Attitudinal differences towards Peruvian Quechua and Spanish speakers: a matched guise study

Abstract

This dissertation compares Peruvian bilinguals’ attitudes towards speakers of Quechua and speakers of Spanish using the Matched Guise Technique. Consistent with prior research on language attitudes, the current study explores whether Quechua would pattern like other minoritized language varieties—exhibiting relatively higher solidarity and lower status—and that Spanish would pattern like other majoritized language varieties—exhibiting relatively lower solidarity and higher status. This study adds to the understanding of the current state of Quechua-Spanish relations in Peru, placing Quechua and Spanish within the typology of languages that pattern along the majoritized-minoritized framework. ☐ The key findings indicate that patterns of language attitudes towards Quechua and Spanish speakers do align with speakers of other minoritized–majoritized language pairs. Participants consistently evaluated Quechua speakers as higher on a solidarity category but lower on a perceived socioeconomic status category than Spanish speakers. ☐ Not only does the current study probe language attitudes with respect to different survey categories, it also systematically assesses whether these attitudes vary by participant age and participant gender. It was determined that this pattern of how participants rated Quechua speakers in relation to Spanish speakers were robust, independent of participants’ age and gender.