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Main languages. Spanish is the most spoken language of South America with Portuguese as a very close second. Other official languages with substantial number of speakers are: Aymara in Bolivia and Peru. Guaraní in Bolivia and Paraguay. Quechua in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. Language. Speakers. Countries.
- Overview
- Demographic patterns
The linguistic diversity and multiplicity of South America probably is unmatched anywhere else in the world. Thousands of languages and dialects have been cataloged, including all those that have developed since the European conquest. Classification systems vary a great deal—from more than 100 “linguistic families” and many unrelated languages at one extreme to extremely simplified schemes at the other. There also is considerable disagreement on the composition of those “stocks” and how many languages should be classified. Most are now extinct, either because the peoples who spoke them have disappeared or because of acculturation into a European language or, in some instances, into another indigenous tongue.
The survival of Indian languages in the Indian-American areas has depended on a variety of factors. Colonial authorities helped spread Quechuan languages (those spoken by the Inca) because they were convenient for missionary activities and for government, and those languages often displaced local indigenous languages. Elsewhere, local languages gave way to new languages such as the língua-geral of Brazil (combining Tupí-Guaraní and Portuguese). In many cases populations became bilingual, with an Indian language spoken at home and Spanish used for public transactions; examples include the Spanish-Guaraní speakers of Paraguay and the Quechuan-Spanish speakers throughout the Andes.
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 after Spanish and Portuguese, is not spoken by all Andean highlanders but is limited to certain sharply defined geographic domains. Aymaran languages are spoken in northwestern Bolivia, southeastern Peru, and small areas of northwestern Argentina and northern Chile. Most people in Paraguay speak Spanish and a dialect of Tupí-Guaraní and consider themselves to be mestizo Paraguayans rather than Indians. Mapuche speakers, who constitute the largest Indian population in Chile, are restricted to the south-central part of the country, with smaller groups found in Argentina, especially in Neuquén province.
A great many other Indian languages also are spoken by members of numerous smaller groups, many of which are extremely localized and some of which are on the verge of extinction. Those groups are found primarily on the periphery of lowland regions, in areas once isolated from slave trading and the rubber trade. Relatively few lowland groups are located in Brazil, the rest being found in the Hispanic countries. Among the larger groups of the Amazon basin (excluding Quechua speakers) are the Chiquitanos of eastern Bolivia, the Arawaks (Campa, Machiguenga, etc.) and Shipobo of east-central Peru, the Cocama-Cocamilla of northeastern Peru, the Jívaroans along the Ecuador-Peru border, the Tikuna of the Brazil-Colombia-Peru border region, the Yanomami of the Venezuela-Brazil border region, and the Makushí along the Brazil-Guyana border. Groups south of the Amazon basin include the Guaraní of southeastern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina and the Toba of northern Argentina. North of the Amazon basin are the Arawaks of Guyana, the Goajiro and Sinu (Cenú) of northern Colombia, and the Emberá along the Colombia-Panama border. The Quillacingas of Colombia occupy lands just to the north of the Quechua domain.
The continent’s demographics reflect an unusual settlement history: South America is a “hollow continent,” with most of the population concentrated around its margins. The highest population densities are found in the old Indian core areas of the Andes, the former slave areas of northeastern Brazil, and the areas of European immigration in southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The interior is relatively empty because of the decline in Indian populations, poor communications with coastal areas, and the absence of economic opportunities capable of attracting large numbers of immigrants. Another characteristic of South American demography is a high rate of population growth in tropical regions coupled with moderate growth in the temperate southern cone. The high tropical growth rates, however, have begun to diminish.
Both South American demography and history can be explained through the changing patterns of birth and death rates and immigration caused by the Iberian conquest and by subsequent economic development. After the conquest, diseases such as smallpox, measles, malaria, and yellow fever decimated Indian populations, leading to a long-term pattern of high death rates and declining or stagnant populations, even where fertility was high. Beginning in the area of European migration and extending throughout the continent after World War II, innovations in public health, such as safe drinking water and vaccines, have resulted in a dramatic drop in death rates everywhere except remote rural areas and urban slums.
Aug 20, 2024 · Let’s start with the name of the city, for example. In Neapolitan, Napoli is Napule (Nah-puu-luh). While Italian words end with a vowel, Neapolitans usually cut the vowel off the end, and don’t distinguish as much between the final “a” or “o”, opting instead for a neutral “uh” sound. You’ll hear a lot of “sh” sounds ...
- 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.
The Napulitanamente Renaissance of the Neapolitan Language. The Region of Campania passed a law on October 14, 2008, stating the Neapolitan language was to be protected. Neapolitan is the only dialect in Italy that is used by both the old and young people. Even though the Neapolitan Language is not taught in school, it remains a robust part of ...
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Indigenous languages of South America. The principal families of South America (except Quechua, Aymaran, and Mapuche). The indigenous languages of South America are those whose origin dates back to the pre-Columbian era. The subcontinent has great linguistic diversity, but, as the number of speakers of indigenous languages is diminishing, it is ...
