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Aug 31, 2015 · The map below shows the major language families of South America other than Quechuan, Aimaran, and Mapudungun, which expanded after the Spanish conquest. Indigenous languages of South America still exhibit remarkable diversity, with about 600 languages spoken across the continent.
- 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.
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.
Robert Delaney (2000) has outlined a dialect map for the United States which features at least 24 distinctive dialects of English. Dialect boundaries are established using diverse criteria: language features (differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar), settlement history, ethnic diversity, educational levels, and languages in ...
A lingua franca is the term used to describe a language systematically used to enable effective communication between people with different native languages. Lingua Franca has been used throughout human history and was used for commercial, religious, and diplomatic purposes.
Characteristics. Trade languages of the world in 1908 from The Harmsworth Atlas and Gazetteer. Any language regularly used for communication between people who do not share a native language is a lingua franca. [5] . Lingua franca is a functional term, independent of any linguistic history or language structure. [6]
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Summarize the main physical features and characteristics of South America. Explain how European colonialism dominated the realm and divided up the continent. Describe the ethnic, economic, and political patterns in the Guianas. Outline the main cultural realms of South America.
