Guarani dialects

The Guaraní language belongs to the Tupí-Guaraní branch of the Tupí linguistic family.^[1]

There are three distinct groups within the Guaraní subgroup, they are: the Kaiowá, the Mbyá and the Ñandeva.^[2]

In Latin America, the indigenous language that is most widely spoken amongst non-indigenous communities is Guaraní.^[3] South America is home to more than 280,000 Guaraní people, 51,000 of whom reside in Brazil.^[4] The Guaraní people inhabit regions in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, as well as Argentina.^[2] There are more than four million speakers of Guaraní across these regions.^[5]

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) classified Guaraní's language vitality as “vulnerable”.^[6] UNESCO's definition of “vulnerable” is meant to highlight that although the majority of Guaraní children can speak Guaraní, the use of the language is restricted to particular contexts (e.g., familial settings).^[6] Although the Guaraní language may only be classified as “vulnerable,” there are other languages within the Tupí-Guaraní branch that are classified as “extinct” and “critically endangered” (e.g., Amanayé and Anambé respectively).^[6]

The Guaraní language has been an object of study since the arrival of the Jesuits in the seventeenth century.^[1] The Guaraní language is a subgroup within the Tupí-Guaraní branch.^[1] There are three dialects within the Guaraní subgroup: Mbyá, Kaiowá and Ñandeva.^[7] The differences among the three dialects of the Guaraní language can be noted primarily in their distinct phonologies and syntax, as these vary depending on the social context that the language is being used.^[7] Of note, the Mbyá prioritize oral transmission.^[7] Literacy within the Mbyá received an increased level of importance in the late 1990s as a product of new educational institutions in the villages.^[7] Lemle (1971)^[8] contends that in spite of there being almost forty dialects within the Tupí-Guaraní family, there exist numerous similarities between the words of these dialects.