Broadcasting the Thrill of the “Gooooooooal” in the Quechua Language

Quechua-speaking fans of Peru’s national football team recently were able to enjoy an important World Cup qualifying match with Quechua-language commentary thanks to efforts by two radio stations sharing their broadcasts on YouTube.

Quechua might share the word for “goal” with Spanish, but the two are distinct languages. Quechua is the most widely spoken indigenous language in South America, including spoken by more than 3 million Peruvians.

Taking one step closer to qualifying for the World Cup Russia 2018 with a 2-1 away victory against Ecuador on September 5, 2017, Peru has only two matches left in the qualifying cycle. Peru currently sits in 4th place that comes with an automatic berth ahead of other traditional regional powers like Argentina.

These efforts were the work of the Indigenous Audiovisual Association – Inkari and Interactiva Medios, fans could relive the match through a YouTube video summary with play-by-play in the Quechua language.

Another radio station, Radio Peruana Unión, broadcasted the entire match bilingually in Quechua and Spanish over its airwaves and online, uploading a behind-the-scenes clip showing the emotion displayed by the announcer calling both goals. There is also a video with a Quechua announcer of an earlier full match between Peru and neighboring Bolivia where Quechua is also spoken.

Originally published in Global Voices.