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South Bolivian Quechua

South Bolivian Quechua
Uralan Buliwya runasimi
Native toBolivia; a few in Argentina, Chile
EthnicityQuechuas, Kolla
Native speakers
2,785,120[1]
Quechuan
Official status
Official language in
 Bolivia
Language codes
ISO 639-3quh
Glottologsout2991
ELPBolivian Quechua
The four branches of Quechua. South Bolivian Quechua is a dialect of Southern Quechua (II-C).

South Bolivian Quechua, also known as Central Bolivian Quechua, is a dialect of Southern Quechua spoken in Bolivia and adjacent areas of Argentina, where it is also known as Colla. It is not to be confused with North Bolivian Quechua, which is spoken on the northern Andean slopes of Bolivia and is phonologically distinct from the South Bolivian variety. Estimates of the number of speakers of South Bolivian Quechua range from 2.3[2] to 2.8 million,[3] making it the most spoken indigenous language in Bolivia, just slightly greater than Aymara, with roughly 2 million speakers in Bolivia. In comparison, the North Bolivian dialect has roughly 116,000 speakers.[3]

  1. ^ South Bolivian Quechua at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. "Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn." Paris, UNESCO Publishing. Online version."
  3. ^ a b "Bolivia" at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)

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