Media Lengua
Encyclopedia
Media Lengua is a language spoken in Salcedo, about 100 km south of Quito
, Ecuador, by about 1,000 people of Native American
ancestry. It is usually classified as a mixed language
as it combines Spanish vocabulary
with a Quechua grammatical system
, most conspicuously morphology
. Most of its lexeme
s, especially almost all content words, are of Spanish origin, only adapted to Quechua phonology
, while its morphology, syntax
and some particles
are Quechua.
It was discovered by the Dutch linguist Pieter Muysken during field work on Ecuadorian Quechua (also called Quichua). The origin of Media Lengua is in the 1920s, when young Quechua speakers from the highlands came to Quito as railway construction workers and, by this language, tried to build an identity of their own for themselves, coinciding neither with Spanish nor their native Quechua.
Along with Michif
, Medny Aleut and Mbugu
or Ma'a, Media Lengua (although not mentioned in Thomason & Kaufman 1998) is one of the few widely acknowledged examples of a "mixed language" in the conventional, narrow linguistic
sense (that all of these names happen to start with an "M" makes for a convenient mnemonic
aid).
Media Lengua could be viewed as a variety
of Quechua that has replaced almost all of its content words, and even many function words, by borrowings
from Spanish (see relexification
). This would make it relatively easy to learn for native speakers of Quechua and comparatively easy to pick up for speakers of Spanish who know at best a little Quechua; hence it is a practical compromise
for cross-cultural communication
.
As such wholesale, systematic borrowing is known only very rarely and such an extreme case, Media Lengua is not usually described as simply a variety of Quechua, nor of Spanish. Still, cases of this kind cast an interesting light on the question what is necessary to classify a language as genetically related to a family, or descended from another language: shared lexicon
, shared grammar (bound morphology in particular, as Sir William Jones
argued), or both? Thomason & Kaufman argue that a mixed language, just as a pidgin or a creole language
, is not directly descended from any other language at all as the chain of native speakers was broken.
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, Ecuador, by about 1,000 people of Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
ancestry. It is usually classified as a mixed language
Mixed language
A mixed language is a language that arises through the fusion of two source languages, normally in situations of thorough bilingualism, so that it is not possible to classify the resulting language as belonging to either of the language families that were its source...
as it combines Spanish vocabulary
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
with a Quechua grammatical system
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, most conspicuously morphology
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
. Most of its lexeme
Lexeme
A lexeme is an abstract unit of morphological analysis in linguistics, that roughly corresponds to a set of forms taken by a single word. For example, in the English language, run, runs, ran and running are forms of the same lexeme, conventionally written as RUN...
s, especially almost all content words, are of Spanish origin, only adapted to Quechua phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
, while its morphology, syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
and some particles
Grammatical particle
In grammar, a particle is a function word that does not belong to any of the inflected grammatical word classes . It is a catch-all term for a heterogeneous set of words and terms that lack a precise lexical definition...
are Quechua.
It was discovered by the Dutch linguist Pieter Muysken during field work on Ecuadorian Quechua (also called Quichua). The origin of Media Lengua is in the 1920s, when young Quechua speakers from the highlands came to Quito as railway construction workers and, by this language, tried to build an identity of their own for themselves, coinciding neither with Spanish nor their native Quechua.
Along with Michif
Michif language
Michif is the language of the Métis people of Canada and the United States, who are the descendants of First Nations women and fur trade workers of European ancestry...
, Medny Aleut and Mbugu
Mbugu language
Mbugu, or Ma’a, is a mixed language of Tanzania.The Mbugu speak two divergent registers. One consists of an inherited South Cushitic vocabulary with Bantu morphology similar to that of Shambala and Pare. The other register is Bantu, with vocabulary closely related to Pare.-References:* Mous,...
or Ma'a, Media Lengua (although not mentioned in Thomason & Kaufman 1998) is one of the few widely acknowledged examples of a "mixed language" in the conventional, narrow linguistic
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
sense (that all of these names happen to start with an "M" makes for a convenient mnemonic
Mnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
aid).
Media Lengua could be viewed as a variety
Variety (linguistics)
In sociolinguistics a variety, also called a lect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, accents, registers, styles or other sociolinguistic variation, as well as the standard variety itself...
of Quechua that has replaced almost all of its content words, and even many function words, by borrowings
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
from Spanish (see relexification
Relexification
Relexification is a term in linguistics used to describe the mechanism of language change by which one language replaces much or all of its lexicon, including basic vocabulary, with that of another language, without drastic change to its grammar. It is principally used to describe pidgins, creoles,...
). This would make it relatively easy to learn for native speakers of Quechua and comparatively easy to pick up for speakers of Spanish who know at best a little Quechua; hence it is a practical compromise
Compromise
To compromise is to make a deal where one person gives up part of his or her demand.In arguments, compromise is a concept of finding agreement through communication, through a mutual acceptance of terms—often involving variations from an original goal or desire.Extremism is often considered as...
for cross-cultural communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
.
As such wholesale, systematic borrowing is known only very rarely and such an extreme case, Media Lengua is not usually described as simply a variety of Quechua, nor of Spanish. Still, cases of this kind cast an interesting light on the question what is necessary to classify a language as genetically related to a family, or descended from another language: shared lexicon
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
, shared grammar (bound morphology in particular, as Sir William Jones
William Jones (philologist)
Sir William Jones was an English philologist and scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages...
argued), or both? Thomason & Kaufman argue that a mixed language, just as a pidgin or a creole language
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
, is not directly descended from any other language at all as the chain of native speakers was broken.