Why does the word llama have two L

The word "llama" has two L's because it comes from the Quechua language, spoken by indigenous people in the Andes region of South America. In Quechua, the word is "llama" and is pronounced with a double L sound.

When the word was adopted into Spanish and then English, the spelling was kept relatively close to the original Quechua pronunciation, which includes the double L.

Interestingly, the double L in "llama" represents a single consonant sound, similar to the "ll" in the Spanish word "calle" (street). It's not the same as the double L in "hello" where each L is pronounced separately.