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Quechua and its role in the expansion of the Inca Empire are often likened to Latin in the Roman Empire. And indeed, over multiple centuries in Andean South America, Quechua has served a lingua franca role, that is, as a "language which is used habitually by people whose mother tongues are different in order to facilitate communication between them" (UNESCO, 1951, p. 689). This article examines ideologies surrounding Quechua's use as a lingua franca and contrasts these ideologies with the historical and ethnographic record across pre-Colombian, colonial, and postcolonial times. We describe ways in which Quechua likely served as a lingua franca, but also argue that Quechua's role and potential as lingua franca have often been misunderstood. We illustrate how these misunderstandings are intertwined with some of the myths and ideologies surrounding the Quechua language in particular and lingua francas more generally.
Much of the research on lingua francas in recent years has focused on the expanding role of English and the linguistic, educational, social and cultural impact of this expansion. Bolton (2004), in his review of English as a lingua franca, delineates several paradigmatic approaches to this research area, including those rooted in the sociology of language, features-based approaches, Kachru's "inner/outer/expanding circles" framework, pidgin and creole studies, lexicography, and critical linguistics. Although each of these is characterized by different aims and methodologies, a shared goal has been to bring to light the political, economic, and social inequities that are often part and parcel of the adoption of English as a lingua franca. Taken together, this work has highlighted the on-the-ground realities often masked by the widespread ideologies that English as a lingua franca (1) entails the use of one stable language or language variety, (2) is particularly well suited for such a role on purely linguistic grounds, and (3) serves as a politically neutral communicative tool which effectively promotes cross-group relationships.
As we shall see in the following discussion, these complexities, inequities, and ideologies are not limited to the case of English. Quechua as lingua franca has been neither one stable, standardized variety nor a politically neutral communicative tool, ideologies to the contrary notwithstanding. Furthermore, with Quechua as with English and other lingua francas, the ways in which local varieties and local speakers of...