Spanish is spoken in South America, isn’t it?
At least Spanish is the most widely spoken language, but not the only one. The region comprises thirteen countries, in nine of which Spanish is the official language. Ninety per cent of Spanish speakers live in the Americas. Portuguese is also spoken in Brazil, as well as French (French Guyana), English (Guyana) and Dutch (Suriname). However, just because Spanish is spoken in most regions does not mean that people understand each other everywhere.
Via Andalusia to America
Most European settlers travelled to South America via Andalusia from 1492 onwards. The ships set sail from the harbour in Seville. Many of them adopted Andalusian Spanish, which still resonates today. The settlers spoke Spanish with each other.
But it was not certain for a long time whether Spanish would prevail. The local languages were too different, as the indigenous people obviously had their own languages, and communication between locals and settlers was difficult. In the 19th century, shortly before independence from the Spanish crown, only 3 million of the 14 million inhabitants spoke Spanish, according to Santiago Muñoz Machado (director of the Real Academia Española, the Spanish dictionary).
L. Prang & Co., Boston, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Some suspect that there was a kind of Creole Spanish in which the landowners communicated with the indigenous people. But the settlers were at the top of the hierarchy and the authorities were controlled from Spain, giving Spanish speakers an elevated status. In addition, the church had enormous influence. To be able to communicate with the indigenous people, the missionaries learnt the indigenous languages early on and wrote them down. Initially, they taught using the indigenous languages, but after independence, Spanish became the main language of instruction.
The pre-Columbian languages were very diverse. The great distances, the difficult travelling conditions due to the geography (high mountains, jungle and large rivers) led to many variants. Many languages were lost, while others survived and are still spoken today. Today, the World Bank estimates that 560 indigenous languages are spoken in Latin America, with 20% of indigenous peoples having already lost their own language.
The best known are Quechua (from which words such as llama, coca, pampa originate), Aymara, Guaraní (anana) or, from the Caribbean region, Arahuaco-Tainas (barbecue, caiman, tabaco). Mayan (cigar) and Nahúa (such as cocoa, tomato) are also known from Central America. However, there are many other small languages, especially in the Amazon region – there are said to be 186 in Brazil alone.
No language without politics
Languages connect, facilitate communication and also control. Language is culture, identity and history. Language creates community. That is why it was important for the conquerors to promote a common language. The Incas imposed Quechua and Aymara. As it was such a large empire, these languages are still very present in several Andean countries today.
The European languages gradually replaced the indigenous languages – at least to a certain extent. It was not until the beginning of the 21st century that the first efforts were made to strengthen the indigenous languages. The socialist countries remembered their roots and the importance of protecting their own language. Unfortunately, these were often the most widely spoken ones. In Bolivia, for example, Aymara, Quechua and Guaraní – out of a total of 36 languages. In Peru, the number of Quechua speakers even rose from 3.2 million in 1992 to 3.8 in 2017. In Macas, Ecuador, in an indigenous Shuar community, the head of the family told us that he only learnt Shuar late in life because it was frowned upon at the time and school was in Spanish. Today it is one of the most important indigenous languages in Ecuador.
Nevertheless, many small language communities are dying out because they are not economically advantageous. According to the World Bank, 26 per cent of South America’s indigenous languages are threatened with extinction.
Each region, its vocabulary
Not all Spanish is the same. There are big differences. We met people we didn’t understand because they don’t speak Spanish as their mother tongue, but only learnt it at school (which doesn’t last many years). I am a linguist and studied Spanish translation. But even there I reached my limits. Many words come from the old Spanish, which I perhaps knew from the lessons when we had to read Cervantes and his windmills. In addition, there are words from their indigenous language that we don’t know or sentence structures that we are not used to. An old couple in Paraguay only spoke Guaraní in the family, so we got further with sign language than with spoken language.
The names of animals and plants are an extreme example and change hugely. Here is a rough example: the lance adder Bothrops is called Equis in Ecuador, Jergón in Peru and Yarará in Bolivia.
Another example from the plant world: Pepper is known as pimiento, pimentón, locote, chile dulce or morrón. Chilli can be called rocoto, ají or chile. Depending on the region. There are actually different varieties of the plant, but often people only know one name and used that one to refer to all of them.
Naming car parts is also always interesting. I know them by one name, but here it’s completely different. I often look for synonyms for the terms, e.g. neumático, llanta, goma, caucho, rueda for tyres, and then I just rattle them all off. The other person usually recognises one of the words.
I realise that I use the lisped Spanish S from Spain less. Because many people don’t understand me, especially those people who have little contact with foreigners. But somehow you can always communicate.
And where should I learn Spanish now?
It depends on where you want to go. I personally find Argentinian particular, many people like it a lot, but the verb forms are not common in other countries. If you don’t learn languages easily, it can get complicated afterwards. Chileans speak very quickly and also have many of their own verb forms.
Colombians have a good mix between Europe and Latin America but can have a very strong accent. Mexico is also unique, but you hear it a lot and they use a lot of words from English. Michael found Ecuador and Argentina easier to understand (he spent a long time in Argentina).
It is certainly an advantage to be in the city, because in the countryside they tend to mix in their mother tongue. But in the end it doesn’t matter, in language schools they try to speak a neutral Spanish, which you don’t really hear on the street. So you have to relearn Spanish in every country anyway.