Alto Marañón Quechua

Facts

  • Language: Alto Marañón Quechua
  • Alternate names: Margos-Yarowilca-Lauricocha Quechua, Margos-Yarowilca-Lauricocha Quechua, Upper Marañón Quechua
  • Language code: qvm
  • Language family: Quechuan, Central Quechua, Ap-am-ah, Alto Pativilca (SIL classification)
  • Number of speakers: 83,400
  • Vulnerability: Vulnerable
  • Script: Latin script.

More information:

    The question of how to distinguish between entities that are dialects of a single language vs. those that are separate languages is particularly serious in the case of Quechuan languages and dialects, and much work remains to be done. Though it is well-known and very clear that there are a number of distinct languages in the Quechuan complex, some very distinct, the tendency to consider them all merely dialects of “Quechua” persists in many circles. (Cerrón-Palomino 1987.)Alto Marañón Quechua [qvm] is sometimes listed as an alternate name of Alto Huallaga [qub], as both are Ap-am-ah Central Quechuan languages. However, according to some linguists the two are different languages, and according to others they are dialects.This area corresponds to the Upper Marañón Valley in southwestern Huánuco; this variant should be close to Huallaga (Huánuco) Quechua (Willem Adelaar personal communication).