Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Quechua, Yauyos, Yauyos Kechua
CLASSIFICATION		Quechuan, Central Quechua, Wankay
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		qux
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Huangascar-Topará Quechua Chocos Quechua Madeán
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		Ethnologue (2016) says of its Yauyos Quechua [qux]: "Not 1 language–a cover term for a highly differentiated linguistic area with many 1-village varieties. A member of macrolanguage Quechua [que]." 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.)

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Information from: “A Grammar of Yauyos Quechua” . Aviva Shimelman (2017) Language Science Press

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
<450
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"...the isolation that had previously preserved the Quechua spoken in the region has been broken and the language now counts, according to my estimates, fewer than 450 speakers, most over 65, and all but the most elderly fully bilingual in Spanish."

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"I estimate that there are about twenty teens who understand the Viñac and San Pedro dialects, as well as many as 80 adults in their forties and fifties who can still speak it relatively fluently. Moreover, although its use is now generally restricted to the discussion of every-day and ritual activities, it is still used frequently among the oldest speakers."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Spanish

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"...all but the most elderly [are] fully bilingual in Spanish."

PLACES: Peruvian Andes

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Province of Yauyos, Department of Lima

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1700
Native speakers worldwide

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
6500
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Quechua, Yauyos.
(Unchanged 2016.)

DATE OF INFO: 2003

PLACES: Peru;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Lima Region, Yauyos province; Ica Region, north Chincha province; Huancavelica Region, northeast Castrovirreyna province.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Lima Region, Yauyos province; Ica Region, north Chincha province; Huancavelica Region, northeast Castrovirreyna province.

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
6,500
Native speakers worldwide

3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger			UNESCO Publishing			Paris	http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub	1700		1000-9999				Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)								-12.9081,-75.6958
	2017	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 20th Edition (2017)	Paul M. Lewis, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig	online	SIL International			Dallas, Texas	http://www.ethnologue.com				6500	2003	1000-9999	Quechua, Yauyos. (Unchanged 2016.)			Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Lima Region, Yauyos province; Ica Region, north Chincha province; Huancavelica Region, northeast Castrovirreyna province.	Peru;	Lima Region, Yauyos province; Ica Region, north Chincha province; Huancavelica Region, northeast Castrovirreyna province.
	2017	A Grammar of Yauyos Quechua			Language Science Press	Studies in Diversity Linguistics	9		http://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/83	Aviva Shimelman			<450		100-999	"...the isolation that had previously preserved the Quechua spoken in the region has been broken and the language now counts, according to my estimates, fewer than 450 speakers, most over 65, and all but the most elderly fully bilingual in Spanish."	Spanish	"...all but the most elderly [are] fully bilingual in Spanish."	Critically Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	"I estimate that there are about twenty teens who understand the Viñac and San Pedro dialects, as well as many as 80 adults in their forties and fifties who can still speak it relatively fluently. Moreover, although its use is now generally restricted to the discussion of every-day and ritual activities, it is still used frequently among the oldest speakers."	15	15		Peruvian Andes	Province of Yauyos, Department of Lima	-12.983333,-75.116667
		World Oral Literature Project							http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.		6,500		1000-9999				Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)

Yauyos Quechua

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<450

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1700

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

6500

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

6,500

Discussion

Yauyos Quechua

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

<450

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1700

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

6500

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

6,500

Discussion

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