Kichwa language

Kichwa
Native to Ecuador, Colombia, Peru
Native speakers
 1.2 million  (1991–2010)[1]
Quechuan

  • Quechua II

    • Northern
      • Kichwa
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Variously:
inb – Inga
inj – Jungle Inga
qvo – Napo Lowland
qup – Southern Pastaza
qud – Calderón Highland
qxr – Cañar Highland
qug – Chimborazo Highland
qvi – Imbabura Highland
qvj – Loja Highland
qvz – Northern Pastaza
qxl – Salasaca Highland
quw – Tena Lowland
Glottolog colo1257[2]

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Distribution of Quechua sub-groups. Kichwa is shown in blue.

Kichwa (Kichwa shimi, Runashimi, also Spanish Quichua) is a Quechuan language which includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia (Inga), as well as extensions into Peru, and is spoken by a million people. The most widely spoken dialects are Chimborazo and Imbabura Highland Kichwa, with one to two million and half a million to one million speakers, respectively. Cañar Highland Quecha has 100,000–200,000 speakers; the others in the range of ten to twenty thousand. Kichwa belongs to the Northern Quechua group of Quechua II (according to Alfredo Torero).

Kichwa syntax has undergone some grammatical simplification compared to Southern Quechua, perhaps due to partial creolization with the pre-Inca languages of Ecuador.

A standardized language with a unified orthography (Kichwa Unificado, Shukyachiska Kichwa) has been developed. It is similar to Chimborazo, less some of the phonological peculiarities of that dialect.

The earliest grammatical description of Kichwa was written in the 17th century by the Jesuit priest Hernando de Alcocer.[3]

Particularities

In contrast to other regional varieties of Quechua, Kichwa does not distinguish between original ("Proto Quechua") /k/ and /q/, which are both pronounced [k]. Therefore, [e] and [o], the allophones of the vowels /i/ and /u/ near /q/, do not exist, and kiru can mean both "tooth" (kiru in Southern Quechua) and "wood" (qiru [qero] in Southern Quechua), and killa can mean both "moon" (killa) and "lazy" (qilla [qeʎa]).

Additionally, Kichwa in both Ecuador and Colombia has lost possessive and bidirectional suffixes (i.e. verbal suffixes indicating both subject and object), as well as the distinction between the exclusive and inclusive first person plural.

Examples:

On the other hand, other particularities of Quechua have been preserved. As in all varieties of Quechua, the words for 'brother' and 'sister' differ depending on whom they refer to. There are four different words for siblings: ñaña (sister of a woman), turi (brother of a woman), pani (sister of a man), and wawki (brother of a man). A woman reading "Ñuka wawki Pedromi kan" would therefore read aloud Ñuka turi Pedromi kan.

Dialects

The missionary organization FEDEPI (2006) lists eight dialects of Quechua in Ecuador, which they illustrate with the clause "the men will come in two days". (Ethnologue 16 (2009) lists nine, distinguishing Cañar from Loja Highland Quechua.) Below are the comparisons, along with Standard (Ecuadorian) Kichwa and Standard (Southern) Quechua:

Dialect ISO code Speakers per SIL (FEDEPI) Pronunciation Orthography (SIL or official) Notes
Chimborazo [qug] 1,000,000 (2,500,000) Čay k'arikunaka iški punžažapimi šamunga. Chai c'aricunaca ishqui punllallapimi shamunga. ll = "ž"
Imbabura [qvi] 300,000 (1,000,000) Čay harikunaka iškay punžapižami šamunga. Chai jaricunaca ishcai punllapillami shamunga. ll = ž
Cañar–Loja [qxr]
[qvj]		 (200,000) qxr: 100,000
qxl: 15,000 		Čay k'arikunaka iškay punžallapimi šamunga. Chai c'aricunaca ishcai punzhallapimi shamunga.
Salasaca [qxl] 15,000 Či k'arigunaga iški p'unžažabimi šamunga. Chi c'arigunaga ishqui p'unllallabimi shamunga. ll = ž
Calderón (Pichincha) [qud] 25,000 Čay harikunaka iškay punžapižami šamunga. Chai jaricunaca ishcai punllapillami shamunga. ll = ž
Tena Lowland [quw] 5,000 (10,000) Či kariunaga iški punžallaimi šamunga. Chi cariunaga ishqui punzhallaimi shamunga.
Napo Lowland [qvo] 4,000 Ecu. & 8,000 Peru (15,000) Či karigunaga iškay punčallaimi šamunga. Chi carigunaga ishcai punchallaimi shamunga.
Northern Pastaza [qvz] 4,000 Ecu. & 2,000 Peru (10,000) Či karigunaga iškay punžallaimi šamunga. Chi carigunaga ishcai punzhallaimi shamunga.
Standard Kichwa — Čay karikunaka iškay punllallapimi šamunka. Chay karikunaka ishkay punllallapimi shamunka.
Standard Quechua (Qhichwa) — Čay qharikunaqa iskay p'unčawllapim hamunqa. Chay qharikunaqa iskay p'unchawllapim hamunqa.

Hip hop music in Kichwa

A band from Ecuador, "Los Nin", which raps in Kichwa and Spanish, has toured internationally. The band hails from the town of Otavalo, which is known for its traditional music.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Inga at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Jungle Inga at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Napo Lowland at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Southern Pastaza at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Calderón Highland at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Cañar Highland at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    (Additional references under 'Language codes' in the information box)
  2. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Colombia–Ecuador Quechua IIB". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  3. ↑ Ciucci, Luca & Pieter C. Muysken 2011. Hernando de Alcocer y la Breve declaración del Arte de la lengua del Ynga. El más antiguo manuscrito de quichua de Ecuador. Indiana 28: 359-393.
  4. ↑ Manuela Picq. "Hip-hop Kichwa: Sounds of indigenous modernity". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 2012-08-21.

Bibliography

External links

Kichwa language test of Kichwa at Wikimedia Incubator