Jaargang 4, nummer 4 (juli 2004)

In de toonkast

The Languages of the Andes

Willem Adelaar
with the collaboration of Pieter C. Muysken

Cambridge University Press (2004)
Cambridge language surveys
xxv + 718 pages, 102 tables, 13 maps
ISBN  0 521 36275 X hardback

The Andean and Pacific regions of South America are home to a remarkable variety of languages and language families, with a range of typological differences. This linguistic diversity results from a complex historical background, comprising periods of greater communication between different peoples and languages, and periods of fragmentation and individual development. The Languages of the Andes is the first book in English to document in a single volume the indigenous languages spoken and formerly spoken in this linguistically rich region, as well as in adjacent areas. Grouping the languages into different cultural spheres, it describes their characteristics in terms of language typology, language contact and the social perspectives of present-day languages. The book provides both historical and contemporary information, illustrating the languages with detailed grammatical sketches.

The Languages of the Andes is divided into seven chapters: Chapter 1, the introduction, contains an overview of earlier efforts to classify the Andean languages on a genetic basis. Chapter 2 deals with the languages of Colombia, western Venezuela and northwestern Ecuador (e.g. Guajiro, Muysca, Páez); chapter 3 (the Inca sphere) with the languages of the coast and highlands of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile and northwestern Argentina (e.g. Aymara, Chipaya, Mochica, Quechua); chapter 4 with the languages spoken in the tropical eastern lowlands of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia (e.g. Chiquitano, Shuar), and in the Argentinian and Paraguayan Gran Chaco (e.g. Toba); chapter 5 with the languages of central Chile and central-western Argentina (Araucanian); and chapter 6 with the languages of the southern tip of South America (e.g. Tehuelche, Yahgan). The influence of native Andean languages in Andean Spanish (and vice-versa) is discussed in chapter 7. The book contains an inventory of languages and language families, a list of references (56 pages) and three indices.