Conchucos Quechua

Facts

  • Language: Conchucos Quechua
  • Alternate names: Corongo Ancash Quechua, Sihuas Ancash Quechua, Northern Conchucos Ancash Quechua, Northern Conchucos Quechua, and Southern Conchucos Ancash Quechua
  • Language code: qwa, qws, qxn, qxo
  • Language family: Quechuan; Quechua I (SIL classification)
  • Number of speakers: 510,500
  • Vulnerability: Vulnerable
  • 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-Palomina 1978.)Ethnologue has four distinct Conchucos Quechua languages:Corongo Ancash Quechua [qwa];Sihuas Ancash Quechua [qws];Northern Conchucos Ancash Quechua [qxn];Southern Conchucos Ancash Quechua [qxo].For many linguists, these are dialects of the same language; they are combined here.Corongo Quechua, Sihuas Quechua, Northern Conchucos Quechua, and Southern Conchucos Quechua are all distinct varieties of Ancash Quechua (Willem Adelaar personal communication).