Cusco Quechua
Southern Quechua dialect of Cusco, Peru
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cusco Quechua (Quechua: Qusqu qhichwa simi) is a dialect of Southern Quechua spoken in Cusco and the Department of Cusco of Peru.
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Quechua II
- Southern Quechua
- Cusco Quechua
- Southern Quechua
| Cusco Quechua | |
|---|---|
| Qusqu runasimi | |
| Native to | Peru |
Native speakers | (c. 1.5 million cited 1989–2002)[1] |
Quechuan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:quz – Cuscoqve – Eastern Apurímac |
| Glottolog | cusc1236 Cuscoeast2551 Eastern Apurímac |
| ELP | Cuzco Quechua |
 Quechua of Cusco is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
It is the Quechua variety used by the Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua in Cusco, which also prefers the Spanish-based five-vowel alphabet.[2] On the other hand, the official alphabet used by the ministry of education has only three vowels.[3]
Phonology
Vowels
Quechua only has three vowel phonemes: /a/ /i/ and /u/, with no diphthongs. Monolingual speakers pronounce them as [æ, ɪ, ʊ] respectively, but Spanish realizations [ä, i, u] may also be found. When the vowels appear adjacent to uvular consonants (/q/, /qʼ/, and /qʰ/), they are rendered more like [ɑ, ɛ, ɔ], respectively.[4] There is debate about whether Cusco Quechua has five /a, e, i, o, u/ or three vowel phonemes: /a, ɪ, ʊ/.[5]
While historically Proto-Quechua clearly had just three vowel phonemes /*a, *ɪ, *ʊ/, and although some other Quechua varieties have an increased number of vowels as a result of phonological vowel length emergence or of monophthongization, the current debate about the Cusco variety seems to be not phonological in matter but just orthographic.[6]
| Phoneme | IPA Phonetic realizations | 3-vowel alphabet | 5-vowel alphabet |
|---|---|---|---|
| /a/ | [æ, a, ɑ] | a | a [æ, a, ɑ] |
| /i/ | [i, ɪ, e, ɛ] | i | i [i, ɪ], e [e, ɛ] |
| /u/ | [u, ʊ, o, ɔ] | u | u [u, ʊ], o [o, ɔ] |
Consonants
Gemination of the tap /ɾ/ results in a trill [r].
About 30% of the modern Quechua vocabulary is borrowed from Spanish, and some Spanish sounds (such as /f/, /b/, /d/, /ɡ/) may have become phonemic even among monolingual Quechua speakers.
Grammar
Pronouns
| [7] | Cusco Quechua | Northern Quechua | Ancash Quechua | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1º | noqa/ñoqa | ñuka | nuqa | I |
| 2º | qan | kan | qam | you |
| 3º | pay | pay | pay | he, she, it |
| 4º | noqanchis/ñoqanchis | ñukanchik (ñukapash kanpash) | nuqantsik | we (inclusive) |
| 5º | noqayku/ñoqayku | ñukanchik (shinapash mana kan/kikin) | nuqakuna | we (exclusive) |
| 6º | qankuna | qamkuna | qamkuna | you (plural) |
| 7º | paykuna | paykuna | paykuna | they |
Nouns
| Function | Suffix | Example | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffix indicating number | Plural | -kuna | wasikuna | houses |
| Possessive suffix | 1st person singular | -y | wasiy | my house |
| 2nd person singular | -yki | wasiyki | your house | |
| 3rd person singular | -n | wasin | his/her/its house | |
| 1st person plural (incl.) | -nchis | wasinchis | our house (incl.) | |
| 1st person plural (excl.) | -y-ku | wasiyku | our house (excl.) | |
| 2nd person plural | -yki-chis | wasiykichis | your (pl.) house | |
| 3rd person plural | -n-ku | wasinku | their house | |
| Suffixes indicating case | nominative | – | wasi | the house (subj.) |
| accusative | -(k)ta | wasita | the house (obj.) | |
| instrumental | -wan | wasiwan | with the house, and the house | |
| abessive | -naq | wasinaq | without the house | |
| dative | -paq | wasipaq | to the house | |
| genitive | -q/-pa | wasiq | of the house | |
| causative | -rayku | wasirayku | because of the house | |
| benefactive | -paq | wasipaq | for the house | |
| locative | -pi | wasipi | at the house | |
| directional | -man | wasiman | towards the house | |
| inclusive | -piwan, puwan | wasipiwan, wasipuwan | including the house | |
| terminative | -kama, -yaq | wasikama, wasiyaq | up to the house | |
| transitive | -(rin)ta | wasinta | through the house | |
| ablative | -manta, -piqta | wasimanta, wasipiqta | off/from the house | |
| comitative | -(ni)ntin | wasintin | along with the house | |
| immediate | -raq | wasiraq | first the house | |
| intrative | -pura | wasipura | among the houses | |
| exclusive | -lla(n) | wasilla(n) | only the house | |
| comparative | -naw, -hina | wasinaw, wasihina | like the house | |
