Learning the Language 235words when they are perceived to be more expressive, and
especially when their tone conveys a sense of humour not
found in the original of Spanish. A number of Spanish words,
such as alpaca, choclo (corn on the cob), llama and mate (herb
tea) come from Quechua.
Communication between Spanish speaking Bolivians and
Quechua or Aymara speakers is sometimes hampered by the
distinct world views of their languages. For example, you can’t
‘look forward’ to something in Aymara because this culture
sees the past as in front and the future as behind. It’s natural
when you consider this logic because we can see the past but
we cannot see the future. Thus, the Aymara word qaruru is a
combination of qaru (right behind) and uru (today).
The Aymara concept of ayni is vital to understand for
education and business. Roughly, ayni is a system of
community, collaboration, support and relationships: a
collective consciousness.
The following is a list of some key words from Quechua
(Que) and Aymara (Aym) that spice up Bolivian Spanish.
Bold print indicates those words that are an integral part of
everyday language. Both Aymara and Quechua only have
three vowels, the a, e and i. Vocabulary may be more limited
than some other languages but a richness of metaphors more
than compensates.
Achachi (Aym) Old
Api (Que) Hot corn cereal
Asna (Que) Stinking
Camisaqui (Aym) How are you?
Ccuchu (Aym, Que) CornerCha’lla (Aym)Housewarming in which
pisco alcohol is sprinkled
on the fl oor to feed the
Pachamama
Chaqui (Que) Hangover
Charque (Aym, Que) Dried meat
Chenco (Que) A mix-up