How are you learning Quechua!? | Ask Benny | Forum
Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
Related Topics
23:15
July 5, 2011
Offline
Hello Benny!
Coincidentally enough, when you started learning Quechua I was like, Why! That's so useless, but now funnily enough I am going to be living with a host family in a rural village outside of Cuzco for 8 weeks, so basically I am aware of the fact that there is going to be Quechua spoken in the village, which at first disappointed me, then I realized they're all bilingual… aside from the Elders. Which makes me think that I should definitely learn enough Quechua before I go, I just have to make sure that it's the Cuzco dialect!
Which brings me to the next question, What resources are you using? I want to have a base before I get there, that way I will have some hope of being able to maybe communicate effectively in Quechua before I leave.
I also can't find any native speakers here, I'm in Ohio!
So what resources do you recommend? And is this even feasible to be able to get to a somewhat A2 level before I arrive?
Thanks,
Danny
02:34
moderator
June 1, 2009
Offline
Lucky for you most books focus on the Cuzco dialect – the Lonely Planet phrasebook being one of them. Buy that right now 
Otherwise, I've got a lovely video entirely in Quechua coming up soon on the blog (tomorrow if I can get the captions finished this evening), and in another post later I'll summarise my experience learning the language and let any Peruvians laugh at my ridiculous accent speaking a few phrases of Quechua.
Not sure if you can reach A2 before you arrive, as Quechua is a special case. It turns out there are way less natives than I was expecting to find, even in Cuzco city itself, although you obviously won't have that problem!!
Learn the phrasebook and you'll be on the right path! That will give you an excellent head start, and people will be very helpful when you try to speak it Hope my summary post helps a wee bit more!
Learning: 
03:54
July 5, 2011
Offline
Thanks a lot, actually that was the only peace of material I could find! Does the book come with audio?
Because I've been listening to videos of Quechua spoken on Youtube and I find that it sounds crazy… like nothing I have ever heard before haha
How much have you actually learned!? I know you prefer to not use the term, "Difficult Language" but would you say Quechua is very "Challenging"?
And I am looking forward to the video!
20:50
July 9, 2011
Offline
Hey Benny,
I just read in a fact book that Quechua has over 1000 words for potato. I find it hard to believe but was wondering if you came across something like that in your study of it. Or… ran across something similar in another language.
Thanks!
03:33
moderator
June 1, 2009
Offline
@Irish.Canuck The potato "fact" sounds like a very poor interpretation of the actual fact that potatoes come FROM Peru, and there are actually thousands of different varieties of them. And only handful were brought back to Europe. These are completely different to one another, but still technically from the potato family. If you saw them you'd give them different words too.
It would be like saying modern societies have hundreds of words for "shoe" when in fact these are subsets (trainers, Doc Martins, etc.)
@Drp9341 You are right – I do not prefer to use the term "difficult" and I never would. Despite obvious differences, I found the language very logical, and much more phonetic than French or English.
The challenge was not grammatical or vocabulary or different phoneme based, but because there were less natives in Cuzco than I expected and the opportunities to really use the language lied in going to places like Chinchero where I shot the video. But that problem would have been the same for me in level of difficulty if learning an Indo European language with lack of speakers to be honest.
Hope you enjoyed the video! As you can see, I framed the language as logical in my eyes.
Learning:
09:39
November 30, 2012
Offline
Most Users Ever Online: 522
Currently Online: russophile1231, Sleepless619, Mimii
21 Guest(s)
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
Kevinpost: 498
Randybvain: 450
this_just_in: 328
Alasdair: 304
sipes23: 260
NKellyEmerald: 231
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 7
Members: 19257
Moderators: 2
Admins: 1
Forum Stats:
Groups: 5
Forums: 16
Topics: 2660
Posts: 15226
Newest Members: Vuittonljjl, rufydvsq, Mimii, Adam78, plet1cherubs, farmasistXXX
Moderators: Lingo (268), anno (205)
Administrators: Benny (459)
Comments on this entry are closed.