The name of this South American country translated from Spanish means "equator" and accurately characterizes its geographical latitude. The official language of Ecuador is Spanish, although pre-colonial American dialects and dialects are also widely used in the republic.
Some statistics and facts
- Researchers have counted 24 languages spoken by the inhabitants of Ecuador. Among them, only the Kichua language has eight varieties.
- More than 2.3 million people speak pre-colonial American dialects in the country.
- Quichua in Ecuador or Quechua in other South American countries is the largest native American language in the Americas in terms of the number of speakers.
- Spanish spread to present-day Ecuador in the 16th century when colonization of the continent began.
Spanish in Ecuador
The first Europeans to appear in Ecuador were the associates of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. They landed in 1526 and five years later a city was built on the site of an ancient Indian settlement, which later became the capital of Quito. Animal husbandry began to develop in the country, and slaves from Africa were brought to the plantations.
Despite the victory of the national movement in the struggle for independence under the leadership of Simon Bolivar, the state language of Ecuador remained Spanish, since by the middle of the 19th century it was spoken by most of the locals.
The Spanish language in Ecuador has its own specific characteristics, as in any other Latin American country. He received many borrowings from the languages of the Indians, his grammar and morphology were partially simplified, and phonetic subtleties lead to the fact that even European Spaniards do not immediately begin to understand Ecuadorians.
Note for tourists
The education system in Ecuador developed very slowly and in the middle of the twentieth century, almost half of the adult population was still illiterate. In the mountainous regions, even today, a third of the inhabitants can neither read nor write, and do not even speak the state language of Ecuador. The Indians speak their native Kichua, and therefore it is not recommended to travel inland without an experienced guide.
English is not very common even in Ecuadorian cities, and it is very rare to find English-speaking staff in hotels or restaurants. That is why it is best to travel to Ecuador as part of organized groups or in the company of a Spanish-speaking guide.
