Talk:Pichincha (volcano)

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Although Quechua is indeed the Incan language that spread through much of the Andean region as a result of the expansion of the Inca Empire, it has changed and evolved over time in the disparate Andean regions in which it is used. When discussing indigenous languages in Ecuador, especially in Northern areas like Pichincha, it is important to recognise that the people there call their language Kichwa, or Quichua, and that it is distinct from, although similar to, Quechua. There are also considerable regional differences in Kichwa, particularly between that spoken by the indigenous Kichwa groups of the Amazon region and those of the Andean region.

True, it's transliterated into Spanish as Quichua. The Quechuan languages have a 3 vowel system, essentially /i/, /u/ and /a/, whereas Spanish has 5 vowels: the same 3, plus /e/ and /o/. In many Quechuan languages, the consonant /q/ is a uvular stop, pronounced further back in the mouth than Spanish /k/ (spelled 'qu' or 'c'); Quechua also has a /k/, essentially the same as the Spanish /k/. The backness of the Quechua /q/ causes a following /i/ vowel to lower from [i] to something more like [e], hence Spanish speakers perceive /i/ as being the same as the Spanish /e/ in this position. Hence "Quechua", phonemically /qitʃua/, is heard by Spanish speakers as /qetʃua/. However, northern Quechuan languages have lost the /q/~/k/ contrast, so that the /i/ after etymological /q/ actually follows /k/ in these (Ecuadorian) varieties. The result is that Spanish speakers hear this word as [qitʃua] in Ecuador, not as [qetʃua]. Which is why it's called "Quichua" in Ecuador, but "Quechua" in Peru and Bolivia.

Just to make things more complicated, the language is usually called Runa Shimi ("people's language") by the indigenous people themselves.

But what I really came here to ask is this: when I lived in Quito, I was told there was a third peak, Padre Encantado. It's not mentioned here, but there's a description here: https://lonelygirltravelling.wordpress.com/2017/09/06/padre-encantado/. Should it be mentioned? Or is it a minor peak? Mcswell (talk) 04:54, 3 August 2020 (UTC)

Padre Encantado is a very minor peak, between the two major peaks of Rucu and Guagua pichincha. It was likely a side vent of one of the two main volcanoes at some point in their volcanic history. 2A02:A46F:576B:0:79CC:3491:6CAD:1705 (talk) 21:54, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

Last eruption date

There is a mistake in the GVP source. I wrote to GVP and they answered this "Hi Yanik, It looks like you found a mistake in our database. The phreatic explosion on December 7, 2002, was the last with confirmed ejection of material. Other explosions were reported as late as February 2009, but it was not known if those events caused the ejection of solid material. Thanks for letting me know. Best regards, Ed Venzke, GVP Data Researcher". --YB ^✍ 16:28, 11 January 2014 (UTC)