UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 8, Page 6
October 24, 1991
Conference to examine Andean languages

     One of the problems of the Andean nations is integrating
native South American populations, who do not speak the national
language but native languages or a variation of Spanish, into the
mainstream of society in their countries. One of the most common of
these native languages is Quechua, once spoken by the Incas, and
still spoken by 8 million Andean people today.
     The University of Delaware will host an International
Conference on Language, Language Policy and Education in the Andes
from Oct. 28-30, at the Center for Composite Materials. One of the
items on the agenda is to discuss how Quechua can be adapted for
use in the modern world.
     With approximately 50 linguists attending from Bolivia, Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, Great Britain, Finland, the Netherlands
and the United States, the conference was organized by Peter Cole,
chairperson of linguistics, and Gabriella Hermon, assistant
professor of educational studies. Both Cole and Hermon, who are
married, have carried out research in Peru and Ecuador. According
to Cole, in addition to presentations of academic research
involving the structure, the sound systems and social context of
the Andean languages, the issues being discussed at the conference
are social, with educational and political ramifications.
     Quechua is basically a spoken language with many different
dialects so that the language spoken in one region is frequently
not comprehensible to inhabitants of another area, Cole pointed
out.
     Frequently, the people who live in remote areas of the Andes
are exploited by terrorist groups, many linked to drug dealers,
Cole said. By developing a written language, and educating people
to use it, some scholars say that this will help Quechua speakers
to function more successfully in modern society and help them
escape from poverty and from unscrupulous pressures from outsiders.
     One of the topics under consideration at the conference will
be how Quechua can be adapted for use as a written language. Among
the questions that will be discussed is whether Quechua should
become a single language or whether it should take a number of
different written forms, reflecting different dialects and
locations. Other questions involve the type of alphabet and
spelling systems appropriate for Quechua speakers.
     According to Cole, this conference is an important one,
involving a large population, and it brings together experts in the
field to try to help solve some of the educational and social
problems facing these native South Americans of the Andes.
     The conference, which will open with an address by R. Byron
Pipes, University provost and vice president for academic affairs,
at 9 a.m. on Oct. 28, is sponsored by the departments of
Linguistics and Educational Studies, with funding by the Latin
American Studies Program of the College of Arts and Science and by
International Programs and Special Sessions.
     For information, call 451-6806.
                                        - Sue Swyers Moncure