Language Contact and Linguistic Shift in Central-Southern Andes: Puquina, Aimara and Quechua

Abstract

In this paper an attempt will be made to offer a partial history of the three major languages of ancient Peru: Puquina, Aimara and Quechua, postulating their initial settlement from which they started spreading, until their encounter in the Central-Southern Andes during the Late Intermediate Period. It is proposed that the Incas passed through two stages of language substitution: the first from Puquina to Aimara and then from Aimara to Quechua. Linguistic, historical and archaeological evidence will be advanced to support the hypothesis.