How the Kichwa Language Has Survived Research Paper

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Abstract

The Kichwa (often spelt as “Quichua”) language was first spoken by the Native Americans of the South, but it has since spread far and wide. It originated as a result of a mixture of different languages of the local population after foreign intervention into the indigenous culture. Kichwa is most widely used in Ecuador and Andes Highlands. It was estimated that by the year 2007 a total of 10 million people were speaking the Kichwa language (Kathya & Maria, 2007).

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This language has resisted all forces to diminish it and fade away. Unlike most local languages that get corrupted once there is an intervention by other foreign languages that come as a result of civilization, Kichwa has kept it original. Thanks to its indigenous speakers that value to preserve their culture, especially their language. Apart from Ecuador and Andes, other countries that now speak the language include: – Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Mexico, Argentina and Chile. This makes it the most widely spoken language of all the American Indian languages. This research will try to highlight some of the factors that have made the Kichwa language to spread and flourish to this extent.

How the Kichwa language has Survived

We have determined that the Kichwa language is not an original language but came as a result of a mixture of several other languages. But once it was made to be, the people decided to keep it. The three ethnic groups in Ecuador, that is, the Mestizos, Amerindian natives and Afro-Ecuadorians) vowed to keep their culture, religion and custom against all odds. This is what has seen the Kichwa language overcome so many barriers up to date. This is evident in the way it has gone against all odds to spread than otherwise be diluted. These native ethnic groups resisted any move by the foreigners to erode their “pure” culture at the wake of industrialization period. In addition to the language, they also kept their ground on clothing which stands out as very unique. Their clothing too has been used to identify them.

To help in the fight to keep their culture un-tainted, several groups have emerged and are advocating so hard on the people to retain their language. One such group is the “Condor Huasi” which means House of Condor. They are out to help retain the originality of their culture and ensure that history remains the same. The Condor Huasi is a group of women that see themselves as wholly responsible for the continuity of the cultural practices in the current generation as well as that of the future. These women view themselves as “The basis of life, Strategists, Motivators and the sole transmitters of cultural identity”. Women are the initial persons that get in touch with the young, who are the symbol of continuity of any cultural practice. And it is the same women that try to teach them (the children) the importance of their language and culture in general. With this fact and with all the women holding onto this, we are not about to see Kichwa language fade in the near future (Handelsman, 2000).

Though the Kichwa speakers are very much willing to embrace economic development, it will never be at the expense of their culture. They have always tried to retain their identity and sense of cultural autonomy. Many prominent figures are involved in active campaign to see the native Kichwa language continue to spar and its original dialects kept. These include academicians like Prof. Kathya Aruajo and Prof. Luz Maria De la Torre, who are involved in numerous indigenous movements to drum the support for the language in Ecuador and Andes. The two scholars together with others have helped establish the bilingual education in the education sector as well as aiding several translations to help the Kichwa speakers access as much information as possible-they therefore can never be sidelined due to lack of information.

Just to make sure that the spread is effective, the advocates who include politicians, lawmakers and scholars have pushed and made some advancements that are really a plus to the spread of the Kichwa language. For instance, the Kichwa language was made “an official language of intercultural relation” in Ecuador, while in Peru and Bolivia, Kichwa was made the national language other than Spanish and Aymara. This was a major stepping stone in an attempt to retain a local language. Such steps are witnessed in very few countries (Rafael & Sweetser, 30).

In countries with a good percentage of Kichwa speakers, the language has been made compulsory at the lower levels of education. Several lesson books for beginners as well as tutorials are now available in the Kichwa translation. Proposals to make language teachers in Ecuador be of native Kichwa speakers is in place to ensure that they bring out the language to the students in its originality, thus maintaining the indigenous culture. The universities in Guayaquil and Quito in Ecuador offer Kichwa lessons, a thing which is very rare in the modern world. Most native languages are shunned to give way to a lot more desired foreign languages. But Kichwa has weathered this storm. The perception that local languages have to be dropped especially at higher level of learning institutions as civilization progresses is out of question in Ecuador and Andes.

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Apart from dispelling the notion that a local language should be sacrificed in favor of a foreign one, the Kichwa language graduates have moved to many other countries and taught the language to those interested in knowing it. This has seen the spread accelerated than in the earlier times. It is an open secret to say that technology is the main driver of development. Improved technology comes in handy with globalization, which of course will make it a little easier to share and acquire information. In an attempt to help spread Kichwa language, computers and the internet have been integrated to help in the fight. Those people that wish to learn the language can do so in online classes-the complete syllabus is available and can be downloaded and distributed to schools (Rafael & Sweetser, 1-49).

With this advancement of technology, students are able to make their own recordings on their culture of their own communities, they can upload any information on the Kichwa language and share it with their friends. Those students who opt to take private lessons can now do so at the comfort of their homes, making learning more enjoyable. Being able to take online classes has seen the number of those pursuing to learn Kichwa language rise [No local language has ever been like this].

The reason why most local/indigenous languages just fade away is because they do not have any written alphabet. That is a common feature in most, if not all native languages. Or if at all they happen to have had alphabets, then the records get lost with every succeeding generation. Even though the Kichwa language did not have any alphabet, it did not fade away, thanks to the Incas (the first Kichwa Native Speakers) who kept a good track record of numerical data from generation to generation, before finally developing them into clear and well understood alphabetical equivalents (Tylor, 1929).

Apart from the main advocates of the spread of the Kichwa language, we also find out that the Catholic Church Missionaries played some role in making the language flourish. As the Missionaries spread the gospel in Ecuador and Andes, they wanted a way to convince the locals to embrace Christianity. But since the people were conservatives the only way to see the success of the gospel was to alter the teachings to be in Kichwa language. In subsequent years even after the missionaries had departed, the Kichwa faithful continued worshiping in their local language. This has led to further spread of the language among the Christian community worldwide.

Reported lately to add on the attempt to help spread the language is a project of international volunteers meant to teach the locals on the preservation of their natural environment, education as well as culture. The practice, though not a common one in the modern world, has received great support from the relevant governments.

Conclusion

From the facts laid above in this essay, we can therefore conclude that Kichwa language is one local language that we are not just about to hear the last of. Instead of taking the path as all the other local languages which fade away, it is spreading and its use is going far beyond its original borders. Kichwa is breaking boundaries, and at some points even being made a national language of some countries-a fact that is only common with international languages of major developed countries.

The reasons due to the spread of the Kichwa language are numerous, ranging from the locals initiatives to international volunteer projects as well as unrelenting efforts made by its advocates from all spheres of life.

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References

Handelsman, Michael: “Culture and Customs of Ecuador”. Greenwood Press, 2000. Web.

Kathya Araujo & Luz María de la Torre Amaguaña: “Context of Culture- Latin America Series”: Latin America; 2007.

Rafael. & Sweetser, E. “With the Future behind Them: Convergent Evidence from Aymara Language and Gesture: The Cross-linguistic Comparison of Spatial Construals of Time. Cognitive Science, 30(3), 1-49.

Tylor, E.B.: “The Primitive Culture”: (London: John Murray 1929).

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IvyPanda. 2021. "How the Kichwa Language Has Survived." October 9, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-the-kichwa-language-has-survived/.

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