Languages of Bolivia
The languages of Bolivia include Spanish and several dozen indigenous languages, most prominently Aymara, Quechua, Chiquitano, Guaraní language|Guaraní] and the Bolivian Sign Language. Indigenous languages and Spanish are official languages of the state according to the 2009 Constitution. The constitution says that all indigenous languages are official, listing 36 specific indigenous languages, of which some are extinct. Spanish and Quechua are spoken primarily in the Andes region, Aymara is mainly spoken in the Altiplano around Lake Titicaca, Chiquitano is spoken in the central part of Santa Cruz department, and Guarani is spoken in the southeast on the border with Paraguay and Argentina.
List of official languages
The following languages are listed as official languages in the Constitution of Bolivia.- Castilian
- Araona
- Aymara
- Baure
- Bésiro
- Canichana
- Cavineño
- Cayubaba
- Chácobo
- Chimán
- Ese Ejja
- Guaraní
- Guarasu'we
- Guarayu
- Itonama
- Leco
- Machajuyai-Kallawaya
- Machineri
- Maropa
- Mojeño-Ignaciano
- Mojeño-Trinitario
- Moré
- Mosetén
- Movima
- Pacawara
- Puquina
- Quechua
- Sirionó
- Tacana
- Tapieté
- Toromona
- Uru-Chipaya
- Weenhayek
- Yaminawa
- Yuki
- Yuracaré
- Zamuco
Official status
The Bolivian government and the departmental governments are required to use at least two languages in their operation, one being Spanish, and the other being selected according to the circumstances and the needs of the territory in question. These requirements appear in Article 234 of the 2009 Constitution and the General Law of Linguistic Rights and Policies ; the law provided a three-year deadline to government functionaries, although there was no immediate punishment for officials who failed to comply. Departmental and municipal autonomous governments are required to use the languages of their territory, always including Spanish.Following the National Education Reform of 1994, all thirty indigenous languages were introduced alongside Spanish in the country's schools. However, many schools did not implement the reforms, especially urban schools.
Bolivia's national anthem has been translated into six indigenous languages: Aymara, Bésiro-Chiquitano, Guaraní, Guarayu, Quechua, and Mojeño-Trinitario.
Bolivia has 12 million inhabitants. Only 5 languages of Bolivia are spoken by more than 30,000 people: Spanish monolingual, Kichwa, Aymara, Low German and Guaraní. Of these all are official except Plattdeutsch. There are 8 official languages spoken by between 1,000 and 8,000 people each. So of the 37 languages declared official by the constitution of 2009, 23 are spoken by fewer than 1,000 people and 2 are extinct.