Note 1195 — Chapter IV

The Quichua language was spoken over a vast area of the Andean region of South America. The dialects only differ slightly, and even the language of the Collas, called by the Spaniards Aymara, is identical as regards the grammatical structure, while a clear majority of the words are the same. The general language of Peru belongs to that American group of languages which has been called agglutinative by William von Humboldt. These languages form new words by a process of junction which is much more developed in them than in any of the forms of speech in the Old World. They also have exclusive and inclusive plurals, and transitional forms of the verb combined with pronominal suffixes which are peculiar to them. In these respects the Quichua is purely an American language, and in spite of the resemblances in the sounds of some words, which have been diligently collected by Lopez (Les Races Aryennes du Pérou, par Vicente F. Lopez, Paris, 1871) and Ellis (Peruvia Scythica, by Robert Ellis, B. D., London, 1875), no connection, either as regards grammar or vocabulary, has been satisfactorily established between the speech of the Incas and any language of the Old World. Quichua is a noble language, with a most extensive vocabulary, rich in forms of the plural number, which argue a very clear conception of the idea of plurality; rich in verbal conjugations; rich in the power of forming compound nouns; rich in varied expression to denote abstract ideas; rich in words for relationships which are wanting in the Old World idioms; and rich, above all, in synonyms: so that it was an efficient vehicle wherewith to clothe the thoughts and ideas of a people advanced in civilization.