EveryoneinPunogetsinvolvedwithraisingsheepand alpaca.

alpaca

Fieldwork

Toworkasalinguisticanthropologist,itisimportanttodofieldwork.Normally,thismightmeantravelingtoaremotelocationtohearpeoplespeakandusealanguage.Inmycase,itmeansactual“field work”asIherdsheeporalpacas.Othertimes,Iplantorharvestcrops.Idon’tdothisworkalone.IworkalongsidethepeopleI study.


Forme,thisisaperfectwaytohearpeoplespeakandto learnhowtheyusetheirlanguage.Andofcourse,Ilistenfornewwordsandanysignthatwhatpeoplearespeakingisdifferentfromthelanguages Ialready know.


Whenherding,mynewneighborsandIwouldtaketheanimalstoremotehillsidepatcheswheretheycouldgrazealldaybeforecominghomeatnight.Ontheselongwalks,IlearnedalotaboutthepeopleIwaswithandevenmoreaboutthelandscapeswheretheyhavelivedtheirentire lives.


Allfamiliesheregrowtheirownfood.EverySeptember,theyplantthecropstheywillneedfortheyear:severaltypesofpotatoes,onions,carrots,barley,favabeans,corn,andquinoa,theseed‑likeAndeansuper‑grainthatishighinproteinandfiber.Inurturedmyunderstandingofthesepeoplewhilenurturingmygreen thumb.

AwomanherdsherflockofsheepnearLake Titicaca.

CollectingTalk

Notalldayswerespentinthefields.WhenIstudyalanguage,Iliketointerviewpeople.Iaskthemtospeakforme.Itiscalled elicitation.


Withmyportablerecorderandmicrophone,Iaskpeopletosayspecificwordsorsentences.ThenIcanstudytheselatertounderstandtheoverallcharacteristicsofhowtheyare spoken.


Othertimes,Irecordfree‑formconversations.Duringthesesessions,peopletalkaboutwhatevertheywantto.Theytellmeabouttheirlives.TheytellmelocalAndeanfolktalesortalkaboutimportantnewseventsinthe region.

Somecommentonthechangestheyhavewitnessedintheregionandwiththeir language.


Mostofthepeoplewhospeakwithmeare50yearsoldorolder.Theyhavelivedtheirentirelivesinthesehillsidevillages.Theycontinuemanyofthesamefarmingandherdingtraditionsandpracticesastheirparentsand grandparents.

womeninPuno, Peru

Manyspeaktheirlanguagesfluently,buttellmethattheyareworriedabouttheyoungergenerations.Youngerpeopledon’tspeakthelanguagesasmuchastheirgrandparentsorgreat‑grandparents.Manyyoungpeopleonlyspeak Spanish.

Aymara:

Wali luphiwa

(wa-li lu-pee-wa)

English:

Itis really sunny.

CelebratingLife

Thepeoplehereoftenlookforwaystocelebratelife.IaminvitedtotheannualreenactmentofthearrivalofMancoQhapaqandMamaOcllo.TheyarethemythicalcouplewhoaresaidtohavefoundedPuno,andeventually,theIncaEmpire.Irealizethelocalpeoplearecelebratingtheirheritageandtheir languages.


Duringmystudiesinthisregion,Ilistenedclosely.Ihadhopedtocometothisplaceandhearanewlanguage,onethatIdidnotknow.WhilethepeopleheredospeakQuechuaandAymaravarietiesthatareslightlydifferentacrossgenerationsandplaces,Ididnotdiscoverwhatcouldbecalledanew language.


Iconsidermytimeherewellspent,though.Ilearnedhowthesepeopleliveandhowtheyusetheirlanguage.Ilearnedabouttheirheritage.AndIlearnedhowmuchmorethereistodiscoveraboutthesepeopleandtheirwonderful words.

Atanannualcelebration,actorsportraythemythicalcouplewhofounded Puno.

Quechua:

Tupananchiskama

(tu-pa-naan-chis-ka-ma)

English:

See you later!