Guatemala

Guatemala

Official Languages
In Guatemala 60% of the people speak Spanish and the other 40% speak Amerindian languages.  Spanish is the official language of Guatemala and there are 23 other officially recognized Amerindian languages which include Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Garifuna and Xinca.  Spanish is not spoken widely amongst people in the indigenous population.  There are 21 Mayan languages spoken throughout Guatemala.  These indigenous languages are spoken mostly in rural Guatemala.  There are still 23 dialects in Guatemala that are not recognized National Languages. 

History
It was formerly ruled by the Mayans.  This continued throughout the Post-Classic period.  This went on until the arrival of the Spanish.  Many of these Mayan languages are still spoken and seen throughout the country today.  The Spanish came to Guatemala in 1521 and began to force the teaching of Spanish throughout the country.  Therefore, Spanish has been spoken in Guatemala since then but didn’t become the official language until 1760.  Guatemala finally became independent in 1821 from Spain.  Since the 1980’s, there has been a bilingual system in the schools for students.  In 1996, the Peace Accords was signed and passed making it so that documents would be translated from Spanish into many indigenous languages.  This act also said that there would be translators provided for when in legal cases and the people did not speak Spanish.  Until 1839, Guatemala was a part of Mexico. 

Interesting Facts

The literacy rate of Guatemala is 48%.  Their national anthem is Guatemala Feliz.  The culture was strongly influenced by Europeans, especially Germans coming in the second half of the 19^th century.  There has also been more immigration from China, Japan, Korea and the Middle East.  Many Indian families are beginning to leave their own language in order for the children to become fluent in Spanish because it is important in the modern world. 

Belize

Belize

Official Languages
The official language of Belize is English.  Although their official language is English, some people’s first language is Creole.  Creole is an English based language with various African languages, Miskito, Spanish and a few other languages.  Words and structures are similar to English, lexically and phonologically.  Kriol has adopted some Spanish words though because it is surrounded by Spanish speaking countries.    Others speak Spanish as their first language.  Some immigrant languages include Hindi, Japanese, Korean and some Chinese.  Some other spoken languages are Mayan and Garifuna (Carib).  In Belize, 46% are native Spanish speakers and 33% are native Kriol speakers.  Only 5.6 of people claim to speak English at home.  People who claim to speak Maya make up 9% of the population.  In the 2000 census in Belize, there was found to be 94,422 mother tongue speakers of Spanish and 67,527 mother tongue speakers of Kriol.

History
Since the 1840’s when Mestizo refugees came to Belize, Spanish has been spoken and 46% speak Spanish as their first language.  In Belize, the slaves who were brought from West Africa by the British created the Kriol language with much of the vocabulary borrowed from English.  In the past, Kriol was considered a language of broken or uncivilized words and sentences.  It was considered to be copies that were not perfect from the language in which they derived.  Recently, linguistics have improved the understanding of the language and the languages are being seen as new linguistic creations with complete grammatical systems.  The first people to inhabitant Belize were the Mayans and this is why Maya is still spoken today.  Britain gained control of Belize in 1798 from the Spanish.  The country gained its full independence in 1981. 

Interesting Facts
Their literacy rate is 70% and the average years of schooling is 7.5.  The reason that English is the only official language is because it used to be a former British colony.  It is the main language used in government and education.   Spanish is also taught in primary and secondary school.  Bilingualism in Belize is really popular.  People speaking Hawaiian Kriol and Belize Kriol cannot understand each other.  Someone who can speak Kriol can understand English speakers.  Kriol speakers are usually found near the coast.  The Spanish speakers are more often found near the border of the Spanish speaking countries.  

Mexico

Mexico

Official Languages
There are 68 distinct indigenous Amerindian languages as national languages recognized by the Mexican government.  In addition to all of those is Spanish.  Spanish is the de facto language because it is spoken by the majority of Mexicans.  Mexico is the world’s largest Spanish speaking community.  There are more Spanish speakers in Mexico than there are in Spain.  Other languages spoken include Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages.  The most important of the indigenous languages is Nahuatl which is the primary language of around 1 million Mexicans.  Right behind Nahuatl is Maya.  This is spoken by about 14% of Native Americans.  There are about 6 million people in Mexico who speak indigenous languages.  This makes it the second largest group after Peru in the Americas.  Some Mexicans that have immigrated to the United States and returned to Mexico are able to speak English and French at different levels.  This being said, that makes English another language that is spoken a little throughout Mexico.   Some of the non-indigenous languages spoken throughout Mexico include English, German, Arabic, Venetian, French, Chinese and Korean.  Out of the people in Mexico who speak indigenous languages, 80% of them can also speak Spanish.

History
In the 16^th century, the arrival of Spanish forces began the replacement of Mexico’s indigenous languages with Spanish.  Both dialects of Castilian and Andalucían were brought over to America.  The Castillian dialect was used in Mexico City, Mexico and there they kept in close contact with Madrid, Spain.  After the Spanish conquest, many of the government leaders spoke Latin and in certain areas Latin was required to be taught in school.  In 1696, Charles the second made a decree.  This decree banned using any language other than Spanish throughout the Spanish Empire.  In the 1917 constitution, the second article says that the country is multicultural.  This also recognizes the rights of the indigenous peoples.  They have the right to “preserve and enrich their languages” and this article also says they have a right to “bilingual and intercultural education.” 

Interesting Facts
The General Law of Linguistic Rights of Indigenous Peoples makes is so that Mexico will recognize the indigenous languages as some of the national languages because of Mexico’s history.  English is currently being taught to children in schools throughout Mexico.  Spanish phonetics could affect names shown in the genealogical records.  Due to this, ancestor’s names may vary depending on the records.  

The United States

United States

Official Languages
English is the de facto language in the United States of America.  People that claim English as their mother tongue make up 82% of the population.  Along with that, 96% claim that they can speak English well or very well.  There is no official language that is at the federal level.  Although there is not a declared official language, American English is the primary language and is used primarily in courts and the government.  Because of the war against the English in 1780, the American founders did not want to declare English as their official language.  Spanish is the second most common language in the country, spoken by over 12% of people.  There are some immigrant languages as well.  These are Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Italian.  The United States is the fifth largest Spanish speaking country.  It is only outnumbered by Mexico, Spain, Argentina and Colombia. 

History
Spanish conquerors established the first European colony in what is now Florida.  In the 1600-1700’s the Spanish language spread north of Mexico into what is now Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California.  This growth was due to Spanish exploration.  Following the United States conquering this region, many of the Spanish speakers remained.  In the 20^th century, many Latin American students started studying in the United States.  By the 1990’s, more than 17 million people in the United States considered Spanish their primary language. 

The English language was first established in the United States, beginning with the settlement of Jamestown in 1607.  Although there were already some Native Americans speaking Pidgin English, this is the first influence of English from Europe. 

How a person from here would learn Spanish and how a Spanish speaker would learn this language
Although English and Spanish are both difficult to learn as a second language.  There are different reasons that a speaker would find them difficult.  For a Spanish speaker learning to speak English they have a difficulty with some of the separable verbs in English like set up, set apart, break up and so on.  Another hard part for Spanish speakers is the spelling in English.  Pronunciation is a lot different and makes it hard for Spanish speakers to be sure of how to spell words.  For an English speaker learning Spanish, they might find difficulty learning the different tenses and moods.  Pronunciation in Spanish is usually easier for an English speaker than English pronunciation for Spanish speakers.  Another thing that both speakers would find difficult is words that are false friends.  There are many words in both languages that seem like they are cognates but often times they are not. 

Interesting Facts
English is a west Germanic language of the Indo European language family which is now widely spoken in 6 continents.  The three sign languages in the United States are American Sign Language, Hawaii Pidgin Sign Language, and Plains Indian Sign Language.  The 2000 US census provided us with the information that people from German ancestry make up the biggest ethnic group.  There are about 337 languages which are spoken or signed in the United States.  Of these, 176 are indigenous.  Also, 52 languages have become extinct over time.  In Hawaii, the official languages are English and Hawaiian.  The Louisianian government offers documents in French.  Also, New Mexico offers documents in Spanish.

Greenland

Greenland

Official Languages
West Greenlandic dialect is the official language and is also known as Kalaallisut.  Other languages spoken are Danish and English.  There are three different dialects of the Greenlandic language.  East, West and Polar Eskimo are the three types of dialects.  The main dialect is called Kalaallisut, also known as West.  This has been the official language of Greenland since June of 2009.  Greenlandic is spoken by about 57,000 people on the island of Greenland.  Greenlandic has many speakers and is a language that is important and modern.

The language of Greenland, Greenlandic, is a polysynthetic language.  Greenlandic allows people to create long words.  These long words are strung together by roots and suffixes. Nouns are made so that they reflect one of the eight cases.  Just like nouns in English, Greenlandic nouns are also changed to reflect the possession of the subject.  The verbs are made so that they show one of the eight moods, agent, patient and voice.  The moods are split half and half into independent and dependent.  These verbs also reflect the number and person of its subject and object.  The word order for Greenlandic is subject, object and then verb. 

History
The arrival of the Thule culture brought the language to Greenland in the 1200’s.  There is no proof of what language this culture brought into Greenland at this time.  There is actually no proof until the 1600’s of what language was spoken until then.  In the 1700’s, Danish missionaries arrived in Greenland and that is when the Danish colonialism began.  In 1750, the first Greenlandic dictionary was written by Paul Egede.  This was soon followed by the first grammar dictionary which was written in 1760.  From the 1700’s up until 1979 Greenlandic was pressured by the Danish language.  Denmark was trying to replace Greenlandic with Danish in the 1950’s.  Modern Greenlandic has started to take influences from English as well, especially when it comes to new technologies or theories. 

How a person from here would learn Spanish and how a Spanish speaker would learn this language
Greenlandic is very difficult to learn as a second language.  Verbs are very complex and the language includes a fourth person construct.  There are few languages that are similar to Greenlandic.  This language does not closely resemble any other languages in vocabulary or grammar.  Someone learning Greenlandic must first understand the logic in word and sentence formation.  Greenlandic has a limited number of stems, derivational morphemes and endings.

For a Greenlandic speaker, learning Spanish is also a challenge.  The sentence order and vocabulary are just two of the many things that are different.  If a person from Greenland can already speak English, Danish and Greenlandic, they might find it easier to learn Spanish!

Interesting Facts
Fifty thousand people in Greenland speak an Inuit dialect.  The Greenlandic language is usually just spoken by the Inuit-Aluet family.  Danish is the first foreign language that is studied as a young student.  Greenlandization is a development that has strengthened the Greenlandic language and it started the home rule agreement of 1979.  The country has a 100% literacy rate.  Greenlandic is closely related to the Inuit languages spoken in Canada and Alaska.  

Canada

Official Languages
The two official languages in Canada are Canadian English and Canadian French.  In Canada, 59% of people speak English and 23% speak French.  The other 18% of people speak native Inuit and American-Indian languages.  There are 53 of those languages found throughout Canada.  Other recognized national languages include Chipewyan, Cree, Gwich’in and Slavey.  Throughout the 1990’s the number of French speakers increased by around 3,000 people.  Also, between 1951 and the 2000’s bilingualism in Canada has steadily grown.  A positive for Canada being able to speak a variety of different languages is that they can communicate with other countries. 

Two examples of both French and English being posted everywhere.

History
The Canada territory was originally colonized by two European groups, the English and the French.  The English settled in one part of Canada while the French settled in the other.  Both of these groups had strong colonies created by the early 1700’s.  Over the years, there were many wars fought and in the end, the British won.  Although they won, the French speakers did not back down which caused the British to adopt several different languages in Canada.  The history of Canada’s bilingualism dates back to 1867 when the British North American Act which is not the Constitution Act allowed the debates of Parliament and Federal Court Proceedings to be done in English or French.  This also required laws to be published in both languages.  Canada’s bilingualism continues as recently as in 2003, the federal government enacted its Action Plan for Official Languages for which the goal is to provide “new momentum for Canada’s linguistic duality.”

How a Canadian would learn Spanish and How a Spanish speaker would learn languages from Canada
There have been people who have compared both French and Spanish.  There have been debates at which language would be easier to learn as a second language.  In the end, they are both equally difficult seeing as both have different pronunciations and nouns in both of these languages require gender and number agreement.  This agreement is required for adjectives, articles and certain pronouns.  The use of prepositions in both French and Spanish could be difficult for an English speaker because it is not similar to English prepositions.  Spanish could be viewed as easier for a first year to learn, but continuing on with the language for years after is equally difficult for both. 

A Spanish speaker would find it difficult for the French pronunciation and some of the verb forms found in French.  It is also difficult for a Spanish speaker to learn when to use du and des along with the word y and pas.  Spanish speakers find it difficult when learning French because there are a lot of letters not pronounced and therefore it is difficult for someone to hear French and have to be able to write it down.  Many Spanish speakers say that it would be easier to learn French after having learned a little bit of English.  Many French speakers find it easy to learn Spanish as a second language because they are both Romance languages.  This also includes learning Italian, Portuguese and Romanian.

Interesting Facts
Canada’s territory of Nunavut wants Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun to become officially recognized languages.  There are 11 non-original languages groups that have more than 65 distinct dialects.  A lot of the same slang used in Canada is also found in the United States.  In Canada there is an act that says product labels are required to be printed in both English and French.  Also, 50% of Canadians are from the British Isles and 30% are from a French descent and that leaves 18% to be from other European descents.  The dual nationality of Canada can be found printed on the stamps and currency.  

Introduction

Our names are Kelli Ourada, Morgan Lindgren and Elizabeth Erks.  We are writing this blog with the purpose of discussing languages all across the Americas!  We will start with the most Northern of the countries and work our way to the south.  We will dedicate about one blog to each country that is found in North America and South America. 

For each country we will discuss the official languages as well as other languages spoken around the certain country.  In this information, there will be statistics added about the approximate number of people that speak certain languages throughout the country.  We will also touch on the history of the languages in that country and how they have evolved over time.  We will talk about how a person from the country would adapt to learning other languages and how Spanish speakers would adapt to learning the language of that country.  If we find any other interesting or pertinent information regarding the country and the languages spoken there, we will add that and that will conclude each countries blog.

Throughout the America’s there are languages that have a European descent and there are languages that are spoken by the indigenous people.  Some languages are even a mixture of the two.  Throughout the Americas as a whole, Spanish is the most widely spoken language as it is spoken by around 320 million people found in both of the continents, North and South America.  English is a close second with around 300 million people speaking it.  This includes many countries as well throughout both of the continents.  Coming in third place, Portuguese is spoken by around 185 million people and from there the number of speakers drops significantly. 

Over time the most important second language to learn in the Americas has shifted. At one point a few years ago, the most important second language was German and has moved to French and Japanese.  Today some would say that the most important second language to learn in the Americas is Spanish.  North of Mexico there is approximately 296 indigenous languages spoken now or in the past.  Along with spoken languages, around the Americas there are different Sign Languages found as well.  These include four just in Canada alone. 

We look forward to sharing our information about the languages in the Americas with you!