Salaska Highland Quichua New Testament (QXLWBT)

Overview

The Salasaca Highland Quichua New Testament, titled Diosbuj Shimi - Mushuj Testamento ("God's Word - New Testament"), was published in 2016 by Wycliffe Bible Translators [1]. The translation was the result of approximately 25 years of work by a team of American missionaries and local Salasacan Christians, who labored to render the Scriptures into the specific Salasacan dialect of Quichua rather than the standardized "Universal Quichua," which differs significantly in vocabulary and grammar [2][3]. The Salasaca are an indigenous people of Ecuador's Tungurahua province, numbering approximately 12,000 in the town of Salasaca itself, who are believed to have been brought from Bolivia in the fifteenth century by the Inca ruler Pachacutic under the mitimae resettlement system [4]. The Salasacan dialect is classified as stable by Ethnologue and is used as a first language by all members of the ethnic community, making it distinct from many other endangered Quechua varieties [5]. The translation team produced individual books including Luke/Acts, Mark (with audio recordings), and Revelation before completing the full New Testament [2].

Language and People

Salasaca Highland Quichua (ISO 639-3: qxl) is spoken by approximately 14,300 people in Ecuador. [Glottolog: sala1272]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA.

References