Languages of South America

Main European languages spoken in South America.

The languages of South America can be divided into three broad groups: the languages of the (in most cases, former) colonial powers; many indigenous languages, some of which enjoy co-official status alongside the colonial languages; and various pockets of other languages spoken by immigrant populations that have survived assimilation by the majority languages.

Main languages

Main native languages in Latin America, legend:
     Quechua      Guarani      Aymara
     Nahuatl      Maya languages      Mapudungún

The languages imposed by the process of the European colonization of the Americas are mainly Indo-European. Portuguese is the majority language of South America, by a small margin. Spanish, with slightly fewer speakers than Portuguese, is the second most spoken language on the continent.[1][2] Dutch is the official language of Suriname; English is the official language of Guyana, although there are at least 12 other languages spoken in the country, including Hindi, Arabic, and various indigenous languages. English is also spoken in the Falkland Islands. French is the official language of the French overseas department of French Guiana.

Indigenous languages

Main language families of South America (other than Quechuan, Aimaran and Mapudungun, which expanded after the Spanish Conquest).

Indigenous languages of South America include, among several others, Quechua languages in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador; Guaraní in Paraguay and, to a much lesser extent, in Bolivia; Aymara in Bolivia, Peru, and less often in Chile; and Mapudungun is spoken in certain pockets of southern Chile and, more rarely, Argentina.

In Bolivia, Quechua, Aymara, and Tupi Guarani are co-official alongside Spanish. In Paraguay, Guarani shares joint official status with Spanish. In Colombia, the languages of the country's ethnic groups are constitutionally recognized as official languages in their territories; more than 60 such aboriginal languages exist today. In Peru, Quechua, Aymara, and other indigenous languages are co-official in the areas where they are predominant. There are many other languages once spoken in South America that are extinct today (such as the extinct languages of the Marañón River basin).

In Brazil, there are around 135 indigenous languages confirmed. The regions with the most speakers are northern and western Brazil, where there is a larger concentration of native people. Indigenous populations have been trying to keep their traditions of their homeland, with the help of Funai, the agency responsible for the protection of the native people.

Language Speakers Countries
Quechua 8,900,000[3] Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador
Guarani 4,900,000[4] Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina
Aymara 2,800,000[5] Peru, Bolivia, Chile

Linguistic Classification of Central and South America

[6]

Other languages

Italian and Italian heritage can be found in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, and Venezuela

German and German heritage is most common in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

Arabic language and heritage often of Lebanese, Syrian or Palestinian descent, are commonly found in Arab communities in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Paraguay and less frequently in Chile.

The Welsh language remains spoken and written in the historic towns of Trelew and Rawson in the Argentine Patagonia.

There are small Croatian, Polish and Russian-speaking communities in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.

There are also small clusters of Japanese-speakers in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Ecuador. Brazil currently holds the largest Japanese community outside Japan [7]

Hindi and Javanese are commonly found in Guyana and Suriname.

The Rapa Nui Language is a Polynesian origin found in Easter Island, Chile and Maori is also found in Easter Island.

In most of the South American continent, particularly the countries mentioned above, mandate the regularly study of English, French, German or Italian. These countries often have advanced cultural language institutes for those respective languages centered in their major cites.

In Brazil, Italian and German dialects, specifically Talian, Pomeranian and Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, have co-official status alongside Portuguese in about a dozen cities, and are mandatory subjects in schools in other municipalities

References

  1. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/arts/television/26rebel.html?ex=1340510400
  2. ↑ http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004674.html
  3. ↑ Mikael Parkvall, "Världens 100 största språk 2007" (The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007), in Nationalencyklopedin
  4. ↑ Guarani at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  5. ↑ Central Aymara at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015), Southern Aymara at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  6. ↑ Greenberg, Joseph H. "The general classification of Central and South American languages", in: Men and cultures; selected papers of the 5th international congress of anthropological and ethnologicalsciences, Philadelphia, September 1956 PP. 791-4
  7. ↑ "Japan, Brazil mark a century of settlement, family ties | The Japan Times Online". 2008-01-15.

External links

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