Guarani is alive and well in Paraguay

May 3
08:56

2012

Charlene Lacandazo

Charlene Lacandazo

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Guarani is one of many minority languages in South America. Contrary to many of the others, however, it appears to have a bright future, largely thanks to local community and government efforts to preserve the language.

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Paraguay is just of the one of many multilingual nations in South America; Spanish is the dominant language,Guarani is alive and well in Paraguay Articles taught in schools and spoken by most people in the country. Due to the great marks left in Paraguayans history, the society itself declared Guarani as one of the important languages in the country. The Guarani language is an Amerindian language that evolved from the Southern dialect of the Tupi-Guarani group. In addition, it is also the language of most Paraguayan literature and music.Although there are more than twenty languages in Paraguay, most of these indigenous languages of Paraguay have been neglected and dominated by the Spanish language. Spanish is spoken by over 90% of the population, while the Guarani language is spoken by most of the remaining 10% of the population. Actually, Guarani is divided into a number of sub-groups; there are indigenous groups who also speak it in Eastern Bolivia, North-eastern Argentina, and South-western Brazil.Many Paraguayans are very happy to give Guarani language some importance; this helps to make the official status of the Guarani language strong and enduring. Today, Guarani is part of the school curriculum in Paraguayan schools. Although teaching Paraguayan students how to speak and write Guarani properly, the level of the teaching skills of the language teachers is not satisfactory for developing the knowledge of the children in the Guarani language. Hence, this affects the Guarani language communication performance of every student in Paraguay as well.Paraguayan society believes that teaching the Guarani language in schools helps to preserve the vital significance of the Guarani language. However, teaching Guarani should be properly carried out, and the language should only be taught by capable Guarani teachers.Preservation of any language is a complex process, which requires a lot of understanding and participation of the people in the society. Just like any other language, Guarani plays an important role in the lives and history of Paraguayans; it is a part of Paraguayans identity, and a symbol of where they belong. Perhaps, Guarani is more alive nowadays than during the Paraguayan ancient times. Historically speaking, speaking Guarani was prohibited by law, and those who spoke it received some form of punishment. However, nowadays, Paraguayan people have a lot of chances and freedom to express themselves using the Guarani language.Eventually, the vital significance of the Guarani language exists not for Paraguayans alone, there are several other South American countries that consider Guarani language as one of the languages of their people. Thus, preserving and keeping Guarani may not be difficult, but practicing the correct concepts in relation to Guarani may be complicated.Interestingly, the Paraguayan government value the significance of the Guarani language, but it should be noted by the authorities that language teachers in Paraguay should be qualified and capable enough to help students to be well-versed in their own language. Otherwise, it would be a bit embarrassing and not funny at all if future native Guarani speakers are not fluent in their own mother tongue.