Studia Filologiczne UJK

Summary

It is often noted in reference literature of the subject concerned that the population of South America speak Spanish or Portuguese. Spanish is spoken throughout the whole continent except for Brazil where Portuguese is an official language. South America has 12 countries and one overseas department of France – French Guiana. 8 official languages are spoken throughout the above territory – Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, Dutch, Guarani, Quechua and Aymara (a total number of languages is estimated at 600). Taking into account only these languages, they should be mentioned rather than being limited to the two dominant ones.
Another disputable issue is the number of Portuguese language speakers. Sources indicate greatly diverse data – 80, 135, 160, 200, 240 million speakers. It is because it is difficult to determine how many inhabitants of countries with Portuguese as an official language do not know the language and for what group of people this is the first language and for how many local language speakers it is the second language.
However, the issues dealt with in the paper can be objectivised to a greater extent, presenting it in a broader geographic and linguistic context.