Indigenous Languages Spoken Across LATAM - Refinery29

While colonization has stolen the native tongues of 1 out of 5 Indigenous communities in the region, there remains about 560 Indigenous languages spoken. Many of these languages have given us words we often use in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and English, like “jaguar” (Guaraní), “llama” (Quechua), “cacao” (Nahuatl), “papaya” (Carib), and “hamaca” (Taíno and Arawak), to name just a few.⁠ ⁠ But despite its influences, native languages — and the people who speak them — are often left out of conversations involving the Latine world. While generations of oppression and censorship have attempted to erase Indigenous communities, resistance and education have allowed for the preservation of Indigenous languages from Mexico to Chile. For #IndigenousPeoplesMonth, writer @daniellatgarzon spotlights some Indigenous languages spoken across LATAM and the Caribbean.