many indigenous languages, some of which are co-official alongside the colonial languages;
and various pockets of other languages spoken by immigrant populations.
Main languages
Spanish, is the most spoken language in the Americas, but Portuguese is the most spoken language in the continent of South America, and with Spanish as a close second in South America.
Other official languages with substantial number of speakers are:
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.
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][11]
Caribbean Hindustani is spoken by the Indo-Guyanese and the Indo-Surinamese.[50] In Suriname, the language is known as Sarnámi Hindustáni and is still widely spoken. However, in Guyana, where it is known as Guyanese Hindustani or Aili Gaili,[51] the language is nearly extinct as a spoken language, with only words and phrases still remaining.[52]
↑ 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
† indicates an extinct language, italics indicates independent status of a language, bold indicates that a language family has at least 6 members, 1 indicates that less than 10 native speakers left
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Municipalities in which Talian is co-official in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, highlighted in red: Bento Gonçalves, [21] Caxias do Sul, [22] Flores da Cunha, [23] Nova Roma do Sul, [24] [25] and Serafina Corrêa. [26]
Municipalities in which East Pomeranian dialect is co-official in Espírito Santo, Brazil: Domingos Martins, [27] [28] [29] Itarana, [30] [31] Laranja da Terra, [27] [29] Pancas, [27] [32] [33] Santa Maria de Jetibá, [27] [34] [35] and Vila Pavão. [27] [36] [35]
