Ecuador language

What language is spoken in Ecuador?

Ecuador is a country located in South America, its capital is Quito. Ecuador have population overground of 16,000,000 inhabitants and has an extension of 283,561 km2, from its ethnic origin to lits anguages ha have been influenced by a long history of Native Americans peoples, the Inca Empire and the Spanish colonizers. But what language is spoken in Ecuador?

Ecuador is considered a multilingual country however the Spanish as main language (93.0%;) occupy the nine position of the list of countries with the largest Spanish-speaking population,in addition to the mentioned language there are also several indigenous languages , being the most spoken Quichua or Kichwa.

The Castilian is the official language of Ecuador, Kichwa and Shuar are also official, with an intercultural relationship. There are other ancestral languages used only in indigenous peoples in their territories. The most spoken indigenous language is Kichwa, with approximately

1,161,800 speakers, whith its variants. Other native languages are: Shuar (42,300), Cha'palaachi (5,870), Achuar (3,520), Medium language (2,600), Awapit (2,100), Wao Terero (1,650) and Tsáfiqui (1,870). Also, there are other indigenous languages in Ecuador, that stay in risk of disappear. There are less than 1,000 native speakers for: Cofán (640), Siona (260), Secoya (85), Emberá (52), Záparo (3). And unfortunately already some are currently registered extinct as: Caranqui , Pasto , Cañari , Puruhá , Esmeraldeño , Panzaleo.

Regarding the most spoken immigrant languages in the country are: German (112,000 speakers), Chinese (7,000), French, Portuguese and English.

The Spanish language

The Spanish is spoken as a first language by 93% of the population of Ecuador, this language in Ecuador has three variants: coastal (or equatorial), Andean and Amazon, the first two mentioned are predominant (since the vast majority the population lives in these regions). The coastal variant is spoken in the Costa Region and also in the Galapagos Islands, the Andean in the Sierra Region and the Amazon in the Amazon Region, as expected each variation presents its own particularities.

The Kuichwa language

The Kuichwa (Kichwa Shimi) is the second most spoken language in Ecuador, 7.1% of all the population. It is an official language in areas where it is used. These are the inhabitants who use each of their variants:

1. Kuichwa of the Sierra Chimborazo : 800,000
2. Kuichwa of the Sierra Imbabura : 150,000
3. Kuichwa of the province of Cañar : 100,000
4. Saraguro Kuichwa : 30,500es
5. Kuichwa of the Sierra Cayambe : 25,000
6. Kuichwa de Tena : 20,000
7. Salasaca Kuichwa : 14,300
8. Kuichwa del Napo : 14,000
9. 9. Pastaza Kuichwa 8,000

Ecuador main language

The main language of Ecuador is Spanish as mentioned before, approximately 93% of the Ecuadorian population speaks it. This language was first introduced by the Spanish colonizers during the 16th century and it became the language of government, business and religion to the point of adopting it completely. One of the official languages in Ecuador is Kichwa, which is spoken by 1 and 2 millions of people. In the country, most Kichwa speakers are found in the region of Chimborazo Highland . In 1940 a movement began for reintroduce this language to the public education curriculum, this initiative is strengthened in between 1970 and 1980. Today, this language is part of the curriculum national .

On the other hand, Shuar is spoken by about 35,000 people. Who speak the Shuar inhabits more than anything the provinces of Morona Santiago and Pastaza , themselves part of the Amazon region, southeast of the country. This tongue was rescued by Catholic missionaries who visited the region and carrying out a school project radio station in 1960. This project lived until the government closed it in 2001 and in turn incorporated the Shuar language as part of a national curriculum Bilingual .

Indigenous languages of Ecuador

Apart from the Kichwa and Shuar languages, other indigenous languages are spoken in Ecuador, these are: Záparo, Waorani , Tetete , Siona, Secoya, Emberá, Colorado , Cofán, Cha'palaachi, Awa-Cuaiquer and Achwa-Shiriwa .

Of these languages, the Awa-Cuaiquer is one of the most used in the country. Part of the Barbaco language family and is the language of the Awa-Kwaiker indigenous peoples.

Its native speakers are approximately 13 thousand people, who live mainly in the northern region of Ecuador near southern Colombia.

The least spoken indigenous language in Ecuador is the Záparo language, it only has 5

Native, this language is considered almost extinct. The language of Záparo and its peoples indigenous people were victims of wars and diseases brought by Europeans in the century XVI. Currently, the Záparo indigenous peoples speak mainly Kichwa, although in recent years a linguistic revival movement has begun.