Quechua, Cajamarca

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A language of Peru

ISO 639-3
qvc
Population

30,000 (2000 D. Coombs).

Location

Cajamarca Region, Chetilla and Los Baños districts. Western dialect: Chetilla district; Eastern dialect: Porcón and Cajamarca valley areas.

Language Maps
Language Status

5 (Developing). Language of recognized nationality (1993, Constitution, Article 48).

Classification
Quechuan, Peripheral Quechua, Yungay, Northern
Dialects

Eastern Cajamarca, Western Cajamarca. Relatively minor dialect differences. Lexical similarity: 94% with Lambayeque [quf] (most similar), 92% with Pacaraos [qvp].

Typology

SOV

Language Use

Relatively strong use in 8 to 10 communities. Strong pressure from Spanish in all communities due to secondary schools and gold mining in the area. Many deny its existence (2000 D. Coombs). Home. Mainly adults. Negative attitudes. At least 20,000–25,000 speak a country dialect of Spanish [spa].

Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 5%–10%. Literacy rate in L2: 25%–35%. Series of basic primers and graded readers in Quechua. Some Quechua reading classes in a few rural schools. A few Quechua reading and grammar classes in rural high schools. Radio programs. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 2004–2008.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Quechua, Cajamarca
Writing
Latin script.
Other Comments

Christian.