Language and Migration: Intergenerational Transmission of Quechua in Lima, Peru

Talledo Hernández S.R. · Cuadernos de Linguistica Hispanica (2025) · DOI: 10.19053/uptc.0121053x.n45.2025.17586

Resumen

This qualitative research aims to present the current state of Quechua usage among Lima's student population. Specifically, it demonstrates the extent to which Quechua is transmitted from Quechua-speaking citizens to their descendants. To this end, the terms "transculturation" and "identity" are analyzed, as well as the status of Quechua in Lima as revealed by the 2017 census. This census supports the information gathered by the qualitative survey, which was used as a data collection instrument. The results of the face-to-face interview with 85 university students reveal their predominantly mestizo self-identification as the sons, daughters, and/or grandchildren of Andeans, as well as their disconnection from Quechua in the "contact zone" (Pratt, 2008). Despite Peruvian language policies, it is concluded that the Quechua linguistic heritage is in decline in Lima's transcultural society, even though Quechua is the most widely spoken language in the country.