This original goal of this project had to do with uncovering the morphophonological rules in Aymaran which permit the different kinds of vowel-suppression rules which can create, in some cases, series of up to six consecutive consonants. The idea was that this effort would shed light on the proto-Aymara language (or proto-Jaqi in Hardman’s parlance) and help define those subsequent changes that characterizes Aymara’s sisters: Jaqaru and Kawki alongside the myriad Aymara varieties.
However, as is often the case during the course of fieldwork, after the first visit to the Moqueguan Andes, the direction of the research had to be modified as I began to notice that although I was looking for a narrow strata of data, the linguistic material I was collecting was different than what I had expected to find.
A few short years later, this project has expanded into the creation of a grammatical sketch of the local varieties and, thanks to the support from the Cucu NGO, the eventual puplication of a book of regional folktales written in this unique variety of Aymara — and illustrated with local talent. Both of these books are slated to be pulished later this year (2010). I will also try to get a beta version of an Aymara wiki up and running, it is under development at present.
It is my hope that this endeavor will strengthen the prestige of this endangered variety of Aymara and play a role, however modest, in the eventual revitalization of the language.
This work would not have been possible with the kind and generous support of Maria Flores, a kindly woman who hosted me, and her son, the chief consultant on the project, Edwin Banegas Flores. I am deeply grateful to Edwin for his intelligent linguistic insight and cultural guidance.
This project is facilitated with the generous support of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and is done under the supervision of Leo Wetzels (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Willem Adelaar (Leiden University), and Frans Hinskens (Meertens Instituut).
