Cuzco Quechua

Facts

  • Language: Cuzco Quechua
  • Alternate names: Cusco Quechua, Qheswa, Quechua Cusco, Cusco-Collao
  • Language code: quz
  • Language family: Quechuan, Peripheral Quechua, Chinchay, Southern Chinchay, Southern Peruvian Quechua (SIL classification)
  • Number of speakers: 1,500,000
  • Vulnerability: Vulnerable
  • Script: Latin script.

More information:

    Christian, traditional religion.

    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.)The combination Cuzco-Collao (sometimes used for the name) implies the inclusion of Puno and eastern Arequipa Quechua, which are slightly different from Cuzco Quechua and carry a heavy substrate from Aymara (cf. ‘Northern Potosí Quechua’). If Northern Bolivian Quechua were not considered separate, it would be part of this cluster of varieties. (Willem Adelaar personal communication)