Languages of South America

Main native languages in Latin America, legend:

Quechua	Guarani	Aymara
Nahuatl	Mayan languages	Mapudungun

Spanish is the primary language of South America and its most spoken language, but most people in Brazil speak Portuguese[1] by a small margin.[2] Spanish, with slightly more speakers than Portuguese, is the most spoken language on the continent.

Other official and majority languages in specific countries are:

• Dutch in Suriname
• English in Guyana, the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• French in French Guiana, an overseas department of France.

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, the Quechua languages in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador 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, 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, 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 Ecuador, Spanish, Northern Quechua and Shuar are official for intercultural relations. 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 southern 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.

Municipalities that the Talian is co-official in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, highlighted in red: Bento Gonçalves,[7] Caxias do Sul,[8] Flores da Cunha,[9] Nova Roma do Sul[10][11] and Serafina Corrêa.[12]

Municipalities that the East Pomeranian dialect is co-official in Espírito Santo, Brazil: Domingos Martins,[13][14][15] Itarana,[16][17] Laranja da Terra,[13][15] Pancas,[13][18][19] Santa Maria de Jetibá[13][20][21] and Vila Pavão[13][22][21].

Italian is spoken by communities in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, and Venezuela.

German is used by some in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

Speakers of Arabic (chiefly of Lebanese, Syrian or Palestinian descent), are commonly found in parts of in Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile (largest Palestinian colony outside the Middle East) and Venezuela.

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

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

There are also many Romani-speakers, originating in Eastern Europe, throughout South America particularly in Colombia, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina.

There are Eastern European Romanian speakers, especially in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia, where Romanian populations live.

There are also small clusters of Japanese-speakers in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia (including Okinawans from the island of Okinawa), Colombia, Paraguay, and Ecuador. Brazil currently holds the largest Japanese community outside Japan [23]

Caribbean Hindustani is spoken by the Indo-Guyanese and the Indo-Surinamese.[24] In Suriname, the language is known as Sarnami Hindoestani and is still widely spoken, however in Guyana where it is known as Aili Gaili,[25] the language is nearly extinct as a spoken language with only words and phrases still remaining. [26]

Javanese is spoken by the Javanese Surinamese who form about 14% of the country's population[27]

Sranan Tongo, an English-based creole serves as one of the lingua francas of Suriname alongside Dutch.[28]

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

Most South American countries mandate the regular study of one or more of English, French, German or Italian. These countries often have advanced cultural language institutes for those respective languages centered in their major cities.

In Brazil, Italian and German dialects, specifically Talian, East Pomeranian and Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, have co-official status alongside Portuguese in about a dozen cities, and are mandatory subjects in schools in other municipalities. Brazil's largest city São Paulo has large numbers of German, Italian, Japanese and Levantine Arabic speakers. The states of Santa Catarina[29][30][31] and Rio Grande do Sul have Talian officially approved as a heritage language in these states,[32] and Espírito Santo has the East Pomeranian dialect,[33] along with the German language as cultural heritage.[33][34][35][36][37] [38]

• Languages in censuses
• Indigenous languages of South America
• List of unclassified languages of South America
• List of extinct languages of South America
• Extinct languages of the Marañón River basin

• Nicolai, Renato (2006). "Vocabulários e dicionários de línguas indígenas brasileiras".
• Petrucci, Victor A. (2007). "Línguas Indígenas".
• South American Indigenous Language Structures
• SAPhon – South American Phonological Inventories
• Sound comparisons for various South American languages
• Diachronic Atlas of Comparative Linguistics (DiACL)