Foreign Languages - University of Kansas

DICTIONARY INTRODUCTION
The Kechwa alphabet I have used here is gathered from various
books from Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. I used the letter k instead
of c. The letter j is used for the h, and for the past habitual tense
and adjentives. The marked letter k’ or q, q’ are used instead of
kh, the letter p’ instead of ph.
Like our Mayan counterparts, I have substituted x for what in
English is typically spelled with sh. For example, many Kechwa
dialects in Ecuador write the Kechwa verb for ‘to come’ as
shamuna. Here I spell the same as xamuna. To use the letter x is
very simple—with one strike—x—you can write the sound sh. It
will save time and with a little time, I think you’ll learn to like it.
Nina Kinti-Moss
(formerly Martina Masaquiza)
Kechwa Instructor
Center for Latin American Studies
University of Kansas
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