Quechua language
- noun
- /ˈkɛtʃuə ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
:
idioma quechua
- Many people in Peru and Bolivia still speak the Quechua language every day.
Examples
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In our class, we learned some basic phrases in the Quechua language to communicate with local communities.
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The Quechua language
Academic text (1991) -
The Quechua language has a rich history and was spoken by the Incas in ancient times.
Synonyms
1
9.4
The language spoken by the native people of the Andes, once used by the Inca Empire
A group of languages first used by the Inca and still spoken in parts of South America
A language or group of related languages spoken by the Quechua people in the Andes
A native language of the Quechua people in parts of South America, once used by the Inca
A native language in the Andes once used by the Incas and still spoken today
A native people and language group in the Andes of Ecuador and Peru
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the language of the Quechua people' is directly and transparently derived from combining the proper name 'Quechua' with the noun 'language' — it straightforwardly names the language associated with that group. This noun‑noun compositional pattern (X language / language of X) is cross‑linguistically common, so learners who know both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The name Quechua language comes from the people called Quechua who live in the mountains. Long ago the 'Incas' used this same language across the 'Andes', so today Quechua language means the native language still spoken by many people in those mountains.