Chachapoyas Quechua

Shimelman A.; Valqui J. · The oxford guide to the languages of the central andes (2025) · DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198849926.003.0006

Resumen

This chapter sketches the major phonological and morphosyntactic features of Chachapoyas Quechua [ISO 369-3: quk, Glottocode: chac1250], a moribund language spoken in the northern Peruvian Andes. Chachapoyas is of particular interest to the study of the history and diversity of the Quechuan languages and, concomitantly, to our understanding of differentiation in human languages more generally. Unusual features of Chachapoyas Quechua include, most prominently, systematic vowel reduction that results in forms that violate the usual constraints of Quechuan syllable structure. This, as well as other idiosyncracies of the phonetics of the language, are partially attributable to the influence of Chacha, the language spoken in the region before the Incan conquest. © Aviva Shimelman and Jairo Valqui (2024).

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos