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Official languages 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 are co-official alongside the colonial languages; and various pockets of other languages spoken by immigrant populations.
The largest surviving indigenous language groups are Quechuan, Aymaran, Tupí-Guaraní, and Mapuche. Quechuan languages are in use primarily in the Andean highlands (southern Colombia to Bolivia) but also in large areas of the Amazon basin and in northwestern Argentina. Quechuan, collectively the third largest language group in South America ...
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Feb 15, 2024 · I’ll look at each of these – along with various other languages spoken in South America – in a little more depth below. Spanish . With more than 210 million speakers, Spanish reigns as the most spoken language in South America, accounting for nearly half the continent's population.
- Quechua. Quechua is spoken by an estimated six to eight million speakers across the Andean region, making it the most spoken language in South America. Citizens of the Incan empire communicated primarily in Quechua, and its predominance in the region even meant that Spanish colonists accepted it as a tool to communicate with the native population.
- Mayan. Six million people speak Mayan across Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras, but there are about 30 different dialects. They may be from the same language family, but for the most part, those who speak one dialect of Mayan cannot understand those who speak another.
- Guaraní. An anomaly on the list, Guaraní is the only indigenous language in South America that is spoken by non-indigenous people as a native language. Its predominance in Paraguay is related to the death of 70% of the male population in the 1870 Paraguayan war, and President Carlos Antonio Lopez realized he had to bridge the divide between the indigenous and Spanish-descended population to ensure the country’s survival.
- Aymara. Aymara, which is spoken in Peru and Bolivia by nearly an estimated 2.5 million people, has many similarities to Quechua, but linguistics studies have proved that is likely to be from recent lexical borrowings rather than a shared heritage.
- Spanish. Spanish dances through the lips of millions across South America. From the vibrant streets of Buenos Aires to the ancient alleys of Cusco, Spanish unites, but it also transforms—its regional dialects paint a linguistic mosaic.
- Portuguese. The heart of Portuguese, the poetic language of Brazil, beats strongest in the continent’s largest country where the samba rhythms and Amazonian melodies find their linguistic counterpart.
- Quechua. I bet you didn’t see this coming. Quechua, the ancient language of the Andes, breathes the whispers of history across the mountainous terrain of South America.
- English. English, a global linguistic nomad, has left its footprints on nearly every corner of the world, including the diverse landscapes of South America.
Cultural History. Colonialism and Imperialism. Intellectual History. Castellano, Español, or Españoles? Spanish is spoken today as a native language by almost half a billion people. The vast majority of them are in Latin America, including the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.
Apr 22, 2024 · South America includes 14 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands (United Kingdom), French Guiana (France), Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. Spanish is the official language of all South American countries except Brazil, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, and is spoken even in ...
