Modeling convergence: Towards a reconstruction of the history of Quechuan–Aymaran interaction

The structural and lexical similarities that unite the Aymaran and Quechuan language families of the Andean region today are generally attributed to convergence. The Aymaran and Quechuan proto-languages arose from an initial formative phase in this process of convergence, following the first contact between the two linguistic lineages. After this formative period, presumably characterized by widespread multilingualism, the two lineages separated again and began their own histories of diversification as language families. Nevertheless, the speakers of the languages belonging to both families remained closely connected by kinship ties and social organization, which may have allowed them to conquer and occupy extensive new territories in a concerted way. Such a joint enterprise must have taken place in a multilingual setting as can still be observed in outlying areas where Aymaran and Quechuan languages coexist within communities.