Quechua language: documenting contemporary revival and maintenance strategies

The ancient family of Quechua languages of the South American Andes is in a precarioussituation, not because of numbers of speakers as such, but because of impediments tointergenerational transfer. This thesis, in two parts, is both reflexive and active. Itendeavours to understand the history and context of the current fading language, andthen it studies and adopts strategies, in local and international contexts, that attempt tomaintain and revitalise Quechua. As part of the research study, I visited three globallocations: Cusco, Paris and New York, in order to investigate how people use a range ofstrategies to grow the Quechua language. The research draws on sociolinguistics,ethnographic methods and a range of other disciplines. This thesis is presented in two parts,a documentary film and a written thesis.As a Peruvian whose knowledge of her Quechua language and heritage was blocked by wellmeaningparents who saw Spanish as the road to success, I embody the intergenerationalproblem this thesis tackles. As a documentary filmmaker, I sought to mobilise my skills inthe production of a film as the creative part of this thesis. The making of the film across thethree locations was intimately tied to the ongoing research in theory, method and practice.Inviting people (Quechua teachers, artists, media practitioners) to participate in the film andrespond to it enabled them to become allies in the objective of this research: thepromotion of Quechua as an attractive, interesting and vital language for futuregenerations