Inga Rimagapa Samuichi: Speaking the Quechua of Colombia
By John Holmes McDowell, Francisco Tandioy Jansasoy, Juan Eduardo Wolf
From the preface to the book:
We present here the world’s first comprehensive language instruction method for the Inga language, the northernmost branch of the great tree of Quechua varieties. We have raised this language instruction method on the foundations of Una Gramática Pedagógica del “Inga” (An Instructional Grammar of Inga), by Stephen Levinsohn and Francisco Tandioy, itself an adaptation of a prototype created by Ellen Ross for Ecuadorian Quichua and translated into Spanish by Raul Mongui. The present text bears little resemblance to its predecessors, as the co-authors of this volume have worked closely with several Inga students at Indiana University to provide a pathway into the Inga language via the route of Inga cultural expressions and institutions.
Herewith our sincere thanks to those who have assisted in the fashioning of this product, for the most part, students of Francisco Tandioy at Indiana University: Mariella Arredondo, Eric Carbajal, Valerie Cross, Linda D’Amico, Robert Dover, Bryan Rupert, Megan Solon, Tara Sullivan-Boivin, Caroline “Olivia” Wolf, and Tara Zahler. For their many contributions to the cause, we are most grateful to them. We hope that the product of all our labors will enable new generations of learners to gain competence in the Inga language while delving into the rich fabric of Inga culture.
Francisco in particular wishes to thank: the elders, the ex¬-governors, the Inga native doctors, all members of the Inga community, the Committee for Bilingual Education of Musu Runakuna, and the Hermanas Lauras of San Andrés.
In closing, we want to recognize those who have contributed the excellent images included in this text – Edgar Jacanamijoy, fine artist that he is, is the author of all the drawings; and the photos come from the collection of Francisco Tandioy, primarily, with a few from the collections of John McDowell and Patricia Glushko.
From the introduction to the book:
This textbook is an attempt at contributing to the creation of language learning materials for the variety of Quechua known as Inga. Dictionaries and pedagogical grammars for Inga do exist, but this text provides practical language instruction within its cultural milieu. While no method can replace an actual visit to the Sibundoy Valley, we hope that the book provides a solid introduction to Inga language and culture.
Lessons contain a combination of the following learning features:
• Bullet Points: Each lesson begins with a listing of the grammatical and cultural points featured in that lesson.
• Rimaj (Words): We provide a vocabulary list together with definitions for each lesson. We often divide the list by lexical categories such as nouns and verbs or by function within the language.
• Rimasunchi (Let’s Talk): Here you will find a dialog that makes use of the vocabulary words. Try to read it aloud and understand it based on what you know. Following each dialog, we provide a fairly literal translation into English.
• Grammar points with examples: Each lesson contains grammar points to help you understand the structure of the language. While we explain these points to you, we do not want you to have to learn all the formal linguistic terms for the points under discussion (though we sometimes introduce these terms, usually in parentheses). What we want is for you to have a working knowledge of the Inga language.
• Ainii (Answer): in these exercises, we ask you to use your growing knowledge of Inga to respond creatively to questions featuring the language elements presented in the chapter.
• Maukaiachii (Let’s use it): We follow many of the grammar points with exercises for you to apply what you have just learned. Be sure to attempt them at home as well as in class. We have used mostly construction exercises, i.e., exercises in which you must build a sentence in Inga based on its English version. Do not rush to answer, but reason these exercises out based on what you have just learned. Understanding the logic of the answer is fundamental to your understanding and speaking Inga.
• Tantiaiachii (Let’s give it a try): These are playful exercises intended to give you the chance to have fun as you practice new tricks with Inga.
• Risaikuna (Cultural Readings): In conjunction with the vocabulary and dialog, we provide paragraphs that address the cultural theme of the lesson. Initially these readings are in English. Later, these readings employ code-switching, replacing some English words with Inga words that you know. As you progress, the readings themselves will appear in ¬Inga. We hope these readings give you a better understanding of what life is like in the northern Andes.
Additional features that the book contains:
• Review Lessons: After every six lessons, the text provides a review lesson. You will see new exercises and readings designed to reinforce what you have already learned.
• Glossary: All of the vocabulary used in the lessons is gathered in a glossary at the back of the book. Each entry will include the definition and indicate the lesson in which the term was introduced. As appropriate, more information, such as lexical categories or origin from the Spanish, is also included.
• Classification, Summary of Meaning, and Order of Endings (Suffixes): Since all Quechua languages depend upon endings (suffixes) to accomplish much of the grammatical work, the number of endings and the order in which they are added can be confusing. Quechua is an “agglutinative language,” which means that words are constructed from a root combined with a number of suffixes. In order to help you keep these clear and avoid confusion we have included a summary of Inga endings (suffixes) together with a chart showing their customary order.
• Appendix of Spelling and Variations in Other Varieties of Quechua:
While we concentrate on Inga throughout the book, we believe Inga provides a good basis for learning other varieties of Quechua. In this appendix, we offer alternate spellings as well as some the distinguishing markers that you may see in other major Quechua varieties.
We have designed this text to stand on its own in terms of explanations, but the
pronunciation, verbal interaction, and native intuition of an indigenous speaker is something we cannot provide. The student will benefit from contact with a native speaker of Inga, or better yet, from a journey to the Sibundoy Valley of Colombia!