LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY IN PERU: HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS AND VARIETIES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The linguistic diversity in Peru is very rich due to the multiple indigenous communities that inhabit this Latin American country. The linguistic language of Peru is an interesting and complex subject since, despite the fact that the official language of this region is Spanish, this has not prevented the use of other striking dialects.

Although Spanish was imposed through schooling from colonial times to the present day, this has not been able to prevent Peru from having a wide range of languages. At present, Peru is still considered a multilingual country, where a large and heterogeneous set of up to fifty vernacular languages ​​is used.

Peru is home to a wide range of indigenous communities with various dialects. Source: pixabay.com

Most of these languages ​​are made up of indigenous dialects; However, the mother tongue of Peruvians is Spanish, since this is used by 85% of the inhabitants. The remaining percentage is divided between the Quechua and Aymara languages, along with the Amazonian languages ​​and the Peruvian sign language.

In the urban regions of the country (especially in the coastal zone) there is a predominance of monolingualism, made up essentially of Spanish. In contrast, in rural Peru (especially within the Amazon) indigenous dialects and multilingual inhabitants prevail.

This implies that native languages, also known as the Andean languages, are used mainly in the Amazon rainforest and in the central Andes. During the 19th century, a considerable number of indigenous languages ​​were spoken in the northern Andes and on the north coast, but they became extinct as a result of urban and technological processes.

Currently the only Andean or native languages ​​that are still used in Peruvian territories are Aymara, Quechua, Jaqaru and Kawki, due to the greater notoriety of European culture. On the other hand, in the Amazon region a greater variety can be found, among which the Aguaruna and Ashanika languages ​​stand out.

Recent studies have shown the existence of 15 linguistic families within the Peruvian territory, along with fifteen unclassified or isolated languages. According to chroniclers of the colonial era, it is believed that up to 300 languages ​​coexisted in Peru; however, they were lost during the viceroyalty and after independence from Spain.

History

During the Conquest and colonial times

According to author Peter Landerman, after the arrival of the Spanish, the Jesuits and other priests were in charge of translating a series of fragments of the Christian religion into some 150 indigenous languages ​​of the Peruvian Amazon.

Some records made by colonial chroniclers have been found in which it is established that more than 300 languages ​​were spoken in Peru, including statements that estimate the use of 700 indigenous languages. This is a reflection of the linguistic richness that characterizes this Latin American country.

Loss of languages ​​and reduction of the indigenous community

However, after the Spanish conquest and during the viceroyalty, indigenous communities began to disappear due to miscegenation, epidemics and forced labor. Of course, this decline in population influenced the loss of a large number of the region's own languages.

Discrimination also played a fundamental role in the disappearance of indigenous groups and their languages. This was due to the fact that there was an anti-indigenous trend defended by the mestizo and white population who wanted to separate themselves from their aboriginal branches to become more like the European inhabitants.

This trend was also backed by the support of the Peruvian government, since it was in charge of promoting the use of Spanish and forcing the abandonment of the other dialects. The objective was to unify the nation under the same language and to strengthen a homogeneous patriotic identity.

Peruvian indigenous languages ​​today

As a consequence of the above, more than half of the indigenous dialects were lost and only 150 languages ​​survived.

Despite this, currently attempts are being made to protect and safeguard the vestiges of these ancestral languages. For example, there is a Peruvian constitutional article through which the existence of Quechua, Aymara and other indigenous linguistic dialects is ruled out.

characteristics

- Peru is one of the countries with the greatest philological diversity in the world since it has a set of ethnic groups and indigenous communities that protect the use of different linguistic families. This protection has allowed several of the original linguistic traditions to remain alive.

- According to one of the maps presented by the National Institute for the Development of Andean, Amazonian and Afro-Peruvian Peoples (INDEPA), Peru is one of the few Latin American countries that still conserves an overwhelming number of ethnolinguistic groups. Consequently, Peru is one of the nations with the greatest cultural and linguistic plurality.

-The linguistic diversity of Peru is due in large part to the geographical heterogeneity of its territories, since there are different communities living in the jungle, the mountains and the coast, and each of these handles its own language.

- The linguistic diversity of the Peruvian territories is also characterized by its cultural richness due to the fact that many legends, myths and traditions remain in force through oral accounts originated from these indigenous languages. Through indigenous languages ​​it is still possible to know the worldview of these ancestral communities.

- The different languages ​​spoken in Peru have a number of four million speakers, which enhances the multilingual and multicultural character of this Latin American country.

- At present, Peruvian linguistic diversity is considered as cultural heritage not only of this country, but of the entire South American region.

Main linguistic varieties of Peru

Quechua

This indigenous language is the second most used language in Peru, taking into account the number of inhabitants.

Quechua is considered the official language in those territories where it is predominant; However, this dialect has a peculiarity that consists in the fact that it is actually a macrolanguage.

This is because there are up to twenty-five variations of Quechua in Peruvian territories. Of these variants, there are four predominant branches, which are known as Quechua I, Quechua IIB, Quechua IIA and Quechua IIC.

Quechua is one of the most important indigenous languages ​​in Latin America, since its use extends through seven countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and the aforementioned Peru.

According to statistical data taken in 2018, there has been an increase in the number of Quechua-speaking Peruvians compared to the penultimate census carried out in 2007.

It is considered that the first separation of the Quechua language in various aspects occurred in the 5th century; At that time it had two main branches that were named as Quechua I and Quechua II.

During the 15th century, Quechua was called the general language, becoming the main dialect of the ancient Inca Empire.

Aymara

This language, which is also written as Aymara, is the third most used in Peru. It has half a million speakers distributed in the territories located in the south of the country, specifically in the departments of Moquegua, Tacna and Puno.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Aymara is a language that is in a vulnerable situation and therefore its survival in the near future is questioned.

Currently, this language is not only spoken in Peru, but it is also used in some regions of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.

This dialect was first studied by Ludovico Bertonio, an Italian Jesuit who undertook a missionary journey during the 16th century. Bertonio was the first to make a phonetic transcription of this language using the Latin characters.

Despite its conceptual importance, this transcription has too many inaccuracies due to phonetic differences.

Languages ​​used in the Amazon

The rest of the indigenous dialects of the Peruvian territory have about 105 thousand inhabitants. These languages ​​are used mainly in the north and east of the country, covering the departments of Madre de Dios, Loreto and Ucayali.

The department of Loreto is considered by researchers as the most diverse in terms of linguistic variations, since in this region isolated languages ​​and small groups of language families abound.

Therefore, in the north of Peru five main linguistic families have been registered: Jívara, Zápara, Cachuapana, Peba-yagua and Bora-Witoto, which are used essentially in Loreto. However, these ethnolinguistic communities have also been found in Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador.

Previously, these linguistic families had a greater number of speakers; however, these indigenous communities were decimated during the so-called “rubber boom” that occurred at the beginning of the 20th century.

For example, in the Putumayo River area there was a population reduction from 50,000 to 7,000 during the first decade of that century.

References

1. Bazalar, N. (sf) Linguistic diversity in Peru. Retrieved on July 11, 2019 from Calameo: es.calameo.com
2. García, S. (2014) Linguistic diversity in Peru. Retrieved on July 11, 2019 from Glogster: edu.glogster.com
3. Rosas, R. (2016) The linguistic reality in Peru. Retrieved on July 11, 2019 from the University of Peru: udep.edu.pe
4. SA (2017) Linguistic diversity in Peru. Retrieved on July 11, 2019 from the National Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History of Peru: mnaahp.cultura.pe
5. SA (sf) Languages ​​of Peru. Retrieved on July 11, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org