UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE LA PLATA

FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y CS DE LA EDUCACIÓN

DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS MODERNAS
INTRODUCCIÓN A LA LENGUA INGLESA
PRIMER PARCIAL
NAME:

DATE:

STUDENT NUMBER: GROUP:

1. You are exploring the topic of Languages and Identities and come across an article in the NYT
which deals with the Guarani language. It offers a historical critical overview. You read it in more
detail and isolate some information for your research purposes.

An Indigenous Language
With Unique Staying Power

By SIMON ROMERO
MARCH 12, 2012
The New York Times
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay —

[…]

To this day, Paraguay remains the only country in the Americas where a majority of the
population speaks one indigenous language: Guaraní. It is placed in the Constitution,
officially giving it equal status as the language of European conquest, Spanish. And in the
streets, it is a source of national pride.

“Only 54 of nearly 12,000 schools teach Portuguese,” said Nancy Benítez, director of
curriculum at the Ministry of Education, since Brazil dominates trade with Paraguay. “But
every one of our schools teaches Guaraní.”

Elementary school students learning Guaraní, which is a required subject in Paraguay.

Paraguay differs significantly even from other multilingual Latin American nations like
Bolivia, where a majority of the population is indigenous. Languages like Quechua and

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UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE LA PLATA
FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y CS DE LA EDUCACIÓN
DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS MODERNAS
INTRODUCCIÓN A LA LENGUA INGLESA
PRIMER PARCIAL
Aymara are spoken by different groups there, but rarely by people of mixed ancestry or
the traditional elite.

In Paraguay, indigenous peoples account for less than 5 percent of the population. Yet
Guaraní is spoken by an estimated 90 percent of Paraguayans.

(…)

Linguists and historians say the complex reasons for the broad use of the indigenous
language here date to the earliest days of Spain’s incursions in the 16th century. The
encomienda, a system common within the Spanish empire that forced indigenous people
to work for Europeans and their descendants, did not penetrate big parts of the territory
that eventually became Paraguay.

Meanwhile, Jesuits created communities for the Guaraní and other indigenous groups
covering vast lands. They armed Guaraní Indians against slaving expeditions, while
nourishing the language in books and sermons.

When Spain expelled the Jesuits in 1767, more than 100,000 Guaraní speakers spread
throughout Paraguay, said Shaw N. Gynan, an American linguist. Decades later, Guaraní
speakers formed the bulk of support for the post-independence ruler José Gaspar
Rodríguez de Francia.

(…)

Other dictators later used Guaraní to stir nationalist fervor. Generals rallied troops in
Guaraní in the devastating Triple Alliance War in the 1860s, which killed more than 60
percent of the population.

Isolation also sustained Guaraní. The Paraguayan novelist Augusto Roa Bastos, who mixed
Guaraní with Spanish in his writing, called Paraguay an “island surrounded by land.”

Under General Alfredo Stroessner, the dictator who ruled from 1954 to 1989, Guaraní
thrived. He made it an official language and rewarded rural Guaraní-speakers with land
for their loyalty.

“As disturbing as this may seem, political leaders in Paraguay have found it convenient
to appeal to the masses in Guaraní, often suppressing liberalizing forces in the process,”
said Mr. Gynan, the linguist.

When democratic rule was established in the 1990s, steps again were taken to strengthen
Guaraní. The 1992 Constitution made Guaraní equal to Spanish. Officials said they have
aggressively expanded Guaraní instruction in primary schools.

Teaching Guaraní is a subject infused with nationalism and focused on preventing Guaraní
from being eclipsed by Spanish, long dominant in the legal system and in business.

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UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE LA PLATA
FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y CS DE LA EDUCACIÓN
DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS MODERNAS
INTRODUCCIÓN A LA LENGUA INGLESA
PRIMER PARCIAL
[Adapted from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/world/americas/in-paraguay-indigenous-language-
with-unique-staying-power.html?_r=0]

a. After a first reading you pinpoint some words to later complete these quick references
to the text. [There are some words which you eventually don’t use].

teach –use– not write – live – not be – die – elevate –win– write -

be – not displace – grow – take – give – prohibit –

1.

2.
3.

4.

5.

6.

7.
8.

9.
10.

11.

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UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE LA PLATA
FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y CS DE LA EDUCACIÓN
DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS MODERNAS
INTRODUCCIÓN A LA LENGUA INGLESA
PRIMER PARCIAL
b. You want to set some causes and consequences among the main events in the text.
You express the cause/consequence on the full line (___________) in each sentence
and use the dotted line (…………) to complete with the necessary information.

1. Brazil dominates commerce with Paraguay. ______________Portuguese is also

spoken.

2. __________________the job of the Jesuits, Guaraní

…………………………………………..……….

3. Dictators appealed to the population in Guaraní_________________…………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. With the advent of democracy, Guaraní got stronger. ____________________…………..

……………………………………………………………………………

5. Spanish is the language of business and the law. __________________it may eclipse

Guaraní.

c. Next, you grow interested in some figures that derive from the text. You jot them
down below.

i. Paraguay is the only country in the American continent where ___________________

part _________________________ speak an indigenous language. Surprisingly,
indigenous peoples in Paraguay are ______________________________ in number.
ii. Portuguese is______________________________ widely ______________language
at schools in Paraguay.
iii. When the Jesuits were expelled, 100.000 Guaraní speakers occupied the country.
They were ______________________________portion of Francia’s supporters.

d. You keep thinking about the paradox: Less than 5% are indigenous peoples

and the official language is an indigenous one. You believe that other
indigenous and endangered languages should see themselves in the mirror of Guaraní.

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UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE LA PLATA
FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y CS DE LA EDUCACIÓN
DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS MODERNAS
INTRODUCCIÓN A LA LENGUA INGLESA
PRIMER PARCIAL

i. If speakers felt proud of their language, ____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________.
ii. If children_________________________________, they would_________________
_______________________________________________________________.
iii. If parents __________________________________, __________________________
___________________________ ________________________________.
iv. If the government and the educational system_______________________________
_________________________,______________________________________________
__________________________.

e. You reread the text to find answers to a couple of doubts that you still have:
i. The writer says that the Jesuits played an important role before they were expelled. He
uses the phrase “nourishing the language in books and sermons”. What does he mean?

ii. Why does Roa Bastos refer to Paraguay as an “island surrounded by land”? Why does he
use inverted commas?

2. You were about to wrap up your ideas when a friend e-mails you an article on the
topic. The very end catches your attention. It reads:

“(…) we must never forget that as small as a community may be,

whether we are talking about a few million or a few people, there is

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UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE LA PLATA
FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y CS DE LA EDUCACIÓN
DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS MODERNAS
INTRODUCCIÓN A LA LENGUA INGLESA
PRIMER PARCIAL
always history behind them that will eventually get lost if their language

is forgotten.”

Based on the extract above, you decide to write a final reflection for your project. You
just have 8 lines left so you do not include the extract.