Languages of 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.

Official languages in South America

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:

Language Speakers Countries Source
Spanish 214,265,000 Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Brazil [1]
Portuguese 211,754,600 Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela [2]
Quechua 7,735,620 Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Colombia [3]
English 6,925,850 Falkland Islands, Guyana, Colombia (San Andres y Providencia) [4]
Guarani 6,162,790 Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil [5]
Talian 4,000,000 Brazil [6]
Hunsrik 3,000,000 Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay [7]
Aymara 1,677,100 Bolivia, Peru, Chile [8]
German 1,285,800 Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay [9]
Italian 1,259,900 Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela [10]
Dutch 575,000 Suriname [11]
Japanese 425,000 Brazil [12]
Wayuu 416,000 Colombia, Venezuela [13]
French 319,400 French Guiana, Brazil (Amapá) [14]
Sranan Tongo 307,600 Suriname, French Guiana [15]
Pomeranian 300,000 Brazil [16]
Mapudungun 258,410 Argentina, Chile [17]
Caribbean Hindustani 164,000 Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana [18]

Indigenous languages
Main article: Indigenous languages of South America
Main native languages in Latin America, legend:
  Quechua   Guarani   Aymara
  Nahuatl   Mayan languages   Mapudungun
Main language families of South America (other than Aimaran, Mapudungun, and Quechuan, which expanded after the Spanish conquest).

Indigenous languages of South America include, among several others, the Quechua languages in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru and to a lesser extent in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia; Guaraní in Paraguay and to a much lesser extent in Argentina and Bolivia; Aymara in Bolivia and Peru and to a lesser extent in Chile; Wayuu in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela; and Mapudungun in small pockets of southern Chile and Argentina.

In Bolivia, three languages—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. Ecuador uses Spanish, Northern Quechua, and Shuar as official languages for intercultural relations. In Peru, Quechua and Aymara, as well as 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 North and Central-West 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.

Rapa Nui is a Polynesian language spoken on Easter Island, Chile.[19]

Language Speakers Countries Source
Quechua 7,735,620 Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Colombia [3]
Guarani 6,162,790 Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil [5]
Aymara 1,677,100 Bolivia, Peru, Chile [8]
Wayuu 416,000 Colombia, Venezuela [13]
Mapudungun 258,410 Argentina, Chile [17]

Classification
See also: List of indigenous languages of South America

Source:[20]

Other non-indigenous languages

In Brazil, Italian and German dialects, specifically Talian, East Pomeranian, and Hunsrik, have co-official status alongside Portuguese in about a dozen cities and are mandatory subjects in schools in other municipalities. The states of Santa Catarina[37][38][39] and Rio Grande do Sul have Talian officially approved as a heritage language in these states,[40] and Espírito Santo has the East Pomeranian dialect,[41] along with the German language as cultural heritage.[41][42][43][44][45]

English is an official language in Guyana, and its creole form is the country's most widely spoken language. English is also the official language in the territories of the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

French is the official language in French Guiana, an overseas region of France. Dutch is the official language in neighboring Suriname.

Italian is spoken by communities in Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Brazil.[10][46]

German is used by some in Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Colombia.[9][47]

Welsh is spoken and written in the historic towns of Trelew and Rawson in Argentine Patagonia.[48]

There are also small clusters of Japanese speakers in Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia (including Okinawans from the island of Okinawa). Brazil currently holds the largest Japanese community outside Japan.[49][12]

Caribbean Hindustani is spoken by the Indo-Guyanese and the Indo-Surinamese.[50] In Suriname, the language is known as Sarnami Hindoestani and is still widely spoken. However, in Guyana, where it is known as Aili Gaili,[51] the language is nearly extinct as a spoken language, with only words and phrases still remaining.[52]

Javanese is spoken by the Javanese Surinamese who form about 14% of the country's population.[53]

Sranan Tongo, an English-based creole, serves as one of the lingua francas of Suriname, alongside Dutch.[15]

Other non-indigenous languages spoken include Arabic,[54] Chinese,[55] Romani,[56] Haitian Creole,[57] Romanian,[58] Greek,[59] Polish,[60] Ukrainian,[61] and Russian.[62]

See also

References
  1. Spanish at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  2. Portuguese at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  3. Quechuan at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  4. English at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  5. Guarani at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  6. Venetian at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  7. Hunsrik at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  8. Central Aymara at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access,
    Southern Aymara at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  9. German, Standard at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  10. Italian at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  11. "Nederlands in het Caribisch gebied en Suriname" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Taalunie. 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  12. Japanese at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  13. Wayuu at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  14. French at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  15. Sranan Tongo at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  16. Saxon, Low at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  17. Mapudungun at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  18. Sarnami Hindustani at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  19. Rapa Nui at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  20. 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
  21. "Câmara Bento – Projeto do Executivo é aprovado e Talian se torna a língua co-oficial – Jornal Cidades da Serra". 24 September 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016.
  22. "Lei confirma o Talian como segunda língua oficial de Caxias do Sul". 30 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019.
  23. "Leouve - Talian é língua cooficial de Flores da Cunha". 15 June 2016. Archived from the original on 15 June 2016.
  24. Lei Nº 1310 de 16 de outubro de 2015 - Dispõe sobre a cooficialização da língua do "talian", à língua portuguesa, no município de Nova Roma do Sul"
  25. O Talian agora é a língua co-oficial de Nova Roma do Sul, município de Nova Roma do Sul
  26. "Município de Serafina Corrêa Vereadores aprovam o talian como língua co-oficial do município". 30 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019.
  27. Espírito Santo investe na preservação da língua pomerana, in "Registros Escritos", fifth paragraph.
  28. "A escolarização entre descendentes pomeranos em Domingos Martins" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  29. "A co-oficialização da língua pomerana (third paragraph)" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  30. Município de Itarana participa de ações do Inventário da Língua Pomerana, Prefeitura Municipal de Itarana
  31. «Lei Municipal nº 1.195/2016 de Itarana/ES». itarana.es.gov.br
  32. "Pomerano!?" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  33. "No Brasil, pomeranos buscam uma cultura que se perde" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  34. "Lei dispõe sobre a cooficialização da língua pomerana no município de Santa maria de Jetibá, Estado do Espírito Santo" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  35. Cooficialização de línguas no Brasil: características, desdobramentos e desafios, third page.
  36. "Vila Pavão, Uma Pomerânia no norte do Espirito Santo" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  37. "LEI Nº 14.951" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  38. "Rotary apresenta ações na Câmara. FEIBEMO divulga cultura italiana" (in Portuguese). 11 August 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  39. "Fóruns sobre o Talian - Eventos comemoram os 134 anos da imigração italiana" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  40. "Aprovado projeto que declara o Talian como patrimônio do RS" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  41. "O povo pomerano no ES" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  42. "Plenário aprova em segundo turno a PEC do patrimônio" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  43. "Emenda Constitucional na Íntegra" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  44. "ALEES - PEC que trata do patrimônio cultural retorna ao Plenário" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  45. "Pommern in Brasilien - LernCafe – Online-Journal zur allgemeinen Weiterbildung". www.lerncafe.de.
  46. Bernasconi, Giulia (30 January 2012). "L'ITALIANO IN VENEZUELA".
  47. "German, Colonia Tovar". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  48. Welsh at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  49. "Japan, Brazil mark a century of settlement, family ties | The Japan Times Online". 2008-01-15.
  50. Frawley, William (2003). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 481–482. ISBN 978-0-19-513977-8.
  51. "Language". Caribbean Hindustani. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  52. "The Linguistic Legacy of Indian-Guyanese". Stabroek News. 2014-04-21. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  53. "Suriname - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  54. Arabic at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  55. Chinese at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  56. Romani at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  57. Haitian at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  58. Romanian at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  59. Greek at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  60. Polish at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  61. Ukrainian at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
  62. Russian at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) closed access
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