LANGUAGES of the INCAS: from pre-Inca to Quechua

The incas they were one of the peoples with greater influence in the American zone before the arrival of the European colonizers, having an enormous influence in the zone of Peru and being key to the history of America. To talk about one of the greatest contributions that the Incas brought to the American world, in this lesson from a teacher we must talk about what they are. the languages ​​of the Incas.

The Inca empire or Inca was the greatest empire of all America before the arrival of the European colonizers, occupying part of the majority of nations South American that we know today but having special importance in the Peruvian zone and in the Andes. Among his main occupations we can name part of the Amazon Rainforest or Lake Titicaca.

The origin of the Inca people can be traced since the thirteenth century, being when it began to have a great expansion in the South American zone and we can understand it as a true empire. As for its end as other pre-Columbian peoples took place with the

arrival of europeans and the so-called colonization, being the Spanish Pizarro who for years fought to end the great Inca Empire.

Characteristics of the Inca civilization

To better understand what the Inca Empire was and its great importance in this section we must list some of the main characteristics of the Incas, in order to understand their importance. The main elements of this enormous civilization are the following:

• The empire was divided into four zones and each one of them was directed by a different governor.
• They were used to conquest reason why they had different methods to control to the populations once conquered.
• The subjects existed, which were tied to the monarchs through the obligation to pay through work.
• The economy was not subsistenceInstead, the aim was to have a large production that could be saved and given in times of food crisis.
• Roads were created throughout the region to improve communication between all points of the empire.
• High officials were always noble, existing a great social differentiation between the different strata of the population.
• Its economy was mainly agricultural, although it was evolving towards a commercial society.
• They were polytheists, so they believed in the existence of numerous gods.
• Their language was divided into languages Quechua and the pre-Inca.

If we speak of the main Inca language we have to mention Quechua. The Quechua languages ​​were aggroup of languages that they spoke in until 7 countries located in the area of ​​the Peruvian Andes in the area of ​​South America.

One of the most relevant elements of the Quechua languages ​​is that they are one of the pre-Columbian languages ​​with greater presence today, forming around 8 million speakers throughout the American zone.

We must understand that not all Quechua languages ​​were spoken by the Incas, some of those belonging to this family being in other towns close to the Incas. The main Quechua languages ​​of the Incas were the following:

• Pacaraos: Variety of Quechua that was spoken in the Pacaraos area.
• Centrals: Set of Quechua varieties characteristic of the Peruvian zone.
• Incahuasi-Cañaris: Variety of the original Quechua from northwestern Peru.
• Cajamarca: Quechua variety characteristic of the Cajamarca area.
• Laraos: Variety of Quechua from the Laraos district.
• Lynch-Madeán-Viñac: A kind of Quechua characteristic of Linda.
• Kichwa: The second variety of Quechua with the highest number of speakers, being present in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
• Chachapoyas: Variety of Quechua spoken in southern Peru.
• The most: Type of Quechua used in the Lamas area.
• Ayacucho: Variety of Quechua spoken in areas of Peru.
• Cuzco-Collao: Set of Quechua languages ​​spoken in Peru, Colombia and Argentina.

To finish this lesson from a Professor on the languages ​​of the Incas we must talk about the pre-Inca languages, being all those that existed in the Inca area before expansion of the Quechua language throughout the area, and therefore being the original ones of the Inca culture. The main pre-Inca languages ​​are the following:

• Cañar-puruhá: A set of Inca languages ​​that are currently extinct, being a group made up of languages ​​such as Cañar or Puruhá.
• BBQ languages: A linguistic family typical of Ecuador and Colombia, being one of the examples of pre-Inca languages ​​that have remained until today.
• Pre-Inca languages ​​of the Marañón basin: A series of languages ​​spoken in Peru and Ecuador for which we currently do not have many sources. These extinct languages ​​are thought to have been joined to the Inca Empire by its third to last governor.
• Pre-Inca languages ​​of the coast of Peru and the Peruvian Andes: A series of extinct languages ​​located on the Peruvian coast and in the Peruvian Andes that are thought to have several similarities.
• Pre-Inca languages ​​of Antisuyu and Cuntinsuyu: Languages ​​of important areas of the Inca Empire that currently still have numerous speakers throughout South America.