regional.bo.quechua-loanwords
Quechua loanwords in Bolivian Spanish
Quechua (dominant in Cochabamba, Sucre, Potosí) feeds everyday speech: wawa, api, ch'uño, opa, imilla, q'encha — often with Spanish morphology.
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Explanation
Quechua, dominant in the Cochabamba valleys and the southern highlands, saturates everyday Bolivian Spanish: wawa (baby), api (purple-corn drink), ch'uño (freeze-dried potato), opa (silly), imilla (girl), q'encha (jinxed/unlucky). Many take Spanish endings and diminutives.
Cochabamba Spanish is especially Quechua-tinged, with affectionate -itu/-ita endings and interjections like 'ari' (yes) slipping in. Recognizing a couple dozen loanwords is essential to following casual conversation in the valleys.
Quechua leaves structural traces too, not just words: the affectionate suffix -y or -itu on names, the interjections ari (yes) and ucha (oops/dismay), and the calqued double possessive su casa de mi tía ('my aunt's house'). Many of these loanwords are pan-Andean, shared with Peruvian and Ecuadorian highland Spanish.
Examples
Have a nice hot api (corn drink).
Region: BO
Don't be silly.
Region: BO
Oops, I left the little one at my mom's.
Region: BO