Paraguayan Americans

A landlocked South American country, Paraguay is bordered by Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil, and bisected by Rio Paraguay, the “parrot river.” Over 90 percent of the population lives in one of the major cities, the largest of which is the capital port city of Asuncion. Most Paraguayans are mestizo, and Paraguay has adopted the native language of Guarani as one of its two official languages, along with Spanish. Guarani is a critical element of Paraguayan identity; Paraguay is the only country in the Americas in which a European language is the less-spoken language.

The Guarani are a group of indigenous South American people, native not only to Paraguay but also to Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia. The increasing prestige attached to the Guarani language, which today is spoken even by those with no Guarani heritage, is an important part of the changes that have occurred in Paraguay since the end of Spanish colonialism.

During the colonial era, the Spanish made a point of using their language as a way to drive assimilation. Through the 19th and much of the 20th century, speaking Guarani was a lower-class marker. However, the seed for today's construction of Guarani fluency and Paraguay's bilingualism was planted in the 17th century, when the Jesuit missionaries tasked with converting the indigenous population elected to learn Guarani and preach to the natives in that language, rather than teach them Spanish. This removed some of the motivation to abandon Guarani, because the natives could obtain the social status and privileges associated with becoming Christian without having to learn Spanish to do so. The Jesuits’ use of Guarani also gave implicit approval to the language.

The Jesuits also helped develop a writing system for the language, which again contributed to its longevity. Guarani has contributed many words to Spanish and Portuguese, as well as several to English, including jaguar, tapir, acai, and piranha.