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Languages of
Latin America
The Center of Latin American Studies at KU is one of a very few
in the nation to offer training in Kaqchikel
Maya, Andean Quichua,
and Haitian Creole. Native
speakers Ixkusamil Alonzo Guajan and Nina Kinti-Moss teach Kaqchikel
and Quichua; Bryant Freeman, one of the world's foremost authorities
on Haiti, teaches Haitian Creole. Classes in all three languages
are open to both graduate and undergraduate students. Additional
information on these and other less-commonly
taught languages at KU is also available. Additional language
training is available in KU's nationally ranked Department
of Spanish and Portuguese.
Kaqchikel
Maya
Kaqchikel is one of roughly 30 Mayan languages spoken
in southern Mexico and Central America, and is the first language of approximately 500,000 people of highland Guatemala.
Pictured at Right: Kaqchikel Maya instructor Ixkusamil Alonso Guajan with her daughter Ixkem, who come to the Center from Guatemala.
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| Andean
Quichua
Quichua is an indigenous language spoken widely in Ecuador
and is closely related to the Quechua spoken in Peru and
Bolivia. There are as many as 20 million speakers of Quechua, making it the most widely spoken indigenous language of the Americas. Because of the many dialects of Quichua,
a national effort in Ecuador to establish a commonly accepted
form of the language has resulted in the recognition of
Unified Quichua.
Pictured at Right: Andean Quichua instructor Nina Kinti-Moss, a native of Ecuador.
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Haitian
Creole
Is
the language spoken in Haiti, the Caribbean nation that occupies
the western half of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares
with the Dominican Republic. Haitian Creole is a French-based
creole spoken by roughly 5.7 million people in Haiti, and
approximately 300,000 Haitians living in the Dominican Republic,
the US, and Canada.
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