The Global Advisor Newsletter - Languages that are written from right to left. Quechua - The largest surviving indigenous language in the Americas

Most of these sprung from the Aramaic script that originated in Syria. Members of this group are: Arabic, Syriac, Avesta, Hebrew, Kök Turki, Manchu, Middle Persian, Mongolian, Sogdian, South Arabic, Uighur generally used by the nomads in West and North Asia.

Arabic

The Arabic Script may be considered the writing of the Muslims, or followers of Islam, since the area where it is read and spoken coincides with the geographical area of Muslim influence. Followers of Islam believe that The Quran, their holy book, contains the actual Word of God revealed through the archangel Gabriel to the prophet of Islam during the twenty three year period of his prophetic mission. The Prophet repeated the revelations to his followers and, under his direction, the order of the verses and chapters of The Quran has been preserved intact. The Quran is usually written and read in Arabic and thus, the language has become the language of Islam, even for non-Arab Muslims.

The Arabic alphabet has twenty-eight letters. It does not distinguish between capitals and small letters, but there are four forms, independent, initial, medial and final, determined by where the letter appears in a word. Vowel signs are not usually written, but when needed they can be supplied. Arabic uses ligatures, which make it difficult to learn and read.

(Reference: Islam, A Global Civilization - Prepared by Islamic Affairs Department, The Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, D.C.)

Headline from the al-nadwat, a newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. Source: Writing Systems of the World, by Akira Nakanishi, published by Charles Tuttle Company, 1994.

Back to Top

Aramaic

Like Latin, Aramaic is not a spoken language today, but it is the tongue of several prayers in the Jewish regular and Passover liturgies, found in prayer books. For example, the five-verse form of the Kaddish, a prayer commonly recited during the Jewish period of mourning, is often written in Aramaic instead of Hebrew.

Hebrew

Hebrew (Canaanite/Semitic-Hamitic) is the official language of Israel. The present day Hebrew alphabet is based on the Square Script, or ktab merubah. Standardized two thousand years ago, this script has been preserved almost intact, thanks to detailed rules of alphabetical order and character shape established in the Talmud. This is why the writing of the ancient scrolls closely resembles the Hebrew alphabet of today.

Currently, the Hebrew alphabet is used not only for the Hebrew language, but also for Yiddish (Germanic/Indo- European language), Ladino (Italic/Indo-European), and others. It consists of 22 letters, five of which have an additional final form used at word endings. Like other Semitic alphabets, all letters are consonants. Vowel sounds are not written and must be mentally supplied by the reader between the consonants when Hebrew script is read. About 500 A.D., the Masoretic points system was developed that represents vowel sounds with small dots. However, these are generally used only in prayer books and elementary schoolbooks. Other books and newspapers are commonly printed without Masoretic points.

Hebrew letters can be used also for numbers, but today Arabic figures are commonly used.

Hebrew script with vowel signs (Reference source: Writing Systems of the World, by Akira Nakanishi, Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1994)

Maldivian

Although the Maldivian Islands are geographically located near India, the Maldivian script belongs to the West Asian group. It is a dialect of Sinhalese (Indic/Indo-European) and originated in the 17th century, strongly influenced by Arabic. Even so, the forms of the Maldivian letters differ greatly from that of the Arabic letters; resembling more the Arabic and Telugu numerals that were used in neighboring countries. Maldivian has short and long vowels. The signs for a, i and u are similar to the Arabic vowel signs. A Maldivian letter is never written without a vowel (or vanishing-vowel) sign, even though each letter is considered to have an inherent a- sound.

(Reference source: Writing Systems of the World, by Akira Nakanishi, Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1994)

Urdu

The official language of Pakistan, Urdu (Indic/Indo-European) is written in the Nastaliq style of Arabic script. The alphabet consists of thirty-six letters, which include the twenty-eight original Arabic letters, four Persian and four additional Urdu letters. There are three short vowels: a, i and u, but these are seldom written or printed. As in other Indian languages, there are aspirate consonants, but Urdu script does not have special letters to represent them, using ligatures instead.

(Reference source: Writing Systems of the World, by Akira Nakanishi, Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1994)

Quechua - The largest surviving indigenous language in the Americas

Often referred to as Runasimi (Mouth of the people), Quechua is the largest surviving indigenous language of the Americas. It is believed to have originated thousands of years ago in southern or central Peru. It became the official language of Tawantinsuyu, the Incan Empire, which consisted of most of what today is Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, the northern half of Chile and north-western Argentina. After the Spanish invasion of 1532, Quechua continued to grow at the expense of other indigenous languages, like Aymara, but it is threatened by Spanish, the only official language in most of these countries.

Today, there are about ten million speakers of Quechua, roughly 50% of the population of the Andean highlands. It has faded in Argentina, Chile and northern Peru and survives only precariously in Ecuador but, except for the city centers, it is still the dominant language throughout Southern Peru, in the famous Callejón de Huaylas, situated in the Peruvian mountainous region, and in parts of Bolivia.

Quechua varies widely from one region to another. Some of its diversity dates back to ancient times, but much of it is due to the influence of other local languages, particularly Spanish. The variety of Quechua that is spoken in Cuzco, former capital of the Incan Empire, is considered the purest and most prestigious. It is understood from Lake Titicaca, located in the border between Bolivia and Peru, to the Department of Ayacucho in Southern Peru. This is the area most often traveled by Andean visitors. Most of the Quechua-peaking residents of the Andes speak both Quechua and Spanish, but about 25% are monolingual.

Quechua was outlawed by the Spanish in 1780, after the great Inca revolt of Tupaq Amaru II and the liberator Simon Bolívar discouraged its use during the time of independence, in the 1820s. During President Juan Velasco (1968-1975), Quechua was made an official language of modern Peru, but this recognition would soon be weakened. Today, it is recognized as an official language only in areas where it is widely spoken, but it is rare to see an official document in any other language than Spanish in the countries mentioned above.

Many believe that Quechua is not a written language, because the Incas did not use writing as we know it, but they had the khipu an elaborate system of knotted cords that they used to convey the information they needed to run a highly efficient administration. During the 16th century both Incas and Spanish learned to write Quechua in the Roman alphabet.

Uchuyoqchu chakrayki?

Uchuy tunpalla hamusaw.

T'ikayoqchu chakrayki?

T'ikay tunpalla hamusaq.

Are there peppers in your field?

I will pretend to come for peppers.

Does your field have flowers?

I shall come as if for flowers.

(Reference source: Quechua Phrasebook, by Ronald Wright, Lonely Planet Publications, Berkeley, California, 1989)