Quechua words used in English:

• Coca, Cocaine, Condor, Guanaco, Guano, Jerky, Llama, Pampa, Puma, Quinine, Quinoa, Soroche (mountain sickness), and Vicuña.

Pronunciation for English Speakers:

Vowel Sounds:

• "ay" as in eye, "aw" as in out, "ey" as in eight, "iy" as in eat, "oy" as in oink, "uy" as in whea,

• Try to sound like a German, whose clearing his throat, like a spitting llama. "ll" has an ly-sound as in William. These are, of course simplified instructions, as Quechua has several different dialects.

For the MP Movie House "Hatun Kichay" (Grand Opening):

• No "Yana ñawi" (black eyes), por favor, or "K'ayna wata p'acha" (Last year's dress)! Puka wirp'a (Red lips) and "Mana q'anra chukcha" (clean hair) with "Kulli waita" (purple flower) or "K'ello t'ika" (yellow flower) is often enough. For those who want to dazzle other people on the "Puka alfombrataq" (Red Carpet): "Paqo p'acha" (Golden dress) is a must, but remember that Yana (black) is always fashionable. You may ask other people "Iman sutiyki?" (What is your name), to which a blond bombshell might answer: "Marilynmi Monroemi sutiy" (My name is Marilyn Monroe).
• "Kukupin" means both liver and top of the head, inside which is "Nosqhon" (Brain), and "Hawas phasi" (Toasted and cooked fava bean) completes the meal, tho Hannibal Lecter might have to do with "Kulli Aqa" (Purple Corn Chicha) with it. If you don't like horror movies references, just order some delicious Inca Cola and Pisingalld (pop corn), and you're set to watch the show, which will be a cartoon, but not the "Riti Yuraq & Qanchis Aslla Runa" (Snow White & the 7 Little People). Enjoy the food, drinks and the feature show of "The Mysterious Cities of Gold" - which includes several imagined examples of quipu usage - and you'll be on "Phuyu Isqon" (Cloud Nine). But do not eat too much or you have to say: Noq'a Mihuyrqan Ancha Pisingalld (I ate too much popcorn) & Q'echa onqoywan kashani (I have the sh*&s). Or if you drink too much chicka you might have a "Chuchaqui" (hangover) in the morning.

Words to shout during Americas Inti Raymi 2007:

• Achalau! (How pretty!); Añau!, (Wonderful! Wow!); Kausachum! (Hooray!); Atakachau! (How exciting!); Kusa! (Great!); Munani aqata! (I want chicha!); Yarjawanmi! (I'm hungry!); Mmm, qowi! (Mmm, guinea pig!); Pin kanki?! (Who are you?!); Munanki?! (What do you want?!); Uchuta mana munanichu! (I don't want chili!); and Ajajay! (How funny!).

FinFun facts: Quechua vs. Finnish

• Do not call your father "Papa", as it means potato... he might think you're referring to his tv watching habit; call him Taytay, (my daughter calls me "Tata")... tho in Finnish Paappa and Taatta both mean the same: Grandfather. I used to call my daughter "Vauva" (baby), which is almost the same in Quechua: "Wawa".
• "Kiro" means Tooth, and in Finnish "swearing", so if your tooth hurts, it's fitting to swear...
• "Pupu" means Belly button (in Finnish 'bunny'); so if you see a girl with a belly button showing, you might call her a bunny.
• A common name for a [black] dog in Finland is "Piki" (pitch), but in Quechua it means a "Flea"... so if your dog has fleas, you might call him "Piki", even if he's not pitch black.
• Rit'i (Snow) means the same in Finnish, as in the song: "Rati Riti Ralla, [came the winter, frost]".
• And as I mentioned "Kulli" (purple); in Finnish it means something else, the tip of which is indeed purple, but that is for another site...
• (more "FinFun facts" later, if we ever get a hood of Hawaii...)

Common Words and expressions:

• Inti (Sun), Killa (Moon), Qoyllor (Star), Kura (Priest),
• Noq'a (I), Qam (You), Pai (He/She), Ñoqanchis (We)v Qamkuna (You, plural), Paikuna (They).
• Ari (Yes), Manan (No), Yaw! (Hi!), Napaykullayki! (Greetings!), Yusulpayki (Thanks), Imamanta (You're welcome), Juq ratukama (See you later), Allillanchu? (How are you?), Allillanmi (I am fine), Qosqomantan kani (I'm from Cusco), Qosqotam rishiani (I'm going to Cuzco).

Numbers:

• 1 Juq, 2 Iskai, 3 Kimsa, 4 Tawa, 5 Pisqa, 6 Soqta, 7 Qanchis, 8 Pusaq, 9 Isqon, 10 Chunka, 100 Pachaj and 1,000 Warank'a.

More Colors:

• Anqas (Blue), Oqe (Gray), Q'omer (Green), Ch'umpi (Hazel-Brown), Allqa (Brown), Paru (Orange), Titi (color of lead), O'ke (Light Blue).

Sites to learn more Quechua:

• Andes.org
• Quechua Language Instructional Website, which has interactive lessons.
• Quechua Phrases, post by Sak Biyaan ShieldJaguar.

Sources:

• http://www.andes.org/
• http://www.pitt.edu/~mfeke/learnquechua/index.html
• http://www.zompist.com/quechua.html