These translators are based on courses taught at Universidad San Francisco de Quito by José Maldonado Córdoba, on the Imbabura dialect of Quichua, and on material from his two texts, Quichuata Yachacuncapac, Caņarmanta rimai 1, 2, Misíon Luterana Sudamericana de Noruega, Quito, 1995, 1999. The vocabulary is taken from the class notes and the two texts mentioned, though other words were chosen from the dictionary of Luis Cordero, Diccionario quichua-espaņol, espaņol-quichua, Anales de la Universitad de Cuenca, Cuenca, 1968.   

 

The orthography of Quichua is in a state of change from the older spellings based on Castellano pronunciation to one that represents better and more simply the pronunciation of the language. Here is a conversion chart for most of the changes.

 

"qui"-"ki"

 

"hua"-"wa"

 

"hui"-"wi"

 

"c" (before "a" or "u") -"k"

 

"ia"-"ya"

 

"iu"-"yu"

 

"ai"-"ay"

 

"au"-"aw"

 

The Quichua to English program will take input written in either style, and the Spanish to Quichua program will produce output in both styles.

 

At the present, the translators are from Spanish to English to Quichua and from Quichua to English.  Later we will have Spanish to English, English to Quichua, Quichua to English, and Quichua to Spanish.  Don’t laugh too much at the shoddy English translations embedded in these samples. 

 

Sample sentences from Spanish to Quichua. 

 

? para que' compras pollos ? compro pollos para comer

why1 do you  buy chickens ? ? i buy chickens

? imapaktak atallpakunata rantinki ? ? n~ukaka atallpakunata mikunkapakmi rantini

 

? quie'n esta' cansado ? estoy cansado

who is  tired ? i am  tired

pitak shaykushka kan ? n~ukami shaykushka kani

 

? quie'n comio' mi gato ? el perro comio' tu gato

who ate my cat ? the dog ate your cat

? pitak n~uka misita mikurka ? allkumi kanpa misita mikurka

 

? a do'nde vas ? voy al mercado

to where do you  go ? ? i go to the market

? maymantak rinki ? ? n~ukaka merkadomanmi rini

 

? en do'nde vives ? vivo en mi casa

where1 do you  live ? ? i live in my house

? maypitak kawsanki ? ? n~ukaka n~uka wasipimi kawsani

 

? que' comes en la casa ? como carne en la casa

what do you  eat in the house ? ? i eat a meat in the house

? imatatak wasipi mikunki ? ? n~ukaka aychatami wasipi mikuni

 

? con quie'n vives ? vivo con mi madre

with whom do you  live ? ? i live with my mother

? piwantak kawsanki ? ? n~ukaka n~uka mamawanmi kawsani

 

? con que' comes el pollo ? como el pollo con una cuchara grande

with what do you  eat the chicken ? ? i eat the chicken with a big spoon

? imawantak atallpata mikunki ? ? n~ukaka atallpata jatun wishawanmi mikuni

 

? que' compraste en el mercado ? compre' una falda en el mercado

what did you  buy in the market ? ? i bought a skirt in the market

? imatatak merkadopi rantirkanki ? ? n~ukaka anakutami merkadopi rantirkani

 

? de do'nde eres ? soy de Albion

from where are you  ? ? i am  from Albion

? maymantatak kanki ? ? n~ukaka Albionmantami kani

 

? hasta do'nde vas con Maria ? voy hasta el mercado con Maria

until where do you  go with Maria ? ? i go as far as the market with Maria

? maykamantak Mariahuan rinki ? ? n~ukaka Mariahuan merkadokamanmi rini

 

? de que' color es tu perro ? mi perro es gris

what color is your dog  ? ? my dog is  grey

? ima kolortak kanpa allkuka kan ? ? n~uka allkuka pusumi kan

 

? que' eres ? soy un tejedor

what are you  ? ? i am  a weaver

? imatak kanki ? ? n~ukaka awak taytami kani

 

? co'mo se llama tu madre ? mi madre se llama Martha

what is  your mother 's name ? my mother 's name is  Martha

? ima shutitak kanpa mamaka ? ? n~uka mamaka Marthami kan

 

? cua'ntos perros tienes ? tengo 23 perros

how many dogs do you  have ? ? i have 23 dogs

mashna allkukunatatak charinki ? n~ukaka ishkay chunga kimsa allkutami charini

 

? hay cua'ntos perros en la cocina ? hay 34 perros en la cocina

how many dogs exist in the kitchen ? 34 dogs exist in the kitchen

mashna allkukunatak yanuna - ukupi tiyan ? kimsa chunga chusku allkumi yanuna - ukupi tiyan

 

? cua'ntos perros corren en el parque ? 23 perros corren en el parque

how many dogs run in the park ? 23 dogs run in the park

mashna allkukunatak parquepi kallpankuna ? ishkay chunga kimsa allkumi parquepi kallpankuna

 

? co'mo esta's ? estoy bien

how are you  ? ? i am  well

? imanallatak kanki ? ? n~ukaka allimi kani

 

? que' di'a vas a Quito ? voy a Quito los lunes

on what day do you  go to Quito ? ? i go on monday to Quito

? ima punchatatak Quitoman rinki ? ? n~ukaka lunestami Quitoman rini

 

? de quie'n es este gato ? es mi'o

whose is this cat  ? ? he is  mine

? pipatak kay misika kan ? ? payka n~ukapami kan

 

 

? gato de quie'n comio' el perro ? mi gato comio' el perro

whose cat did  eat the dog ? my cat ate the dog

pipa misitak allkuta mikurka? n~uka misimi allkuta mikurka

 

 

no voy a Quito

i do not go to Quito

n~ukaka Quitoman mana rinichu

 

! no tejan este poncho don't weave this poncho

kay ruwanata ama awaychikchu!

 

! teje este poncho weave this poncho

kay ruwanata away!

 

! tejed este poncho weave this poncho

kay ruwanata awaychik!

 

puedo coser un poncho

i am  able  to sew a poncho

n~ukaka ruwanata siray ushani

 

? que' esta's haciendo ? estoy tejiendo este poncho

what are you  doing ? ? i am  weaving this poncho

imatatak kanka rurakunki ? n~ukaka kay ruwanata awakunimi

 

? que' esta's empezando a hacer ? estoy empezando a tejer este poncho

what are you  beginning  to do ? ? i am  beginning  to weave this poncho

imatatak kanka ruray kallarikunki ? n~ukaka kay ruwanata away kallarikunimi

 

? que' quieres hacer ? quiero comer ese gallo

what do you  like  to do ? ? i like  to eat that rooster

imatatak kanka rurankapak munanki ? n~ukaka chay kari atallpata mikunkapak munanimi

 

? a do'nde debes ir ? debo ir a la casa

to where do you  must  to go ? ? i must  to go to the house to the house

? maymantak rina kanki ? ? n~ukaka wasimanmi rina kani

 

? que' debes hacer ? debo ir a la casa con mi madre

what do you  must  to do ? ? i must  to go to the house with my mother to the house with my mother

imatatak kanka rurana kanki ? n~ukaka n~uka mamawan wasiman rina kanimi

 

yo soli'a ir a tu casa

i was  usuallying  to go to your house to your house

n~ukaka kanpa wasiman rik karkani

 

voy a comer

i go  to eat

n~ukaka mikukrini

 

el hombre que comio' el pollo murio'

the man that ate the chicken died

atallpata mikurka runaka wan~urka

 

 

los hombres que comieron los pollos murieron

the men that ate the chickens died

atallpakunata mikurka runakunaka wan~urkakuna

 

el hombre que no comio' el pollo murio'

the man that did not eat the chicken died

mana atallpata mikurka runaka wan~urka

 

el hombre que me amo' murio'

the man that loved me died

n~ukata kuyarka runaka wan~urka

 

 

el hombre que no me amo' murio'

the man that did not love me died

mana n~ukata kuyarka runaka wan~urka

 

 

el hombre comio' el gato grande que te mordio'

the man ate the big cat that bit you

runaka kanta kanirka jatun misita mikurka

 

 

el hombre que mi gato mordio' murio'

the man that my cat bit died

n~uka misi kanishka runaka wan~urka

 

 

el hombre que mi gato no mordio' no murio'

the man that my cat did not bite did not die

mana n~uka misi kanishka runaka mana wan~urkachu

 

 

el hombre que amo va a ir a Quito

the man that i love gos  to go to Quito to Quito

n~uka kuyak runaka Quitoman rikrin

 

?

el hombre que me amara' morira'

the man that will  love me will  die

n~ukata kuyak runaka wan~unka

 

?

el hombre que me esta' amando murio'

the man that is  loving me died

n~ukata kuyakuk runaka wan~urka

 

el hombre que me amaba murio'

the man that was  loving me died

n~ukata kuyarka runaka wan~urka

 

el hombre que no me amaba murio'

the man that was not loving me died

mana n~ukata kuyarka runaka wan~urka

 

el hombre que yo amaba murio'

the man that i was  loving died

n~uka kuyashka runaka wan~urka

 

el hombre que va a poder comer este gato no ha nacido

the man that gos  to be able  to eat this cat has not been born

kay misita mikuy ushakrik runaka mana wacharishkachu

 

el hombre que no me ama va a morir

the man that does not love me gos  to die

mana n~ukata kuyakchu runaka wan~ukrin

 

el hombre que le dio un perro al muchacho estuvo feliz

the man that gave the boy a dog was happy

uchilla wanbraman allkuta kurka runaka kushillami karka

 

el hombre que no le dio un perro al nin~o estuvo triste

the man that did not give the child a dog was sad

mana wawaman allkuta kurka runaka llakillami karka

 

amo este hombre que puede comer gatos

i love this man that is  able  to eat cats

n~ukaka kay misikunata mikuy ushak runata kuyani

 

no conozco ese hombre que va a poder comer gatos

i do not know that man that gos  to be able  to eat cats

n~ukaka chay misikunata mikuy ushakrik runata mana riksinichu

 

yo le di un gato al hombre que ama a los gatos

i gave the man that loves the cats a cat

n~ukaka misikunata kuyak runaman misita kurkani

 

? que' va a hacer el hombre que amas ? va a robar a mi gato

what does the man that you love  go  to do ? ? he gos  to steal my cat

imatatak kan kuyak runaka rurakrin ? payka n~uka misita shuwakrinmi

 

? que' va a hacer el hombre que amas ? el hombre que amo va a comer

what does the man that you love  go  to do ? ? the man that i love gos  to eat

imatatak kan kuyak runaka rurakrin ? n~uka kuyak runaka mikukrinmi

 

? que' esta' haciendo el hombre que amas ? el hombre que amo esta' tejiendo un poncho

what is the man that you love  doing ? ? the man that i love is  weaving a poncho

imatatak kan kuyak runaka rurakun ? n~uka kuyak runaka ruwanata awakunmi

 

? quie'n morira' ? el hombre que podra' comer este gato morira'

who will  die ? the man that will  be able  to eat this cat will  die

? pishi wan~unka ? kay misita mikuy ushak runami wan~unka

 

? por do'nde vas ? voy por el ri'o

along what do you  go ? ? i go by the river

? maytatak rinki ? ? n~ukaka jatun - yakutami rini

 

? por quie'n lloras ? lloro por mi hijo

for whom do you  cry ? ? i cry because of my son

? pimantatak wakanki ? ? n~ukaka n~uka churimanta wakani

 

? por que' vienes ? vengo por la comida

for what do you  come ? ? i come because of the food

? imamantatak shamunki ? ? n~ukaka mikunamantami shamuni

 

e'l comio' mientras cocine'

he ate while i cooked

n~uka yanunkakaman payka mikurkami

 

! espere hasta que yo coma

hope until i eat

n~uka mikunkakaman shuyay

 

? do'nde viviri'a where would i  live ?

? mayshi kawsayman ?

 

? do'nde vivira' where will he  live ?

? mayshi kawsanka ?

 

? a que' hora te levantas ? me levanto a las 3

when do you  get up ? ? i get up at 3

? ima horatatak jatarinki ? ? n~ukaka kimsa horastami jatarini

 

? a do'nde ira's ? ire' a las montan~as

to where will you  go ? ? i will  go to the mountains

? maymanshi rinki ? ? n~ukaka urkukunamanmi risha

 

? a que' hora te levantara's ? me levantare' a las 3

when will you  get up ? ? i will  get up at 3

? ima horatashi jatarinki?? n~ukaka kimsa horastami jatarisha

! espere hasta que yo coma

hope until i eat

n~uka mikunkakaman shuyay

 

voy a ir al mercado cuando e'l llegue

i go  to go to the market to the market when he arrives

pay chayakpi n~ukaka merkadoman rikrinimi

 

 

yo iri'a al mercado si e'l llegara

i would  go to the market if he was  arriving

pay chayakpika n~ukaka merkadoman rimanmi

 

 

soli'amos comer carne

we used to eat a meat

n~ukanchikka aychata mikuk karkanchik

 

no soli'amos comer carne

we did not use to eat a meat

n~ukanchikka aychata mana mikuk karkanchikchu

 

soli'amos comer carne cuando vivi'amos en Quito

we used to eat a meat when we were  living in Quito

ņukanchik Quitopi kawsashpa ņukanchikka aychata mikuk karkanchikmi

 

yo soli'a ir a tu casa

ņukaka kanpa wasiman rik karkani

 

fingo a comer carne

i pretend to  to eat a meat

n~ukaka aychata mikuk tukuni

 

esta's fingiendo a dormir

you are  pretending to  to sleep

kanka pun~uk tukukunki

 

estoy lista para comer

i am  ready to  to eat

n~ukaka mikunalla kani

 

estaremos lista para comer cuando regresas

we will  be ready to  to eat when you return

kan tikrakpi n~ukanchikka mikunalla kashunmi

 

te amare' aunque comes gatos

i will  love you although you eat cats

kan misikunata mikukpipash n~ukaka kanta kuyashami

 

? que' esta's haciendo ? estoy tejiendo este poncho

what are you  doing ? ? i am  weaving this poncho

imatatak kanka rurakunki ? n~ukaka kay ruwanata awakunimi

 

? que' esta's empezando a hacer ? estoy empezando a tejer este poncho

what are you  beginning  to do ? ? i am  beginning  to weave this poncho

imatatak kanka ruray kallarikunki ? n~ukaka kay ruwanata away kallarikunimi

 

? que' quieres hacer ? quiero comer ese gallo

what do you  like  to do ? ? i like  to eat that rooster

imatatak kanka rurankapak munanki ? n~ukaka chay kari atallpata mikunkapak munanimi

 

? a do'nde debes ir ? debo ir a la casa

to where do you  must  to go ? ? i must  to go at home at home

? maymantak rina kanki ? ? n~ukaka wasiman rina kani

 

? que' debes hacer ? debo ir a la casa con mi madre

what do you  must  to do ? ? i must  to go at home with my mother

imatatak kanka rurana kanki ? ņukaka ņuka mamawan wasiman rina kanimi

 

los hago que se ayuden unos a otros

ņukaka paykunata yanapanakuchini

 

los estoy haciendo que las mujeres se ayuden unos a otros

ņukaka warmikunata yanapanakuchikuni

 

hago que el hombre les dé un gato a los niņos

ņukaka wawakunaman runata misita kuchini

 

vamos a asar la gallina después de que vengas

kan shamushka kipaka ņukanchikka atallpata kusakrinchikmi

 

vamos a asar la gallina después de llegar

chayashka kipaka ņukanchikka atallpata kusakrinchikmi

 

yo comí antes de beber

manarak upyashpa ņukaka mikurkani

 

yo comí antes de que bebiste

manarak kan upyakpimi ņukaka mikurkani

 

! dame haciendo el pan         This construction in Ecuadorian Spanish is a direct translation of the Quichua, which uses a gerundive to express

tantata rurashpa karay            a polite request.  See Haboud, 7.4.1

 

! haga el favor de ayudarme

ņukata yanapashpa karay

 

! haga el favor de ayudarme con el trabajo

trabajowan yanapashpa karay

 

! déme amarrando con el paņo                    See note above.

paņowan watachishpa karay

 

Pedro hizo el favor de ayudarme con el trabajo

Pedromi trabajowan yanapashpa kararka

 

Pedro hizo el favor de traer el paņo

Pedromi paņota apamushpa kararka

 

Pedro dio trayendo el paņo                          See note above.

Pedromi paņota apamushpa kararka

 

yo vengo mirando la quebrada                     In Quichua, the gerundive can be used for simultaneous action (as an adverb of manner)
ņukaka waikuta rikushpami shamuni

 

yo voy a conversar riendo con Maria

ņukaka asishpami Mariahuan parlakrini

 

yo vengo enterrando el perro                        or to express an immediate past action: See Haboud, 7.2.1

ņukaka allkuta enterrashpami shamuni

 

yo vengo luego de enterrar el perro

ņukaka allkuta enterrashpami shamuni

 

yo vengo después de enterrar el perro

allkuta enterrashka kipaka ņukaka shamunimi

 

Sample input and output from the Quichua to English program.

 

? maymantak rinki

where do you  go ?

 

n~ukaka mercadomanmi rini

 

i go to a market

 

n~ukaka n~uka wasimanmi rini

 

i go to my house

 

? pitak kanki

who are you  ?

 

? maypishi rinki

where will you  go ?

 

? pishi kanki

who will you  be ?

 

? mashna jatun allkutatak charinki

how many big dogs do you  have ?

 

n~ukaka patsak chusku chunka shuc allkutami charini

 

i have the 141 dogs

 

? pimantak librota kunki

to whom do you  give the book ?

 

n~ukaka wawaman librota kuni

 

i give the child the book

 

? imatatak ruranki

what do you  do ?

 

? imatatak rurakunki

what are you  doing ?

 

? imatatak kanpa taytaka rurakun

what is your father  doing ?

 

? pitatak kuyanki

whom do you  love ?

 

? ima horatak armanki

when do you  bathe the body ?

 

? piwantak kanka kawsan

with whom do you  live ? 

 

payka paypa mamawanmi kawsan

 

he or she lives with his or her mother

 

? imatatak kankunaka rantinkichik     what do yall  buy ?

 

n~ukaka Elsaman librota kuni   i give Elsa the book

 

n~ukaka kanwan mikunkapakmi kanpa wasiman rini   i go to your house in order to eat with you

 

? ? ?ima horashi jatarinki

when will you get up ?

 

n~ukaka wawaman runatami allkuta kuchirkani

i made the man give the child the dog

 

n~ukaka runatami allkuta mikuchirkani

i made the man eat the dog

 

n~ukaka runatami mikuchirkani

i made the man eat

 

n~ukaka paykunatami yanapanakuchirkani

i made them help each other

 

paykunaka yanapanakurkakunami

they helped each other

 

paykunaka mikuchinakurkakunami

they fed each other

 

payka wasiyukmi kan

he or she has a house

 

! ama wakaychikchu
don't cry

 

! wawaman allkuta ama karaychu
don't give the child the dog

 

n~ukaka kanta rikuy ushani
i can see you

n~ukaka kanta rikuna kani
i must see you

n~ukaka mikuna tucuni
i have to eat

 

n~ukaka mikuy tucuni
i try to eat

 

n~ukaka mikuy kallarirkani
i began to eat