Genesis of Acolla's Andean Spanish

Abstract

When the Spanish conqueror arrived in Peru (1532), the Incas had Quechua as their official language. In the viceroyalty times, the Spanish language was imposed as the medium of communication; nevertheless, the peninsular language was not prevented from suffering linguistic changes in its system, due to the natural process every language undergoes when it is in contact with another, a fact, which in turn, was furthermore fostered by historical, geographical and sociocultural factors. All these have played an important role in the emergence of a dialectal variety known as Andean Spanish. In this paper, the main aim is to develop a review of the most relevant historical, geographical and sociological aspects with respect to Quechua. Afterwards, within the same theoretical framework, we will focus on the Peruvian Andean Spanish. Finally, following the same approach, we will provide some information on an Andean variety developed in a district located in the province of Jauja (Junin), which, for this study, will be designated by the name of the place: Acolla”™s Andean Spanish.