Ecuador Bound

Quechua (“qheshwa”) is an indigenous language of the Andean region, spoken today by close to 13 million people in Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, No. Chile, Argentina, and So. Colombia. It once was the official language of Tawantinsuyu “The Inca Empire.” You will hear it a lot in Ecuador, especially in the Octavalo Market. Almost half of the vendors speak it along with Spanish, while some only speak Quechua.

Distinctive forms of Quechua are found in the north of Peru (Cajamarca, San Martín, Loreto) and in Ecuador, where it is known as Quichua. I used the general term instead of the Ecuadorian version, just to avoid confusion as there are 2 other dialects of the same language in So. America.

These following videos give you an idea of what it sounds like and a little background of the Quechua peoples. These are not learning videos like the Spanish I grouped up for you:

There are NO learning videos that I have found. It is a spoken language carried down by generations of indiginous peoples of the Andes in South America. I have heard that is has a Sanskrit base but I am not positive. I found a site that gives free internet lessons on Quechua. If you have mastered Spanish and are ready for more, this would be a good addition to your language skill set in Ecuador.

Another resource I found is “Fun Facts to Know About Quechua.” On that site they say:

Here’s some English words derived from Quechua: coca, condor, guano, gaucho, guanaco, Inca, jerky, lagniappe, lima [bean], llama, pampa, puma, quipu, quinine, quinoa, and vicuña.

Quechua Phrasebook

I managed to find one book on the Quechua language. It doesn’t come up with “Quechua” in the search so use: ISBN: 9781740597708 in the search box. Click on this to enter site then put in previous search term: Lonely Planet Country Guides

I also found a few items on eBay for Quechua. These change all the time so check back if you don’t see anything.

I worked up this Word Search just for you and it covers a lot of areas. I will make more specific ones later on. Enjoy it & be sure not to cheat unless you get stuck.

To see solution go to: Word Search Solutions Page.

This one is coded “From the Beginning”: