The Quechua Impact in Amuesha, an Arawak Language of the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract

Abstract This chapter addresses the issue of language contact between Quechua and Amuesha, an Arawak language spoken in the Andean foothills of central Peru. The presence of lexical borrowings from Quechua in Amuesha has been discussed in a pioneering article by Mary Ruth Wise (1976). Wise considers it possible that Quechua loans may have contributed to the phonological characteristics of the Amuesha language, which are highly divergent and unusual from the viewpoint of the remainder of the Arawak language family. Here we will try and supply a further specification, both geographical and temporal, of the sources of borrowing from a Quechua perspective. It will be argued that the diffusion of Quechua lexicon in Amuesha is very different in nature from the incidental borrowings that affected other Andean and Amazonian languages. In accordance with the theme of the present volume, we will then focus our attention on the possibility of a Quechua impact on Amuesha grammar. It will be shown that, although such influence probably did occur, it was very limited when compared with the rather spectacular lexical influx. The discussion of the linguistic facts will permit us to reXect on the social and historical context of the contact situation in this particular case. Our discussion will begin with a characterization of the geographical setting of the Amuesha people and language in relation to Quechua-speaking areas.1