Words R Us - Quechua (que)

The Quechua (aka Runasimi - The People's Language) language family spans an extremely diverse set of languages, many of which are mutually unintelligible, which is why linguists have classified Quechua as a language family as opposed to one language with many dialects. Though it is believed that all Quechuan languages descended from a single ancestor, Proto-Quechua, there is still debate on how the modern Quechuan languages evolved into their current states, and what this timeline would look like. As a result of this, there have been numerous suggested classifications and theories of the relatedness of specific languages and dialects of Quechua. However, the current broad division of Quechua into four main branches is generally accepted.

South Bolivian Quechua (quh), also known as Central Bolivian Quechua, is a dialect of Southern Quechua spoken in Bolivia and adjacent areas of Argentina, where it is also known as Colla. It is not to be confused with North Bolivian Quechua, which is spoken on the northern Andean slopes of Bolivia and is phonologically distinct from the South Bolivian variety. Estimates of the number of speakers of South Bolivian Quechua range from 2.3 to 2.8 million, making it the most spoken indigenous language in Bolivia, just slightly greater than Aymara, with roughly 2 million speakers in Bolivia. In comparison, the North Bolivian dialect has roughly 116,000 speakers.

Quechua is recognized as an official language of Bolivia, one of the 36 indigenous languages declared official in the nation's Constitution. At approximately 2.8 million speakers out of a population of roughly 10 million, it is the most widely spoken indigenous language in Bolivia. This number is much greater than many other prominent indigenous languages of Bolivia such as North Bolivian Quechua (116,000 speakers) or Guarani (33,700 speakers). However, compared to Spanish, which is spoken by 8.7 million or roughly 87% of Bolivians, Quechua is much less widely used. There have been numerous concerns raised over the status of indigenous languages including South Bolivian Quechua due to the prestige language in the area, Spanish, potentially forcing the endangerment of other devalued languages.

The Ethnologue lists South Bolivian Quechua as "developing", which indicates that "the language is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by some though this is not yet widespread or sustainable." However, UNESCO's Atlas of Endangered Languages categorizes South Bolivian Quechua as "vulnerable", defined as the following: "Most but not all children or families of a particular community speak the language as their first language, but it may be restricted to specific social domains (such as at home, where children interact with their parents and grandparents)." While South Bolivian Quechua and the Quechua language family in general are much better off compared to many other indigenous languages due to the relatively large number of speakers, Quechua is still in danger due to its long history of Spanish influence and bilingualism. In addition, the linguistic, ideological, and cultural differences among its many dialects make it difficult for policymakers to approach Quechua as a whole, as each Quechua community provides different challenges in regard to language policy and planning.