Page488
andcompanyontheother,negotiationswhichledtotheCajamarcaambushin
1532andtheexecutionoftheIncachiefayearlater.Amongtheinterpreters
aboutwhomconcreteinformationexists,prideofplacegoestoFelipillo(or
Felipe)andMartinello,twoyoungnativeswhoaccompaniedPizarroand
AlmagroontheirvariousexpeditionstoPeru.BornontheislandofPuná,
FelipillolearntQuechuainTúmbezfromnativeswhospokeitasasecond
language,pickedupSpanishfromlisteningtosoldiers,andwasthentaken–
alongwithMartinello–toPanamabyPizarro.Allhistoriansagreethatthe
interpretingprovidedbyFelipillooftheconditionsdemandedofAtahualpa
(recognitionoftheChurch,thePopeandtheSpanishmonarchs)wasfarfrom
faithful:indeed,themessagewasdeliberatelyrenderedinamanneroffensiveto
theIncakingbecauseFelipillobelongedtoarivaltribeandwashavinganaffair
withoneofAtahualpa’sconcubines.
AnothercolourfulcharacterwasaSpanishsoldiercalledBarrientos,arogue
andathiefwhowascondemnedbyPizarrotobewhippedandhavehisearscut
off.Disfigured,hefledsouthwardstonorthernChile,whichwasthenpartofthe
Cuzcoempire,wherehelivedwiththenatives.DiegodeAlmagro’sexpedition
foundhim,transformedintoabeardednative,andusedhimasaninterpreter
andintermediary.
EquallyinterestingwasFranciscodelPuerto,knownasPaquillo,thefirstwhite
interpreterintheRiverPlatearea,wherehearrivedin1515withtheexplorer
JuanDíazdeSolís.Hespenttenyearsasaprisonerofthenativesbeforebeing
commissionedasaguideandinterpreterforSebastiánCaboto.In1526hefell
outwithGonzaloNúñezdeBalboaand,bywayofrevenge,togetherwiththe
nativespreparedanambushinwhichseveralSpaniardswerekilled.
AmongPortugueseinterpretersthemostfamousfigureistheadventurer
GonzalodeAcosta,borninPortugalin1490.Heparticipatedfromthe
beginninginthediscoveryandconquestoftheRiverPlateareaandactedas
interpreterforAlvarNúñezCabezadeVacaandPedrodeMendoza.
Notagreatdealisknownaboutotherinterpretersinthesouthernpartofthe
subcontinentduringthisperiod,butArnaud(1950)mentionsAntonioTomás,
EnriqueMontes,MelchorRamírezandJerónimoRomeroasinterpreterswho
wereactiveintheregionsaroundwhatarenowBuenosAires,Montevideoand
Asunción.
Thecolonialperiod(sixteenthtoeighteenthcenturies)
OncethevariousNativeAmericankingdomshadbeenconquered,oneofthe
mainobstaclestoevangelizationwasthediversityoflanguagesinLatinAmerica.
Catholicclergymenbecameawareoftheneedforalinguafrancawhichcould
functionasanintermediarybetweenSpanishandthemultitudeofnative
languages.Bywayofsolution,missionariesbegantopropagatetheuseof
‘generallanguages’:by1584NahuatlwasspokenfromZacatecasto
Nicaragua;bytheendofthesixteenthcenturyQuechuaspreadfromPerudown
tonorthwestArgentinaandfromsouthernColombiaacrosstoEcuadorandthe
UpperAmazon;Chibcha(orMuysca)wasemployedthroughoutthe
Colombianplateau;andGuaranícouldbeheardinParaguay,theRiverPlate
estuaryandalargepartofBrazil.Paradoxically,undertheSpaniardsNahuatl
andQuechuacoveredagreaterexpanseofterritorythantheyhadatthepeak
oftheirownrespectiveempires.
However,leavingasidethenecessitiesofdailycommunication,itmustbe
pointedoutthatrightuptotheendofthecolonialperiodthenativelanguages
wereneglectedbytheSpanishauthorities,anattitudewhichresultedintheloss
oftextsandtranslationsofimmensevalue,nottomentionlinguisticstudies
carriedoutby(amongothers)Jesuit,FranciscanandHieronymitemissionaries.
Infact,sinceitwasinconceivablethatthesacramentsoftheCatholicChurchbe
administeredwithoutaminimumofunderstandingofthebasicarticlesoffaithon
thepartoftheconvert,andsinceitwasequallyunacceptablethatconfession
(forexample)beundertakenthroughinterpreters,priestsdedicatedthemselves
toadeepstudyofthelocallanguagesandevenwrotegrammarsand
dictionariesaswellastranslatingseveralreligioustexts,suchasbreviaries,
missals,devotionalmaterial,chantsandhymns.Thesedocumentslaterfellinto
disuse,addingtothelonglistofscholarlyworksontheNativeAmerican
languagesthatwereproducedduringthisperiodandthenlosttoposterity.