Guarani
My mum is from Paraguay, she is Guarani, and in Paraguay Guarani and Spanish are both official languages, but outside of Paraguay no one barely knows Guarani. I think something should be done about this to preserve one of South America's last surviving cultures from before European settlement.
Sent by: Tiago
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From one James to another, I agree. I would not like to see any language or culture die. In your case, if this did happen, it would mean a language and culture from another continent had destroyed entirely the indigenous language and culture. This surely cannot be right and I don't see why they cannogt exist alongside one another, although this may mean local people working at keeping one culture and language alive, perhaps with the assistance of money from local or national government or from international organisations.
From one James to another, I agree. I would not like to see any language or culture die. In your case, if this did happen, it would mean a language and culture from another continent had destroyed entirely the indigenous language and culture. This surely cannot be right and I don't see why they cannogt exist alongside one another, although this may mean local people working at keeping one culture and language alive, perhaps with the assistance of money from local or national government or from international organisations.
Having lived in Paraguay, I think it's clear that Guarani is here to stay which is fabulous! Especially as in recent years, a system of writing has been devised so that there is also a written record. On that note, has anyone got tips on how to learn Guarani when you live in the UK?
If you want people to be aware of Guarani then you have to give them something to relate to. I usually tell people that guarana is the active ingredient in most energy drinks and that's where the name comes from, from the Guarani-speaking people. As for preserving the language I think they are doing pretty good like the Maya, Quechua, Nahua, etc. in comparison to Taino-Arawak, Siouan or even Gaelic.
Paraguayan Guarani is spoken in Argentina by most Paraguayan inmigrants amongst themselves. I hear it spoken practically everyday. However, Guarani dialects of Argentina's NE provinces have no official backing and is seriously endangered.
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