Guide to Languages in South America

Guide to... Language

Languages in South America

¿Habla ingles? Fala ingles?

As you travel around South America, it's a helpful accident of history that you can get by almost everywhere with just one language...

In fact in every country with the exception of Brazil (and the Guyanas) a little Spanish will go a long way, and although there are definite regional differences, it's recognisably the same Spanish as you might have learned for holidays in Spain.

In Brazil, although many people do speak (or at least understand) Spanish, they are proud of the fact that they are Portuguese-speakers, and will often prefer to speak English in preference to Spanish even when the latter might actually be more practical. Brazilian Portuguese has a few pronunciation and vocabulary differences to European Portuguese, but again it's not a million miles away, so any prior knowledge you have will stand you in good stead.

To learn a bit more about the specifics in each country, see our dedicated language guides below:

Rioplatense spanish

Argentina: Spanish

The dialect of Spanish spoken in Argentina is known as Rioplatense and is a little different to the Spanish spoken elsewhere in South America.

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Bolivian Spanish

Bolivia: Spanish, Aymara & Quechua

In Bolivia, many people speak the indigenous languages of Quechua or Aymara as a mother tongue, but Spanish is understood by just about everyone.

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Brazilian Portuguese

Brazil: Portuguese

Brazilians are proud Portuguese speakers, so don't try and slip into Spanish here! Levels of English can be surprisingly low, so learning a few words is definitely a good idea.

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Chilean Spanish

Chile: Spanish

Chilean Spanish is fairly typical of that spoken in Latin America, both in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation, so any Spanish you learn here will stand you in good stead.

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Colombian Spanish

Colombia: Spanish

There are marked differences between the Caribbean Spanish spoken on the Colombian coast, and that spoken in the highlands around Bogota, so Spanish here can be a bit of a rollercoaster...

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Ecuadorean Spanish

Ecuador: Spanish and Kichwa

Although Kichwa (or Quechua) enjoys official status in Ecuador, Spanish is overwhelmingly the primary language, and will be spoken by just about everyone you meet in Ecuador.

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Paraguay Guarani Language

Paraguay: Spanish and Guarani

Paraguay is unique in Latin America in having an indigenous language, Guarani, which is spoken by over 90% of the population. In fact, over half the population are monolingual in Guarani.

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Peruvian Spanish

Peru: Spanish

In Peru, although indigenous languages such as Quechua and Aymara have a degree of official status in some areas and are widely-spoken, Spanish is the national official language.

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Uruguayan Spanish

Uruguay: Spanish

Uruguayan Spanish uses the same Rioplatense dialect as in Argentina, although there are occasional differences in vocabulary.

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Venezuelan Spanish

Venezuela: Spanish

Venezuelan Spanish is rich in slang and the accent can often be difficult for outsiders to understand - unless, strangely, you learned your Spanish in the Canary Islands...