40 Bs.10
In: Quechua & Spanish [not facing pages] 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua Availability: Los Amigos del Libro

• Also published by Instituto Laredo, Casilla 111, Cochabamba, Bolivia. Or contact Editorial Universo Ltda.

• Quechua with Spanish translation (by Javier Baptista), but a very, very free translation, and not on facing pages, so not much use for learning purposes.

• Only about 32 pages of Quechua, and not much per page. The Quechua is also heavily laced with Spanish.

• Entertaining ‘Self-Help Manuals’ for Indigenous Communities

These offer a different type of text and vocabulary to folk tales, and can be highly interesting in their own right. The four listed here are:

• Produced by the Proyecto Experimental de Educación Bilingüe - Puno

• Books 5019 to 5022 in the CBC’s series Cuadernos de Capacitación Popular.

The first two are collections of short cautionary and informative stories and tips on better living, in Quechua, based on the imaginary altiplano community of Yanamayu.

Büttner, Marie-Magdeleine & et al (1984) Yanamayu Ayllu 1 – Ahinata Astawan Allinta Kawsasunman
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Prices (2002): US$0.7 S/.2
In: Quechua 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua (Puno) Availability: CBC

Büttner, Marie-Magdeleine & et al (1986) Yanamayu Ayllu 2 – Ahinata Unuta Allin Yuyaypi Apaykachana
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
In: Quechua 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua (Puno) Availability: CBC Out of Print

???, (1983) Unay Pachas N° 1 – Qheshwa Simipi Qullasuyu Aranwaykuna
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
In: Quechua 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua (Puno) Availability: Out of Print

???, (1984) Unay Pachas N° 2 – Qhishwa Simipi Qullasuyu Hawariykuna
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
In: Quechua 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua (Puno) Availability: Out of Print

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Quechua Theatre

• Old Plays in Quechua

There are a few plays written in Quechua, though where they come from, when they date from, and who ‘wrote’ them, are all the matters of dispute. The plays deal with the time of the conquest, and in some cases just before it, and it was once supposed that they were handed down from that time by oral tradition. However, there are very strong reasons to suppose that this is not in fact true, and that the plays date from many decades or even a century or more after the Spanish conquest. Certainly, theatre in Quechua was quite strong and popular in the centuries after the conquest. Quechua theatre was divided into the comedy and the wanka – the latter not necessarily a tragedy, more an account of events in the life of some great historical figure.

As for the question of the ‘authenticity’ of these plays as works by native Quechua speakers, this is also seriously questioned by experts. Some claim that these plays contain the ‘purest’ Quechua you are likely to come across: the Tragedia del fin de Atawallpa, for instance, includes only two Spanish words in the whole text, spoken by the conquistadors. Others claim that on the contrary, it is precisely this that makes the Quechua in these plays very ‘suspicious’, and there are strong grounds for assuming that these plays were in fact written by native Spanish‑speakers, perhaps priests, who had learnt Quechua and were very careful to keep out Spanish words in order that people would not recognise their ‘fake’. If you are interested in the question, there’s been quite a bit of literature published on the Quechua theatre, including detailed analysis of the plays, not least by the CBC.

• The Tragedy of the End of Atahualpa

An ‘epic’, whose plot is a version roughly similar to the accepted historical account. This edition includes an introduction on the search for manuscripts of the original play, and informative about Quechua theatre.

Lara, Jesús (1989) Atau Wallpaj p’uchukakuyninpa wankan – Tragedia del fin de Atawallpa
Los Amigos del Libro: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 148 Prices (2002): US$7
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 3-Vowel Availability: Los Amigos del Libro

There is also a modern translation in German:

Hemshorn de Sanchez, Britta (1992) Atau Wallpaj p’uchukakuyninpa wankan – “Die Tragödie vom Ende des Atahualpa”
C.Zerling: Berlin
ISBN: 3884680528
In: German Availability: Out of Print
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

• Ollantay

Another epic, a love-story between a general and the Inca’s daughter. Very popular in Cuzco schools and theatre groups still today, but invariably in Spanish. So while the Spanish translation is available in all Cuzco bookshops, the best available version of the original text, with a facing translation in Spanish and copious notes, is:

Pérez, Julio Calvo (Ed.) (1998) Ollantay – Edición Crítica de la Obra Anónima Quechua
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Nr of Pages: 338 Prices (2002): US$8.5 S/.30
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua Availability: CBC

There is also this older edition:

• Edited and revised by Nancy Hughes de Hornberger (no date).

• Published by Wiraqocha Biblioteca, printed by Imprenta Prelatura de Sicuani.

• This edition includes the music for five short songs by the chorus.

• It is monolingual in Quechua, though includes a glossary of rarer vocabulary.

• The venerable founder of the Cuzco Quechua Academy, Faustino Espinoza Navarro, used to sell copies (20 sols - US $7). You may still be able to get them from his family, who live at Calle Procuradores 338, off the main square in Cuzco.

An old (1871) translation into English exists, by Sir Clements Markham.

• Other Old Plays

Other ‘original’ Quechua works I have heard of but not yet been able to locate copies of are:

• El Pobre Más Rico (comedy).

• El Hijo Pródigo

• Usca Paucar

For more information about these, and perhaps the full texts, look in the CBC literature on Quechua drama.

• Modern Quechua Plays

Itier, César (1995) El Teatro Quechua en el Cuzco
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Prices (2002): US$8.5 S/.30
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 3-Vowel Cuzco Quechua Availability: CBC

A collection of three Quechua plays written this century by Nemesio Zúñiga Cazorla:
Qurich’ispi (1915), T’ikahina (1934) and Katacha (1930?).

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Quechua Poetry

Increasing amounts of Quechua poetry are now being published, though usually on a small scale. Collections of poetry are on sale in Cuzco bookshops and in Los Amigos del Libro in Cochabamba. There are also some internet sites with Quechua poetry. I hope to update and expand this section soon; here for the moment are the references for a series billed as an anthology of sung Quechua poetry in Peru, there are five volumes in this collection (the last of which has the musical scores for the songs), each organised by theme (love, nature, etc.). Bilingual with the original Quechua and a Spanish translation on facing pages. Spanish loanwords in the Quechua are also marked.

These books first published in 1987 are now available in a second edition since 1998, nicely produced and not too expensive: US$6 each, easily available from the CBC in Cuzco.

Montoya Rojas, Rodrigo, Luis &Edwin (1998) Urqukunapa Yawarnin – La Sangre de los Cerros, Volumen I: Takistin, tusustin tarpasunchik – Sembremos cantando y bailando
Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal:
Prices (2002): US$6 S/.20
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua Availability: CBC

Montoya Rojas, Rodrigo, Luis &Edwin (1998?) Urqukunapa Yawarnin – La Sangre de los Cerros, Volumen I: Urpischallay – Mi Palomita
Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal:
Prices (2002): US$6 S/.20
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua Availability: CBC

Montoya Rojas, Rodrigo, Luis &Edwin (1999?) Urqukunapa Yawarnin – La Sangre de los Cerros, Volumen III: Waqcha Kay – Orfandad
Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal:
Prices (2002): US$6 S/.20
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua Availability: CBC

Montoya Rojas, Rodrigo, Luis &Edwin (1999?) Urqukunapa Yawarnin – La Sangre de los Cerros, Volumen IV: Qipa wiñaykuna sayariychik – Los que vienen después levántense
Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal:
Prices (2002): US$6 S/.20
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua Availability: CBC

Montoya Rojas, Rodrigo, Luis & Edwin (1999?) Urqukunapa Yawarnin – La Sangre de los Cerros, Volumen V: Partitur (musical scores for all the songs)
Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal:
Prices (2002): US$6 S/.20
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages] 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua Availability: CBC

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Audio-Visual Materials

• Four cd-roms, one available also for download for iPhone or iPod Touch, for basic learning of Quechua, Cuzco grammar and accent, in official unified spelling for Southern Quechua:
http://eurotalk.com/en/products/talknow/quechua

• A 53-minute DVD in (Cuzco) Quechua, Spanish or English, entitled Kusisqa Waqashayku – From Grief and Joy We Sing, filmed in the remote highland community of Q’irus in the Cuzco/Ausangate region, documenting their year of traditional musical rituals. Highly recommended.
www.qerosmusic.com/

• The Kawsay Vida coursebook and CD-ROM for learning Quechua (Bolivian variety) by Rosaleen Howard and Pedro Plaza. www.liv.ac.uk/researchintelligence/issue12/hi-tech.html

• A 30-minute video summary in Quechua (with Spanish subtitles) of a man telling his life story in Cuzco Quechua.

• The full 11 hours of audio recordings on cassette of the above. There’s a book of the transcribed texts as well. Both of these are fairly easily available in Lima, and at a push in Cuzco too. For full details of these and how to get hold of them, click on the links above.

• A highly recommended 25-minute video Tupe - A Forgotten Village in the Andes, on the people of the Jaqaru-speaking village of Tupe. The video is in Jaqaru, with subtitles in English or Dutch, and available from Stef de Haan, director of the NGO Jaqmashi.

• The Peruvian TV channel Canal 7 has produced (first screened in May 2003) a one-hour television programme on the Jaqaru people, in Spanish, as part of its series on Etnias del Perú. A video of this may be available from them, alternatively contact Stef de Haan (see above)

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The Aymara/Jaqi/Aru Language Family – A Basic Bibliography

Here are listed only a few books most useful for linguists and those wanting to learn about the language, and/or learn to speak it themselves. See the links in the introductory paragraphs below for two more online Aymara bibliographies.

For much more on the Aymara language family your first port of call should be the Aymara Uta website at www.aymara.org. This is a great site covering both the Aymara language ‘proper’ (‘Altiplano’, ‘Collao’ or ‘southern Aymara’) and the other members of the family, Jaqaru and Kawki still spoken (just!) in a few villages in the mountains of central Peru with many serious linguistic articles on the Andean languages downloadable from it. Particularly recommended is the pages with an excellent introduction to the Aymara language family, and there’s also a good bibliography of the Aymara language family.

The first, and for a long time only linguist to have worked intensively on the Jaqaru language is Dr Martha Hardman, at the University of Florida. She is the author of the two core grammars on the language, and of various other works on the Aymara (which she prefers to call Jaqi) language family in general. Her personal webpage and personal publications list are also very useful for this language family.

Beware that there are two competing alphabets for the Aymara languages: Martha Hardman’s original one, and the newer official one in Peru and Bolivia. Both are good alphabets on sound linguistic principles (they are both phonemic, and therefore correctly use only three vowels: other, Spanish‑influenced attempts to spell with five vowels are NOT suitable for these languages, just as they aren’t for Quechua). The official alphabet, however, is the one that is in accordance with the pan‑Andean standards for the unification (as far as the languages sound systems permit, of course) of the orthography for all Andean languages, adopted officially in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. This official alphabet is still resisted by many people, but for Altiplano Aymara certainly seems to be winning the argument and becoming the de facto as well as the de iure standard. For Jaqaru the issue is less clear, though recent trends suggest it may well be going the same way too.

The core work on Aymara linguistics (comparative, historical, reconstructions) is:

Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo (2000) Lingüística Aimara
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Prices (2002): US$16 S/.50
In: Spanish Availability: CBC

For a quick introduction to Aymara language structure (sound system and grammatical system), this book explains it by comparison with Quechua, highlighting certain differences but particularly a number of striking parallels. For readers who already know something of either language, this is a simple and valuable way of getting a good insight into the other.

The standard phonological and grammatical description of Altiplano Aymara was published first in English in 1974, then revised in this Spanish translation. One point to note: this uses an old spelling system for Aymara that does not follow the modern standard spelling!

Hardman, Martha J. & et al. (1988) Aymara - Compendio de estructura fonológica y gramatical
(revised version of English original 1974)
Editorial ILCA: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 387
In: Spanish Availability: Out of Print

This is now available for download free on the internet in .pdf format, a great and generous move from the authors! www.ilcanet.com/aymara.htm

The standard work on dialectal variation within Altiplano Aymara:

Briggs, Lucy Therina (1993) El Idioma aymara - variantes regionales y sociales
Ediciones ILCA: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 479 Prices (2002): US$12
In: Spanish Availability: ASUR, Sucre, Bolivia

The best Aymara teach-yourself course is probably K’isimira, which comes in two volumes, the main grammar book (K’isimira 1) and the companion thematic (not alphabetical) vocabulary (K’isimira 2):

Gallego, Saturnino (1994)   K'isimira 1 - Gramatica viva de la lengua aymara
Bruño - hisbol: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 495     Prices (2002): US$12     €11     GB£8     S/.50
In: Aymara-Spanish         Availability: CBC

Gallego, Saturnino (1994) K’isimira 2 - Vocabulario temático aymara
Bruño - hisbol [?]: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 166
In: Aymara-Spanish Availability: CBC

The best dictionary I know of (contact Teófilo Laime for availability – his details are on my Learning Quechua page, La Paz section)

Layme Pairumani, Félix (1997) Diccionario Bilingüe: aimara-castellano, castellano-aimara (2ª edición (corregida y aumentada))
Secretaría Nacional de Educación: La Paz, Bolivia
Nr of Pages: 420
In: Aymara & Quechua 3-Vowel Aymara ‘Standard’ Availability: Not to be Sold

For the related Jaqaru language of central Peru, the standard (and pretty much only) descriptions are:

Hardman, Martha J. (1966) Jaqaru: Outline of Phonological and Morphological Structure
Mouton de Gruyter: The Hague
In: English

Hardman, Martha J. (1983) Jaqaru: compendio de estructura fonológica y morfológica
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
In: Spanish Availability: IEP

Hardman, Martha J. (2000) Jaqaru
Lincom Europa: Munich
Prices (2002): US$50 GB£35
In: English Availability: Mail Order

The only existing Jaqaru dictionary is:

Belleza Castro, Neli (1995) Vocabulario Jacaru-Castellano Castellano-Jacaru
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
Prices (2002): US$7 S/.25
In: Jaqaru-Spanish Availability: CBC

This book is now sold out and no longer available from bookshops but I can get hold of a copy for you if you email me to ask. Most remaining copies were bought up by the NGO Jaqmashi which works in support of the Jaqaru-speaking people, including with a bilingual Jaqaru-Spanish education project which is why they have acquired the dictionaries for use in the local schools.

Certain distinctive characteristics of the Aymara (and Quechua) languages have been argued to be related even to a different ‘world view’ of their speakers. These include particularly the status of ‘humanness’ and 2^nd person, and (as in most varieties of Quechua too), the need always to state, in order to be grammatically correct, one’s source of information and/or degree of conviction about any assertion one makes. Some of these have been carried over into Andean Spanish (for example its use of the había sido ‘pluperfect’ for surprise mood, and as a ‘not personally experienced past’ tense), see Lipski (1994). For some fuller articles on these issues, see:

Hardman, Martha J. (1972) Postulados lingüísticos del idioma aymara
in: Escobar, A. (Ed.): El reto del multilingüismo en el Perú
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
In: Spanish

Hardman, Martha J. (1978) Linguistic Postulates and Applied Anthropological Linguistics
in: Honsa, V. & M.J.Hardman, : Papers on Linguistics and Child Language - Ruth Hirsch Weir Memorial Volume
Mouton de Gruyter: the Hague
In: English

Hardman, Martha J. (1988) Andean Ethnography: The role of language structure in observer bias
in: Semiotica - 71-3/4: 339-372
In: English

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Other Andean Languages

Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo (2006)
El Chipaya o la Lengua de los Hombres del Agua (Chipaya, or the Language of the Water Men)
Lima, Peru: Fondo Editorial de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
ISBN: 9972-42-77l-4 Nr of Pages: 309 Price (2006): US$24 (shipping and handling included)
In: Spanish Availability: Web: www.pucp.edu.pe/publicaciones

Publisher’s Summary:

This book offers, for the first time, a complete linguistic description of the Chipaya language. Still spoken in its Oruro stronghold of Santa Ana in Chipaya (Bolivia), this language is the last surviving variety of the ancient Uro linguistic family, whose speakers settled along the waterways of the Poopó River and Lake Titicaca, on both sides of the Peruvian-Bolivian border. Considered by Alfred Métraux in the 1930s to be in danger of imminent extinction, Chipaya has managed to reverse that prediction. In an unprecedented case in the linguistic history of the Andean world, it has remained vigorous to the present day, and freed itself from the subjugation of the Aymara language, thanks to the loyalty of its speakers.

After situating the language within its historico-cultural context, this volume offers a general description of the structural components of the language at the phonological, morphological and syntactic levels, without losing sight of the effects of the Aymara influence on it. This description has the advantage of clearly projecting the linguistic features of the Chipaya language, emphasizing the unique characteristics that distinguish it from its neighbour languages (Quechua and Aymara). Thus, this book tries to fill the enormous gap long felt by social scientists of the Andean territory in general, and by experts in Amerindian linguistics in particular.

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New Books Recently Added to this Bibliography

A number of new works have appeared between 2003 and 2008 that were not included in the original version of this webpage. Full details are given below at the links, but here’s a quick review.

• Quechumara: estructuras paralelas del quechua y del aimara, by Rodolfo Cerrón-Palomino (2008). A revised and expanded second of this standard work on the nature of the typological parallels between the two major language families of the Andes, Quechua and Aymara. It by no means necessarily claims that the two families are ultimately related to each other (the so-called ‘Quechumara Hypothesis’).

• Linguistics for archaeologists in the Andes, by Paul Heggarty (2007 & 2008). A pair of articles on which seeks to explain and correct the many popular myths about the prehistory of the main two language families of the Andes, especially the mistaken popular association between Quechua and the Incas, and between Aymara and Tiwanaku. The full titles are Linguistics for archaeologists: principles, methods and the case of the Incas, and Linguistics for archaeologists: a case study in the Andes.

• Cuzco: la piedra donde se posó la lechuza. Historia de un nombre, by Rodolfo Cerrón-Palomino (2007). A significant article debunking the popular myth that the name of the city ‘Cuzco’ means ‘navel (of the universe)’, and showing where the name much more probably comes from, and how this fits in with the key origin myth of the Incas, and the fact that they originally spoke not Quechua, but Aymara.

• The Sounds of the Andean Languages, by Paul Heggarty (2006). A major new CD-Rom and website resource on the wide range of regional languages and ‘dialects’ within the Quechua and Aymara families. 1100 pronunciation recordings, 400 photos, 35000 words of explanatory texts on the origins and diversity of Quechua and Aymara, and a guide to their standardised spelling. Fully bilingual in English and Spanish, plus sample texts in five Andean languages.

• Languages of the Andes, by the leading Quechua linguists Willem Adelaar, with Pieter Muysken (2004). Not to be confused with the book by Torero (below) with the same title in Spanish, these are two completely different books, both long‑awaited.

• Lingüística Quechua by Rodolfo Cerrón-Palomino (2003), very highly recommended, has at last been reprinted (though stocks already running low again). This is not a new edition, just a reprint, though there is a short update at the start of the book on the latest thinking in a few fields (such as the nature of the relationship between Quechua and Aymara, and the location of the possible original homeland of Quechua).

• Idiomas de los Andes, by the eminent Peruvian linguist Alfredo Torero (2002). A long-awaited, sizeable and wide‑ranging book, covering not just the Quechua and Aymara families, but also gives a fair amount of detail on other languages. Recommended.

• The second edition Lonely Planet Quechua Phrasebook by Serafín Coronel-Molina – a vast improvement on the first edition, now completely rewritten, twice the size and written by a different, Peruvian author who does this time know what he’s talking about (unlike the author of the first edition). Highly recommended.

• A new dictionary of the extinct northern Peruvian coastal language Mochica.

• A collection of articles on Languages and Identities in the Andes (the original is in Spanish) edited by Serafín M. Coronel-Molina and Linda L. Grabner-Coronel and published by Abya Yala in April 2005.

Recommended books that have been around a while but I’ve only just got round to adding to this bibliography are:

• Ciprian Phuturi Suni’s ‘testimonio’, another autobiography by a vernerable Quechua villager near Cuzco, recorded and transcribed, with a facing Spanish translation.

• The video and cassettes of the above, and the whole new section on audio‑visual materials.

• The Quechua translation of the entire Peruvian constitution – in the highly recommended standardised spelling system for the whole of southern Quechua (southern Peru and Bolivia).

Other books which I understand are due out soon are:

• A major new and reliable dictionary of Southern Quechua by a specialist in the field should be published in late 2007. More details as soon as it appears.

• Julio Calvo Perez’s long-awaited Cuzco Quechua – Spanish dictionary has still not appeared, to my knowledge.

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About this Bibliography

This page is my bibliography of the most useful and important books on Quechua, arranged by theme – i.e. dictionaries, courses, etc.. It also includes my reviews of the books and details on publishers and where to get hold of them. Alternatively, you can click to go to my fuller reference listing in alphabetical order with more entries, but without reviews and ordered alphabetically by author name.

Reviews: a Disclaimer

The reviews given on these pages reflect only my personal opinions of the books’ usefulness. If you disagree strongly, please let me know.

Please feel free to send me references of any works missing from this list that you have found useful, and any brief reviews - click here to email me. In particular if you are a linguist and have worked on Quechua, I’d be delighted to have your full Quechua bibliography and add it to this page – and of course acknowledge who the information is from.

My bibliography also serves as the ‘references appendix’ for all articles on this website. Any work mentioned on the site can be looked up in my alphabetical listed bibliography page, and gradually I’ll be making all those references clickable, to take the reader straight to the full entry on the bibliography page. From that entry you can also click to go straight to any review I have written of that work on this theme-by-theme bibliography page.

This page is currently undergoing a gradual but complete expansion and revision – apologies for any incomplete references so far.

Unless otherwise stated the ‘dialect’ of the books listed here is Cuzco/Bolivian. Obviously, this bibliography is very far from exhaustive of everything there is in and on Quechua, but I have put all the main books on Quechua that I know of and have found (even remotely) useful. It is intended to cover both those books that can be found in the Andean countries themselves, and those available in Europe and the USA.

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Format of Bibliographical Entries

Entries in this bibliography are standardised as far as possible in the format explained below. So long as you haven’t set your web browser to use customised font and colour settings of your own, you should see them as described here.

I have used different colours and italics where helpful for different types of information about the book.

• Which language(s) the book is written in appears in green italics.

• Which Quechua alphabet the book uses (i.e. 3- or 5- Vowel Alphabet) appears in bright red.

• Which dialect/variety of Quechua the book is written in or about appears in brown.

• Particularly for books published in South America, I have also included in the references clickable links to my information on which bookshops or institutions a book is available from: these appear in bright blue and underlined. Where there is no link, the bookshop or institution is in dark blue italics.

• Occasionally, for books available on the internet, where helpful to provide more details on the book (and a picture, wow!) I also provide a direct clickable link to the entry for that book in the relevant national Amazon internet catalogue, again in bright blue and underlined.

• If I have written a review of the book on my theme-by-theme bibliography page, the entry for that book on my alphabetically listed bibliography page includes a clickable link to my review on the theme-by-theme bibliography page, again in bright blue and underlined.

I don’t supply all of this information for all books as yet, and only where relevant. But a full reference would thus be:

Author surname, Author first name(s) (publication date) Title of Work (edition number if more than 1)

in: if the work is only an article, chapter or part of a larger work, then I give the author(s) and title of periodical or book within which the work appears

Publisher name: Publisher location

ISBN number: xxxxxxxxxx

Number of pages in the book: xxx

Prices (2002): in whichever of the following currencies it is available in:
US$ ; Euros € ; GB£ ; Peruvian Soles = S./ ; Bolivian Bolivianos = Bs.

In: Which language(s) the book is written in

Which Quechua Alphabet the book uses (i.e. 3- or 5- Vowel Alphabet)

Which dialect/variety of Quechua the book is written in or about

Available from: Bookshop or Institution some as clickable links for more details

Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

Click here for my Review of this Work

So here are a few example entries:

Coronel-Molina, Serafin (2002)   Quechua Phrasebook (2nd edition)
Lonely Planet Publications: Hawthorn, Australia
ISBN: 1864503815        Nr of Pages: 224       Prices (2002): US$ 7.99    GB£ 4.5
In: English    Available from: Web
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book
Click here for my Review of this Work

Cerrón-Palomino, Rodolfo (1994) Quechua sureño: diccionario unificado
Biblioteca Nacional del Perú: Lima, Peru
Nr of Pages: 139 Prices (2002): US$ 6 S./ 20
In: Spanish-Quechua Available from: Biblioteca Nacional del Perú

Cusihuamán, Antonio (1976) Diccionario Quechua: Cuzco-Collao (1st Edition)
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos: Lima, Peru
Prices (2002): US$ 3 S./ 10
In: Spanish 5-Vowel Available from: CBC IEP

Hemshorn de Sanchez, Britta (1992) Atau Wallpaj p’uchukakuyninpa wankan - “Die Tragödie vom Ende des Atahualpa”
C.Zerling: Berlin
ISBN: 3884680528
In: German Available from: Out of Print
Click here for Amazon’s catalogue details on this book

Itier, César (1999)   Karu Nankunapi - 40 Cuentos
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
ISBN: 9972691152        Nr of Pages: 251       Prices (2002): US$ 12    S./ 30
In: Quechua & Spanish [facing pages]    3-Vowel    Cuzco Quechua    Available from: CBC

Büttner, Marie-Magdeleine & et al (1986) Yanamayu Ayllu 2 - Ahinata Unuta Allin Yuyaypi Apaykachana
Centro Bartolomé de las Casas: Cuzco, Peru
In: Quechua 3-Vowel Cuzco-Collao Quechua (Puno) Available from: CBC Out of Print

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Other Quechua Bibliographies on the Web

• This page is my bibliography arranged by theme – i.e. dictionaries, courses, etc. – which also includes my reviews of many of the books. Alternatively, you can click to go to my fuller reference listing in alphabetical order with more entries, but without reviews and ordered alphabetically by author name.

• For another sizeable Quechua bibliography, click to go to this webpage by Serafín Coronel-Molina, including his own reviews in Spanish.

• If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, try downloading Alain Fabre’s very comprehensive bibliographies in .pdf (or Word) format for Quechua and for Aymara.

• While we do not approve of missionary work in any way, some readers may be interested in the bibliography (and downloadable publications) of the Peruvian branch of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL – ILV).

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Availability – and How to Get Hold of These Books

Availability of the books shown here has improved in recent years thanks to internet bookshops. In particular, the two main publishers of books on and in Quechua now have at least part of their catalogues online: CBC, in Cuzco, and Los Amigos del Libro in Bolivia. There are also some Western online booksellers that offer some of the Quechua titles on this page, such as www.schoenhofs.com and www.editions-harmattan.fr. [Thanks to Ifigeneia Andredaki for updating this information.]

Otherwise, availability in actual shops varies enormously between South America and the West (Europe, USA, Japan, etc.). Those published in South America are generally hard to come by in the West, and vice versa (unless you get Western books posted to South America from Western internet bookshops). Few of these books are easily available in both areas, though all of the books actually published by the CBC are in principle available by mail order and internet... Otherwise, you could try contacting the universities in the West where Quechua is taught (click for a list of these courses), which might have more information on local availability.

For out-of-print books, or others you can’t find in normal high-street or internet bookshops, one of the best ways of getting hold of them is by buying them second-hand, and many of the books I list here as out-of-print do indeed show up on normal searches on Amazon.com (and its various different national subsidiaries) as available second-hand on the internet through one of the second-hand booksellers that Amazon acts as a portal for. Often a book is available like this when the main Amazon catalogue shows it as unavailable; and even when the main catalogue does show it, it is often considerably cheaper second-hand.

To find these books in South America itself, for those published in South America, see below on Publishers and Bookshops in South America. In Bolivia, try one of the five outlets of Los Amigos del Libro. (they also have outlets in Argentina and Ecuador). In Ecuador, try particularly www.abyayala.org in Quito. For Cuzco, note that as well as the best Quechua bookshop (CBC), there are also a few tourist-type shops in the centre (around the Plaza de Armas, for instance) which sell plenty of popular Western books on Peru, and you might get lucky and find a useful Quechua book among them. They also sell various Quechua books produced locally on a small scale, but almost all of these are pretty useless. The main market (San Pedro, near the train station for Machu Picchu and in the streets around) also includes a few second-hand book stalls where you can sometimes find titles even if now out-of-print. The guidebooks warn that the market can be a bit dodgy for obvious gringos – so be a little careful...

To find these books in the West (Europe, USA, Japan, etc.), since Quechua books usually don’t sell in huge numbers, most high-street bookshops rarely stock any (the only one they are at all likely to have is the Lonely Planet Quechua Phrasebook). So your best bet is usually from internet bookshops – I give information on that here if I have found any of the books listed on this page to be available from internet bookshops. I sometimes provide direct links to the entry for that book on the Amazon.com just so that you can quickly look at more details – I’m not trying to help them get a sale in any way, nor do I particularly support Amazon at all (let alone get any commission from them!). In fact I would recommend instead that you do like I do and, once you’ve got the exact ISBN number for the book, use a ‘genie’ searcher like kelkoo.com (in Europe) to look through lots of web booksellers at once, to find which sells the book I want for the cheapest price.

Where I give links this is usually to the catalogue of Amazon.com, i.e. the US Amazon site, but the same books should be available on any of their national sites, though you may have to specify to search their English language or US catalogues.

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Publishers and Bookshops in South America

The publishers who seem to produce the most works on and in Quechua are:

The CBC: Centro De Estudios Rurales Andinos “Bartolomé De Las Casas”

This is the main publisher of Quechua books in Peru, and has what in my experience is probably the best bookshop in the world? for books on Quechua – though unfortunately that isn’t saying much!

Their webpage is at www.cbc.org.pe/. They also have an online catalogue www.cbc.org.pe/fdoedt/ – but be aware that this is not at all complete: they produce FAR MORE books than their webpages show.

Full details of all their publications are available in their printed catalogue. For prices ask for the accompanying pricelist. They also have mailing prices for their international mail order service, though apparently they only mail books that they publish themselves, not the entire stock their bookshops sell.

The CBC also produces the Spanish‑language journal Revista Andina – website at http://revistandina.perucultural.org.pe – one of the main academic journals, in which many Andean linguists publish on Quechua. Among their many books, those most useful for Quechua seem to be their series:

• Biblioteca de la Tradición Oral Andina (series 2000)

• Cuadernos de Capacitación Popular (series 5000)

• Monumenta Lingüística Andina (series 11000)

Where to find the CBC:

• Peru, Cuzco: The CBC’s main offices are at Limacpampa Grande 571, the square at the end of Calle Tullumayu, about five minutes from the Plaza de Armas central city square. This includes their printing press, reference library (which you can join for a small fee, paying by day, month, term or year), bookshop, while their college (Colegio Andino) where courses are held and includes a hotel for those on their courses, is just nearby on Calle Tullumayu. They also have a smaller bookshop right in Cuzco town centre, at Calle Heladeros 129-A (near the Plaza de Armas). Tel: +51 - 84 - 234073. Fax: +51 - 84 - 245656.

• Peru, Lima: (subsidiary office, basically only a bookshop): Editorial CBC, Oficina Comercial, Carlos Alayza y Roel 2626, Lince, Lima. Tel: +51 - 1 - 4429992. Fax: +51 - 1 - 4427894.

• The CBC also has good relations with the IEP (below), sells many of their books and can order you others from them too, without you having to go to Lima.

The IEP: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos

This is another significant publisher of Quechua books in Peru, and also has a pretty good bookshop in Lima for books on Quechua (again this is all relative!). They also stock a fair few books on Quechua produced by other publishers.

Their webpage is at http://iep.perucultural.org.pe/. Full details of all their publications, with prices, are available in their printed catalogue leaflet. They appear also to do international mail order.

• Peru, Lima: The IEP’s main offices, including their bookshop and reference library, are on the street along the northern edge of the Campo de Marte, just south of Lima city centre. The full address is: Horacio Urteaga 694, Lima 11, Peru. Tel: +51 - 1 - 3326194 or 4244856. Fax: +51 - 1 - 3326173.

Most useful for Quechua seems to be their series Lengua y Sociedad which includes the old 1976 grammars and dictionaries for the six main Quechua dialects in Peru, most of which are still available (at US$3 each).

The CBC in Cuzco also has good relations with the IEP, and can order you books from them too, without you having to go to Lima!

Los Amigos del Libro

(alias Ediciones del Sol outside Bolivia)

In Bolivia this publisher goes by the name of Los Amigos del Libro, . They now have an online shop at www.librosbolivia.com. Otherwise, their head office postal address is: Casilla 450, Cochabamba. They have five bookshops in Bolivia:

• Cochabamba: Av. Las Heroínas esq. España

• Cochabamba: General Achá esq. Ayacucho

• La Paz: Mercado 1315 (in the centre)

• La Paz: in the ‘El Alto’ airport

• Santa Cruz: René Moreno 26

• Argentina: Ediciones del Sol S.A., Avda. Julio A. Roca 751, 4o piso “C”, 1067 Buenos Aires.

• Ecuador: Ediciones del Sol Cía. Ltda., Castro 586, Quito.

Abya-Yala

www.abyayala.org – A good publisher of works on and in Quechua in Ecuador, with their own bookshop which also has works from Peru (including the CBC) and Bolivia. Upstairs is a museum of indigenous cultures. Recommended. More details soon!

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