Already in pre-Hispanic times the Mapuche (Mapudungu(n)) and Quechua languages were in contact. Due to this, lexical elements were adopted by the general language of Chile. Quechua terms were included in the lexicons that are part of the colonial mapudungu(n) grammars (published in 1606, 1765 and 1777), in the Vocabulario Araucano of 1642-1643, and also in modern dictionaries. Some terms are no longer used, but others are still in force in the language spoken today. Speakers are apparently unaware of their ultimate provenance. The lexicon belongs to various semantic fields (clothing, food, etc.), and has given rise to derived forms. Some terms have also been incorporated into the Spanish spoken in Chile.
Keywords:
Languages in contact, Quechua lexicon in Mapuche, indigenous culture
Author Biography
Gilberto Sánchez C., Universidad de Chile
Departamento de Lingüística, Universidad de Chile.
Sánchez C., G. (2020). Quechua borrowings in Old and Modern Mapuche (Mapudungu(n)). Boletín De Filología, 55(1), pp. 355–377. Retrieved from https://pedagogiaderecho.uchile.cl/index.php/BDF/article/view/57740
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