The Quechua Language and Culture Program at Penn
¡Allillanchu yachakuq wawqi-paniykuna!
Quechua is offered at the University of Pennsylvania through the Penn Language Center. The program not only focuses on learning the Quechua language but also delves into the vibrant Andean culture, providing a holistic educational experience. The program’s primary goal is to teach Quechua as a Foreign Language (QFL) through a communicative approach. This method emphasizes developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills for practical, real-world use in authentic communicative contexts. In addition, the program explores the Andean-Amazonian cultural matrix, offering students a deeper understanding of the linguistic, historical, and symbolic richness of Quechua-speaking communities. We invite you to discover more about our courses, research initiatives, and cultural activities designed to enrich your understanding of this vital language and culture.
Quechua a Vibrant Indigenous Language of the Andes and Beyond
Quechua is one of the most widely spoken and influential Indigenous languages in South America and the Americas. It served as the lingua franca of the Inca Empire, uniting diverse multilingual Andean societies under the Tahuantinsuyo. Today, Quechua is spoken by an estimated 10 to 13 million people across six South American countries such as Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile. Peru hosts the largest number of speakers and the greatest linguistic diversity within the Quechua family.
The language’s reach extends beyond South America due to migration, with significant Quechua-speaking diaspora communities in Europe (notably Spain and Italy), North America (including cities like Miami, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York), and even some parts of Asia. Despite centuries of colonial and post-colonial linguistic policies favoring Spanish, Quechua-speaking communities have preserved their rich cultural traditions, beliefs, and linguistic diversity. Different varieties of Quechua are spoken across the Andean region, including areas within the Amazon basin, reflecting its deep-rooted resilience and adaptability.
The Rich History and Significance of Quechua
Quechua is one of the oldest Indigenous languages of the Andes, deeply woven into the cultural heritage of the region. During the Inca Empire, it became the lingua franca, unifying diverse communities across the Tahuantinsuyo. During the European conquest, Quechua played a key role as a koine language between Spaniards and native Andean peoples, facilitating communication across linguistic divides. Despite the imposition of Spanish as the dominant language during colonial and republican periods, Quechua has endured as a cultural and linguistic touchstone. Its structures embody the profound cosmological, social, and political knowledge of the Andean world, offering insights into its past, present, and future.
The Andean Culture Legacy
The Quechua linguistic family represents one of the most treasured creations of the Andean-Amazonian cultural matrix. Its study provides a deeper understanding of Andean life, spanning pre-Inca times, the colonial period, and contemporary society. As Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (1539–1616) noted, learning the ancestral language offers unparalleled access to the wealth of experiences, knowledge, beliefs, and values that define Andean culture.
A particularly significant symbol of Andean culture is the Chacana (Andean cross), which appears in petroglyphs, ceramics, architecture, and textiles. The Chacana has been integral to numerous Andean societies, including the Ventarrón site (5,000–4,000 BCE) in La Libertad; the “Eyes of God” from Caral culture (5,000 BCE) in Lima; and the Chavín culture’s Tello Obelisk and Lanzón (900–250 BCE) in Ancash. It is also present in the Paracas culture (800–100 BCE), Pukara culture (1400 BCE–400 CE), Tiahuanaco culture’s Temple of the Sun (600–1000 CE) in Bolivia, and the Inca Empire (1438–1572 CE).
Chacana, Ollantaytambo, Cuzco, Perú
The Chacana symbolizes the interconnectedness of Andean life, embodying the unity of opposites such as masculine and feminine, sky and earth, sun and moon, and life and death. Its significance spans astronomical, religious, and cultural dimensions, reflecting the cosmogony of the Andean universe and its profound understanding of time, space, and existence.
Geographical Map of the Quechua Language in South America
Quechua is spoken in six countries in South America: Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile. Many speakers are found in the Andes, but some also live on the coast, in the jungle, and outside South America. spoken by between eight and ten million people, making Quechua the most widely spoken Indigenous language in the Americas.
Coronel-Molina, 2019, p. 8.
Quechua in the Andes of South America & in the Amazon basin of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
Quechua is a family of languages spoken by many peoples of the Andean-Amazon region, consisting of four branches, which in turn contain several varieties with varying degrees of intelligibility. There are now many different varieties of Quechua, known as Northern, Central and Southern Quechua. All these varieties appear in the chart below.
Jesús Rivera Gúzman, Quechua Coordinator and lecturer
Jesús Rivera Guzmán holds postgraduate diplomas in Intercultural Dialogues and Pedagogical Designs from both the Universidad Nacional de Jujuy in Argentina and the Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez in Chile. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP). A native Quechua speaker from the Llactacunca community in Tambobamba district, Cotabambas province, Apurímac, Peru, Jesús specializes in philosophy of language, epistemology, interculturality, Latin American philosophy, and Indigenous philosophy. His work particularly explores the foundational assumptions of Indigenous languages and cultures in South America, with a focus on Quechua and Aymara. Jesús is an active member of Mente y Lenguaje (MyL) at PUCP, the Red Internacional de Estudios Interculturales (RIDEI) at PUCP, and Chawpi Atuq: Comunidad de Estudios, where he contributes to collaborative research and discussions on these topics.
Email: guzman12@sas.upenn.edu
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
“We recognize and acknowledge that the University of Pennsylvania stands on the Indigenous territory known as “Lenapehoking,” the traditional homelands of the Lenape, also called Lenni-Lenape or Delaware Indians. These are the people who, during the 1680s, negotiated with William Penn to facilitate the founding of the colony of Pennsylvania. Their descendants today include the Delaware Tribe and Delaware Nation of Oklahoma; the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, Ramapough Lenape, and Powhatan Renape of New Jersey; and the Munsee Delaware of Ontario” —Upenn Association of Native Alumni
