Observations on the sociolinguistic situation of Huaraz (Ancash, Peru)

Abstract

In recent decades the city of Huaraz has experienced great socio-cultural changes. The presence of mining companies and the tourism have turned it into a commercial city. Many farmers have moved into the city with the aim of looking for work and provide a better education for their children. These internal migrations and the interaction with external actors that have entered into the region have given birth to very complex socio-linguistic realities. A continuum of scenarios among the few monolingual Quechua speakers and the frequent monolingual Spanish speakers, passing through different degrees of lingualism (Aikhenvald 2007: 36), characterizes the city of Huaraz and its province. The present article provides a look at these different socio-linguistic scenarios taking into account the criteria of geographical location, language prestige of Quechua and Spanish as well as pedagogical and gender issues and generational changes. The data of this article are mainly based on my own observations and recordings between 2011 and 2014.