Is Quechua an official language in Peru?
Yes, on paper: Peru's 1993 Constitution makes Quechua official, with Aymara, where it predominates, but in practice a speaker can rarely do official business in it. Public TV has had daily news in Quechua since 2016; in 2021 a prime minister spoke to Congress in Quechua and was asked to translate.
The law and the practice
| What the law says | What happens | |
|---|---|---|
| Official status | The 1993 Constitution makes Quechua official in the areas where it predominates, together with Aymara | A Quechua-speaking citizen can rarely do official business in their language; interpreters exist by law and are scarce in fact |
| Schools | Intercultural bilingual education has existed for years | Trained teachers and materials in each variety are lacking; standardising a written form means choosing, and choosing leaves somebody out |
| Public life | Daily news in Quechua on public television since 2016; in machine translators since 2022 | In 2021 a prime minister addressed Congress in Quechua and was asked to translate |
- Peru's 1993 Constitution declares Quechua official, with Aymara, in the areas where it predominates; in practice a Quechua speaker can rarely carry out official business in it.
- Since 2016 there have been daily news programmes in Quechua on Peruvian public television, and since 2022 the language is in machine translators.
- In 2021 a prime minister addressed Congress in Quechua and was asked to translate; the episode annoyed some and moved others.
- Quechua is not one language but a family of some eight million speakers, with varieties that are not always mutually intelligible; it was spreading before the Incas, who used it as an administrative language.
El quechua no es una lengua muerta ni una sola lengua: es una familia con unos ocho millones de hablantes.Quechua is neither a dead language nor a single language: it is a family with some eight million speakers.
En 2021, un primer ministro se dirigió al Congreso en quechua, y se le pidió que tradujera.In 2021, a prime minister addressed Congress in Quechua, and he was asked to translate.
Cantantes jóvenes graban en quechua rock y trap, y sus vídeos los ven millones de personas que no lo hablan.Young singers record rock and trap in Quechua, and their videos are watched by millions who do not speak it.