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Quechua

Quechua

Summary

Quechuan languages are spoken by around 8 million people, primarily in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, where it is an official language in several regions. Quechuan varieties use the Latin alphabet and features an agglutinative grammar with 19 cases and an SOV word order. Closely tied to Andean culture, Quechua is a vital part of indigenous traditions, music, and oral storytelling, connecting modern speakers to their Incan heritage. This listing represents all Quechuan Languages. (Cuzco Quechua was used as a grammatical reference).

Stats

  • Language Family: Quechua (language family)

  • Writing System: Latin

  • Writing System Type: Alphabet

  • Writing Direction: Left to Right

  • Tones / Pitch Accent: None

  • Morphology: Agglutinative

  • Cases: 19

  • Grammatical Gender / Noun Class: None

  • Number of Verb Tenses: 5

  • Word Order: Subject-Object-Verb (SOV)

  • Number of Vowels (Monophthongs): 3

  • Number of Consonants: 28

Areas Where Spoken

  • Bolivia (official) (22.6%) (2.80 mil)

  • Ecuador (4.1%) (746 k)

  • Peru (official) (13.0%) (4.47 mil)

Resources

Mass Resource List

Dictionary

Lessons

  • Imanalla: Complete curriculum for an introductory Quichua program

  • andes.org: Culture, grammar lessons, and audios

YouTube Videos

Websites

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