Linguistic Stratigraphy : Recovering Traces of Lost Languages in the Central Andes

This book examines the historical linguistic panorama of Western South America, focusing on the minor languages that were partially or fully replaced by the expansion of the Quechuan family through the region. The author presents a coherent and generally applicable framework for studying prehistoric language shift processes and reconstructing earlier linguistic landscapes before significant language spreads ousted former patterns of linguistic diversity. This framework combines toponymic evidence with the analysis of substrate contact effects, and, in some cases, extralinguistic evidence, to create an integrated if incomplete of extinct and undocumented languages. In an authoritative exploration of case studies, concerning Aymara in parts of Southern Peru, Cañar in Ecuador, and Chacha in Northern Peru, the book shows how the identities of lost languages and earlier linguistic panoramas can be reconstructed. Acknowledgments Contents About the Author 1 Linguistic Stratigraphy, Or How to Recover Traces of Lost Languages References 2 The Central Andean Linguistic Landscape Through Time and the Quechuan Language Family 2.1 The Ever-Changing Cultural and Linguistic Landscapes of the Central Andes 2.2 Quechuan Today 2.3 The Classification of Quechuan 2.4 The Quechuan Expansion 2.5 The Non-Quechuan Linguistic Diversity References 3 Evidence and Methods for Investigating Substratal Languages 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Toponyms and Anthroponyms 3.3 Substrate Influence 3.4 Substrate Vocabulary 3.5 Extralinguistic Evidence 3.6 Summary References 4 The Aymara Presence in Southern Peru 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Toponymy 4.3 Substrate Effects 4.4 Substrate Vocabulary 4.5 Perspectives from Outside Linguistics 4.6 Summary References 5 The Barbacoan Languages and the Southern Ecuadorian Highlands 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Toponymy 5.2.1 Characteristic Toponymy of Cañar and Azuay 5.2.2 Continuous Northward Extensions of Cañar and Azuay Toponymic Endings 5.2.3 Noncontinuous Northward Extensions of Cañar and Azuay Toponymic Endings to the Ecuadorian-Colombian Border 5.2.4 Northward Extensions of Phonological Characteristics of Cañar and Azuay Toponyms 5.2.5 Evaluation of the Toponymic Evidence 5.3 Substrate Effects 5.4 Substrate Vocabulary 5.5 Summary References 6 Chachapoyas 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Toponymy 6.3 Substrate Effects 6.4 Substrate Vocabulary 6.5 Perspectives from Outside Linguistics 6.6 Summary References 7 Synopsis and Conclusion References Index