Spanish languageSpanish (español) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It originated in the Kingdom of Castile, a historical kingdom in north-central Spain. Today, it is a global language with 519 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain, and about 636 million speakers total, including second-language speakers.
South AmericaContinentScheme for geographical regions and subregions used by the United Nations Statistics DivisionSouth America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and most in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern subregion of the Americas.
Indigenous languages of the AmericasYucatec Maya writing in the Dresden Codex, c.11–12th century, Chichen ItzaThe indigenous languages of the Americas are the languages that were used by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, before the arrival of Europeans. Over a thousand of these languages are still used in the 21st century, while many more are now extinct.
ParaguayCountry in South AmericaParaguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country located in the central region of South America. It borders Bolivia to the northwest and north, Brazil to the northeast and east, and Argentina to the southeast, south, and west. Paraguay has access to the Atlantic Ocean via the Paraná–Paraguay Waterway, a system of navigable channels shared by five countries.
BoliviaCountry in South AmericaFlag Coat of armsMotto: La unión es la fuerza"Unity is Strength"Anthem: Himno Nacional de Bolivia (Spanish)"National Anthem of Bolivia"Dual flag: WiphalaLocation of Bolivia (dark green)in South America (gray)CapitalSucreAdministrative centerLa PazLargest citySanta Cruz17°48′S63°10′W / 17.800°S 63.167°W / -17.800; -63.167Official languagesSpanishQuechuaAymaraGuaraniOther indigenous languagesEthnic groups (2024)37.63% Native14.48% Quechua14.03% Aymara0.91% Guarani1.20% Other0.22% Black62.15% OtherReligion (2020)92.8% Christianity81.4% Catholic11.4% other Christian6.5% no religion0.7% otherDemonymBolivianGovernmentUnitary presidential republic• PresidentRodrigo Paz• Vice PresidentEdmand Lara• President of the SenateDiego Ávila• President of the Chamber of DeputiesRoberto Castro SalazarLegislaturePlurinational Legislative Assembly• Upper houseChamber of Senators• Lower houseChamber of DeputiesIndependence from Spain• Declared6 August 1825• Recognized 21 July 1847• Current constitution7 February 2009Area • Total1,098,581 km (424,164 sq mi) (27th)• Water (%)1.29Population• 2024 census 11,365,333 (83rd)• Density10.4/km (26.9/sq mi) (224th)GDP (PPP)2026 estimate• Total $161.820 billion (89th)• Per capita $12,692 (122th)GDP (nominal)2026 estimate• Total $80.740 billion (86th)• Per capita $6,333 (115th)Gini (2021) 40.9medium inequalityHDI (2023) 0.733high (108th)CurrencyBoliviano (BOB)Time zoneUTC−04:00 (BOT)Date formatdd/mm/yyyyCalling code+591ISO 3166 codeBOInternet TLD.boBolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America.
Official languageAn official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, the establishment of an official language might also place restrictions on the use of other languages in those capacities. Designated rights of an official language can be created in written form or by historic usage.
Language shiftLanguage shift, also known as language transfer, language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are perceived to be of higher-status stabilize or spread at the expense of other languages that are perceived—even by their own speakers—to have lower status. An example is the shift from Gaulish to Latin during the time of the Roman Empire.
BrazilBrazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is also the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh-largest by population, with over 214 million people. Brazil is a federation composed of 26 states and a Federal District, which hosts the capital, Brasília. Its most populous city is São Paulo, followed by Rio de Janeiro.
AmericasLandmass comprising North and South AmericaThe Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America. When viewed as a single continent, the Americas are the second largest continent by area after Asia and the third largest continent by population. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and constitute the "New World", in contrast to the "Old World" of Afro-Eurasia.
Tupian languagesThe Tupi or Tupian language family comprises some 70 languages spoken in South America, of which the best known are Tupi proper and Guarani. HomelandRodrigues (2007) considers the Proto-Tupian urheimat to be somewhere between the Guaporé and Aripuanã rivers, in the Madeira River basin. Much of this area corresponds to the modern-day state of Rondônia, Brazil.
Tupi–Guarani languagesSubfamily of the Tupian languages, indigenous to South America Tupi–Guarani (/tuːˈpiː ɡwɑːˈrɑːni/; Tupi-Guarani: [tuˈpi ɡwaɾaˈni]; pronunciationⓘ) is the most widely distributed subfamily of the Tupian languages of South America. It consists of about fifty languages, including Guarani and Old Tupi. The most widely spoken in modern times by far is Guarani, which is one of the two official languages of Paraguay.
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the far south of South America. It covers an area of 2,780,085 km2 (1,073,397 mi2), making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world.Appendix:Swadesh lists for Tupi–Guarani languagesRelated word or term.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.