Lonely Planet Quechua Phrasebook

by Ronald Wright

Legs aching and feeling ravenous from the trek, you wonder if you'll be pitching your karpa from one more night. Suddenly the truck stops and it's clear that "lawa" and "kuka mati" are on the cards.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0864420390
• ISBN13: 9780864420398
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Length: 93 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 3.6" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

more than just a phrase book

People who want to learn the language of the Incas don't have an extensive menu to choose from- at least not in English. So I got this little book and was truly impressed by it. Lonely Planet Phrasebooks (I have several others and this review actually pretty much says it all for all of their offerings, at least the ones I've seen) are prepared by professional linguists and actually give good introductions to the grammar of their languages and have a lot to offer about the culture of native speakers, so those who are interested can actually get a surprisingly good handle on how the language really works. And of course it's nice to learn useful tourist phrases as well. My only criticism is that some background on how Quechua varies in different parts of the Andes would be welcome (since it is spoken over a very wide area) but limitations of space are obviously the issue here. So pack a copy when you head off to the Andes- the price is right and it weighs hardly anything at all. As a value for the money it's hard to beat- just be sure to get this edition and not the previous edition (which was by a different author)-Version 2 is far superior.

Good introduction

I admit, I have never been anywhere where Quechua is spoken. I purchased this booklet because I am interested in exotic languages and Lonely Planet provides a good introduction to a tongue which is very different from English, or for that matter, any Indo-European language. This guide does a good job covering the extremely complex Quchua grammer, as well as, the decidedly foreign pronunciation. As far as I can tell, the Quechua phrases given would probably be usefull for the traveller arriving in areas where Quechua is the lingua franca.

One of the only Quechua books out there........

This book is an absolute must-have if going to the highlands of Peru where Spanish is not the primary language, but Quechua is. Quechua was the language of the Incas and is still spoken by approximately 10 million people in the mountains of South America, many of them in Peru. Quechua has only three vowels: a, i, and u. Additionally, the languages' large number of suffixes changes the actual meaning and implication of words, hence the need for something other than a Spanish phrasebook. And because there are very few written materials in terms of newspapers, books, or magazines in the Quechua language, Quechua remains largely an oral language, making this book all the more valuable a resource. If you will be trekking or going off the beaten path, this phrase book is a must have to gain a better understanding of the local people, their customs, and ways. While a Spanish phrase book will help to some extent, it's usability will diminish the farther off the beaten path one goes, as Quechua is the lingua franca of the Andes. If there is any downside to this book, I guess it would be the fact that Lonely Planet did not make this one color coded by subject (Social, Food etc.) as they do with their Latin American Spanish phrase book. But that is a very minor detail. Again, this is probably not necessary if you will be simply going to the cities of Lima or Cuzco, but if you plan on going off the beaten path in the highlands of Peru, this little book will come in very handy. It should be noted that because of the esoteric nature of the book (it can take several weeks to fill an order and virtually no bookstores carry this), it may take some time to arrive, so if you have a trip planned and want to take this book with you, it would be advised to order this well in advance of your leaving.

Easy to use, covers a lot of material, inexpensive

This easy-to-use reference shows how the words are built, with things like verb endings, infixes, suffixes. It's small, but it has a lot of useful material; for the price it's OUTSTANDING.The SECOND edition is completely revised, by a different author (excellent teaching credentials), vastly more material -- both more gramatical info, and a wealth of additional vocabulary, plus there is also a Quechua-English section as well as English-Quechua, making it an even more valuable reference.Some things are perhaps because Lonely Planet has standardized them -- I doubt you'll be asking anyone for a date in Quechua -- but it's still material to practice breaking apart the pieces.I love the illustrations!

Good short introduction to Basic Quechua for Tourists

Teaches the phrases a tourist would use to travel in the Andes. You won't be able to carry on much of a conversation, But the natives will warm up to you for trying.