Multilingualism in Latin America
Dr. Yvette Bürki - Bern University
Tuesday, March 6, 2018 3:00 PM to 4:15 PM EST
Johnson Center, Meeting Room A
Multilingualism in Latin America
Dr. Yvette Bürki - Bern University
Paraguay is officially a multilingual state that recognizes Guarani and Spanish as its official languages, as well as other regional indigenous languages like Mascoy and Mataguayo. But what makes Paraguay’s sociolinguistic situation exceptional compared to other multilingual states in Latin America is that the whole country’s population is — to different degrees — bilingual in both official languages, Spanish and Guarani . After outlining the historical situation of Guarani and Spanish in Paraguay, this presentation focuses on how linguistic ideologies and identity trigger different linguistic practices that affect the linguistic balance within the multilingual state.
