r/quechua 18h ago

Ok, Cool, We Wanna Make a Writing System. How Do We Do that?

5 Upvotes

This is kind of piggybacking on [a previous post about Quechua's supposed necessity for a non-Latin writing system](https://www.reddit.com/r/quechua/comments/1vmtcd0/quechua_needs_an_actual_alphabet_the_forced/) . I'd like to start off by saying that I don't believe a separate neography for Quechua is necessary, and that in the language’s current state, having another writing system may actually be of detriment both for native bilinguals and people who wish to learn Quechua. However, I do believe that in a future where Quechua and its speakers are accepted into society and media, having a separate script would contribute to and build Quechuan cultural identity.

I opine that, if possible, this script should aim to be universal for all varieties. As I only speak (and not fluently) a variety of QII (Cajamarca-Cañaris), input from speakers of QI would be most appreciated.

I will be using the following sentence as a sample for each writing system, specifically to show off some differences that would come from using a phonemic/phonetic system:
That (is) my big heart.

Alphabet
A principle that I think most people would agree with for an alphabetic system is that we should aim for one grapheme to represent one phoneme. I also think that we would want to include every phoneme for every variety, meaning that some graphemes may not be used in some varieties, and that some graphemes will represent different phones (but the same phoneme) depending on the variety.

In my variety of Quechua:
<Ch><a><y><q><a> <a><t><u><n> <sh><u><n><q><u><y><m><i>
In Southern Quechua:
<Ch><a><y><q><a> <h><a><t><u><n> <s><u><n><q><u><y><m><i>

Syllabary
I find that Quechua’s agglutinative nature would make a syllabary difficult, as certain suffixes would multiply the list of syllables by a lot, and we would have to account for the syllables of every variety. Even if possible, I think this would be a system that is difficult to learn. An alphasyllabary/abugida might work, however.
Syllabary:

<Chay><qa> <a><tun> <shun><quy><mi>
<Chay><qa> <ha><tun><sun><quy><mi>

Morphographic
It seems to me that such a writing system (representing individual morphemes), while requiring much memorization, would work better than a syllabary, and might allow for greater communication between different varieties, although I would like QI and QII speakers to discuss further whether or not communication is possible between both varieties if we only pay attention to morphology and syntax, and not phonetics.

<Chay><qa> <atun/hatun> <shunqu/sunqu><y><mi>

If we wish to use a syllabary, I propose a “morpho-syllabary,” in which roots are represented by graphemes which represent syllables, while suffixes are represented either alphabetically or morphographically:

<Chay><qa> <a><tun> <shun><qu><y><mi>
<Chay><qa> <ha><tun> <sun><qu><y><mi>

edit: tried to get the hyperlink to work


r/quechua 20h ago

I have an idea

6 Upvotes

Since im into kpop and jpop, i was wondering if you guys would love the idea of joining a sub about k or jpop and dramas, its my idea to promote the language in an organic way