Languages of Peru

Peru has three official languages, Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara.

Spanish:

-Spanish is spoken by some 80.3% of the population of Peru, and is the language used by government, media, and in education and formal commerce.

-In Peru, the most common language is Spanish, which is spoken with three dialects within the country:

• Peruvian riverside Spanish
• Andes Spanish
• Amazonian Spanish

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_Coast_Spanish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language

Aymara:

-Aymara is an Aymaran language spoken by the Aymara of the Andes.
-There are 300,000 Peruvian Aymara speakers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aymara_language

Quechua:

-Was the language of the Inca Empire, and is today spoken in various dialects by some 10 million people (Quechuas) throughout South America
-It is the most widely spoken of all the languages of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
-Number of speakes in Peru is 3,200,000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quechua

Quechua, Napo Lowland:
-Is spoken near the city of Iquitos
-Has New Testament translated into their language
-8,000 speakers in Peru
-Majority lives in Napo River Region. Also communities on the Putumayo. Some were moved to Madre de Dios. Also spoken in Colombia, Ecuador.

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=qvo

Indigenous Languages:

-The aboriginal languages of Peru are spoken mainly in the central Andes and in the Amazon forests.
-While the Amazonian region is home to a great variety of languages, the most commonly spoken ones are Ashaninka and Aguaruna, not to mention lesser known languages, such as Urarina, which is deemed by most linguists as an unclassified language isolate.
-The number of languages that were used in Peru easily surpasses 300; some observers speak of 700.
-throughout the jungle region of Peru, about 98 different languages are spoken

Here are some languages that are spoken around the city of Iquitos:

Yagua:
-Population is 5,692 in Peru (2000 WCD). 2,000 monolinguals.
-Loreto, northeastern Amazon River Region, from Iquitos to the Brazil border. Some go to urban centers like Iquitos for economic reasons. Some occasionally go into Brazil. Also spoken in Colombia.

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=yad

Iquito:
-Population in Peru is 35 (2002 SIL). 1 monolingual.
-Majority in Loreto Province, Pintoyacu, Nanay, and Chambira rivers, villages of San Antonia and Atalaya.

Omagua:
-language is nearly extinct
-Population is 10 to 100 in Peru (1976 SIL).

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Peru