Quechua dialects

Quechua
Kechua
kichwa simi Runa simi Nuna shimi
Native to	Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Region	Central Andes
Ethnicity	Quechua
Native speakers	9 million (2007)
Language family	Quechuan languages Quechua
Dialects	Quechua I     Ancash     Alto Pativilca–Alto Marañón–Alto Huallaga     Yaru     Wanka     Yauyos–Chincha Quechua II     Cajamarca–Cañaris     Northern       Kichwa (Ecuador)       Lowland Peruvian     Southern
Writing system	Latin (Quechua alphabet)
Official status
Official language in	Bolivia  Peru  Ecuador
Language codes
ISO 639-1	qu
ISO 639-2	que
ISO 639-3
Glottolog	quec1387
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Quechua /ˈkɛtʃwə/, known as Runasimi ("people's language") in the Quechuan language, is an indigenous language family, with variations spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Andes and highlands of South America. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most widely spoken language family of indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably some 8–10 million speakers.. Approximately 25% (7.7 million) of Peruvians speak some variation of Quechua. It is perhaps most widely known for being the main language of the Inca Empire. The colonisers initially encouraged its use, but from the middle of their reign they suppressed it. But Quechua ultimately survived, evolving as all languages do, and variants are still widely spoken today.

Quechua had already expanded across wide ranges of the central Andes long before the expansion of the Inca Empire. The Inca were one among many peoples in present-day Peru who already spoke forms of Quechua. In the Cusco region, Quechua was influenced by local languages such as Aymara. The Cuzco variety of Quechua developed as quite distinct. In similar ways, diverse dialects developed in different areas, related to existing local languages, when the Inca Empire ruled and imposed Quechua as the official language.

After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in the 16th century, Quechua continued to be used widely by the indigenous peoples as the "common language". It was officially recognized by the Spanish administration and many Spanish learned it in order to communicate with the local peoples. Clergy of the Catholic Church adopted Quechua to use as the language of evangelization. Given its use by the Catholic missionaries, the range of Quechua continued to expand in some areas.