Did you know Highland Ecuadorian Quichua is vulnerable?

ALSO KNOWN AS		Loja, Calderón [qud], Cañar Highland Quichua [qxr], Chimborazo [qug], Imbabura Quichua [qvi], Northern Pastaza Quichua [qvz], Salasca [qxl], Tena Quichua [quw], Napo Quichua [qvo], Cotopaxi Quichua.
CLASSIFICATION		Quechuan, Quechua IIB
ORTHOGRAPHY		Latin (Spanish-based)
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		qvj, qud; qxr, qug, qvi, qvz, qxj, quw, qvo
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Chimborazo Quichua [qug] Imbabura Quichua [qvi] Cotopaxi Quichua Cañar [qxr] Loja (Saraguro) [qvj]
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		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.) Ethnologue (2017) lists a number of separate "languages" where others consider them to be dialects of a single language: Loja [qvj]; Calderón; Cañar Highland Quichua [qxr]; Chimborazo [qug]; Imbabura Quichua [qvi]; Northern Pastaza Quichua [qvz]; Southern Pastaza Quichua [qup]; Salasca [qxl]; Tena Quichua [quw]; Napo Quichua [qvo].

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Information from: “Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 20th Edition (2017)” . Paul M. Lewis, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig · SIL International

Vulnerable

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,153,800
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Ethnologue distinguishes several entities that are varieties of Highland Ecuadorian Quichua:
Quichua, Calderón Highland [qud]: 25,000 (1987); ethnic population 35,000 (2000)
Quichua, Cañar Highland [qxr]: 100,000 (1991)
Quichua, Chimborazo Highland [qug]: 800,000 (2010)
Quichua, Imbabura Highland [qvi]: 150,000 (2007)
Quichua, Loja Highland [qvj]: 30,500 (2000)
Quichua, Napo [qvo]: 24,000
Quichua, Northern Pastaza [qvz]: 10,000
Quichua, Salasaca Highland [qxl]: 14,300

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Calderón [qud]: "shifting"; home, all ages.
Cañar Highland Quichua [qxr]: "threatened"; "Strong use of Quichua away from the road."
Chimborazo [qug]: "developing"
Imbabura Quichua [qvi]: Vigorous. All ages.
Loja [qvj]: "moribund"; Mainly older adults. Positive attitude.
Northern Pastaza Quichua [qvz]: "threatened"; Home, community, religion. All ages. Negative attitudes. Most also
use Spanish [spa]. Used as L2 by Achuar-Shiwiar [acu], Waorani [auc].
Salasca [qxl]: Home, community, agriculture. All ages. Positive attitude.
Napo Quichua [qvo]: "developing".
(Cotopaxi Quichua is not included as an entry in Ethnologue)

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

Positive in most places; negative in others.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Spanish

Scripts (Writing system)

Latin (Spanish-based)

PLACES: Ecuador, Colombia, Peru

Highland Ecuadorian Quichua

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,153,800

Discussion

Highland Ecuadorian Quichua

Language metadata

Language information by source

Vulnerable

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,153,800

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

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