In this contribution I present a meaning list for cognate searches in which meanings are, unlike in similar lists of “basic vocabulary” for the same purpose, organized according to semantic principles. This list is designed to identify possible cognates, which can then be scrutinized more closely in search for hitherto undetected genealogical relationships between languages, in a more effective way. Rather than proposing a completely new set of meanings to be featured, the list combines those most commonly used in extant lists of basic vocabulary such as the Swadesh or the Leipzig/Jakarta List, but introduces several design principles which are jointly able to represent also complex semantic relationships in the context of wordlists.
The Central Andes of Peru and Bolivia belong to those areas of the world whose linguistic landscape has been shaped decisively by language contact. Scholars have long recognized the intricate similarities between the Quechuan and Aymaran languages, and the consensus view is to attribute these to convergence arising from long periods of stable bilingualism in prehistory. As more recent research shows, also the languages of Northern Peru were shaped by language contact before their extinction. As a result, contact effects need to be taken into account as a general factor in studies of the linguistic history and prehistory of the Central Andes since without them crucial aspects of the lexical and grammatical structure of Central Andean languages cannot be properly understood. Thus, language contact constitutes a privileged and overarching point of access to understanding the linguistic prehistory of the region as a whole.
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