Guaraní, Paraguayan
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A language of Paraguay
6,340,000 in Paraguay (2020), decreasing. 2,500,000 monolinguals (2002 census). Total users in all countries: 6,540,000.
Widespread.
1 (National). Statutory national language (2010, No. 4251, Language Law, Article 3).
Jopará (Yopará). One Chiripá speaker [nhd] indicated it was bilingualism rather than linguistic closeness that made Paraguayan Guaraní intelligible to him. Jopará is the colloquial form mixed with Spanish [spa] loanwords, used by 90% of the population in Asunción area. Lexical similarity: 80% with Chiriguano [gui], 75% with Mbyá [gun]. A member of macrolanguage Guarani [grn].
SVO; postpositions; noun head initial; dual and trial numbers; no articles; verb affixes mark person, number, object; 19 consonant and 12 vowel (6 oral, 6 nasals); non-tonal; stress on final vowel or diphthong; nasal harmony; inclusive/exclusive pronouns.
52% of rural Paraguayans bilingual in Guaraní. Home, friends, religion; mixed use: Work, education. Used by all. Many also use Spanish [spa]. Most in urban areas are bilingual in Spanish.
Used extensively in bilingual education. Taught in primary schools in early grades only. Literature. Newspapers. Radio. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar. Texts. Bible: 1997.
Christian.