Andean languages

Quechua is the family of Andean languages with the largest number of speakers: it is spoken in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. In the shaded countries it is official (hard green) or co-official (pale green).

Pre-incaic languages in the centuryXVI.

The Andean languages are indigenous languages of the Americas spoken in the Andean region. These languages belong to different language families between which a close relationship has not been proven.

The criteria for considering Andean languages is especially geographical; however, there are also certain typological features that occur in most of them that would make it possible to consider the Andean region as an area of linguistic convergence. In this respect, the Andean languages clearly differ typologically from the Amazonian languages —which could be considered to form another linguistic area with common typological features, different from the features of the Andean region.

The Andean languages have had and still have an influence on Spanish, the official language in all the Andean countries.

Typological features

Some typical trends of the Andean linguistic area set it apart from other nearby linguistic areas, such as the Amazonian or Mesoamerican. Among these traits are:

General type:

1. The Andean languages are frequently synthetic, combine the core marking and the modifier marking, are basically agglutant and present a certain degree of fusion.

Fonology:

1. There are usually two or three liquid consonants, the fricatives are more numerous than the Africans, and the vocálic system of three elements /i, a, u/, being generally rare the existence of nasal vowels.

Nominal morphology:

1. There are usually no nominal or grammatical sorters.
2. There is an extensive list of grammatical cases, including a large number of oblique cases.
3. The relation of possession often includes marking both in the possessor and in the possessor.

New American:

1. Generally, the verb agrees with the two main arguments: subject and object.
2. Morphos-intactic alignment is usually of nominative-accusative type.
3. The forms of the possessives often differ from the pronomial cytic of the verb.

Verbal morphology:

1. Prefixation is rare.
2. There is a system of binding attachments to mark time and appearance.

Syntax:

1. Subordination rarely includes the use of nominal or deverbative verbal forms.
2. There is usually no nominal incorporation of any kind.

Léxico

1. There is a wide list of numerals or lexical forms to designate numbers.

Lexical comparison

Here are some lexical comparisons between the numerals of Andean languages:

Andean languages (according to Joseph Greenberg)

Most linguists propose that most of the lexical similarities and similar grammatical features of the Andean languages are due to prolonged language contact. However, some authors such as J. Greenberg and M. Ruhlen argue that the Andean languages would form a valid phylogenetic unit or macrofamily within Amerindian languages. The subgroups within the Andean macrofamily of Greenberg's proposal are:

1. Quechua languages
2. Aimaras languages
3. Záparo-Cahuapano
   1. Zoparo-arabela languages
   2. Pehuapane languages
4. Sabla-Itucale
   1. Sabla (huaorani)
   2. Itucale (urarina)
5. Northern Andean languages
   1. Catalan languages
   2. Cholone languages
   3. Leko
   4. Culli
   5. Sechura
6. Southern Andean languages
   1. Kawésqar
   2. Mapudungun
   3. Gennaken
   4. Patagón
   5. Yagán

Quechuamarán has also been proposed to group the Quechua and Aymara languages. Both the vast majority of the above groups and the divisions within the northern and southern subgroups are language isolates. The proposal that the above languages constitute a phylogenetic unit, as well as the proposed division for it, is considered highly speculative by most linguists. For this reason, this classification has not been widely accepted by specialists in these languages. languages.