Why does everyone say that all countries in S. America speak spanish except Brazil?
It seems like everyone always says that all countries in south america except Brasil (which speaks portuguese) speak spanish. Sometimes they don't even mention the Brazil part.
Why don't people know anything? (Not to sound mean or anythinggg....)
Because the last time I checked Guyana speaks English, French Guiana speaks French, and Suriname speaks Dutch.
Okay, you're right. I don't mean every single person, but I mean most.
And I don't mean people saying it as a generalization, because I'm talking about my teacher who says "Every country in South America speaks Spanish except Brazil" and puts it on a test.
Tags: brazil, countries in south america, english french, french guiana, generalization, last time, portuguese
September 26th, 2009 at 4:35 am
People are ignorant re: geography.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:35 am
Everyone? Have you talked to EVERYONE about this? I actually talked to one guy, who didn’t say it, so you are wrong.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:35 am
… Geography is not a priority in the American school system. We are behind just about every European country in that field.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:35 am
For the most part people are ignorant and don’t know. Though I imagine that some people do know this but are making a general observation of the language that’s spoken the most. Every continent has different countries that have different languages that have different dialects. Unless you’re really getting into the specifics…its just easier to answer broadly.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:35 am
People are ignorant. Dx
September 26th, 2009 at 4:35 am
I am sure they mean the majority speaks spanish except brazil. Who wants to list all of the exceptions when there are only a few.There is no point.The only reason I take out brazil when speaking generally is because Brazil is a very big country so it would be an insult to not include that exception.On the other hand who cares about Guyana or French Guiana?
September 26th, 2009 at 4:35 am
PORQUE son tan pequeños esos paises que los sudamericanos no los toman en cuenta, eso es todo
September 26th, 2009 at 4:35 am
well, south america is a large country with some very large world presences, and some very small. if one is looking to proide a short and sweet description of a place, they will lean towards summing it up based on what the vast majority of the population is doing. thats not to say it is the right thing to do, mind you, and doesnt respect the complexity of things, but if you are in a conversation with people who are relatively unfamiliar with south america, and are talking about south american cultural life, you are more likely to mention spanish and portuguese, as the vast majority of the populations speaks them, at least in the continental south americas, than english or french.
its an issue of practicality. sure, they might not know, but do you know off the top of your head what languages are spoken in southeastern china? western europe? i bet you can guess the family, but…
my point is, dont get bent out of shape because some ignorant americans + others tend to generalize and leave out small facts/outliers. ignorance is inevitable, and you need an effective way to present information in a short period of time. perhaps if suriname were the 5th largest economy in the world, dutch would be on the map, but according to wikipedia, its population is a little under half a million, in a continent with almost 400 million people.
but yes, ignorance is still bad.
September 26th, 2009 at 4:35 am
because they are not as well known as all of the Spanish or Portuguese speaking countries. If you live in Florida or New York more than likely you will meet people that are Guyanese or Surinamese but I have NEVERRRRRRR EVER meet someone from French Guiana
Also Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname were all English Guyana until all the wars but Guiana is how you say Guyana in French and Suriname is how you say Guyana in Dutch
October 17th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
AND THE MOST COMMON LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN SOUTH AMERICA IS SPANISH, FRENCH, ENGLISH, ITALIAN, PORTUGUESE, DUTCH, AND GERMAN BUT THE MOST COMMON LANGUAGES ARE PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH EVERY BODY IN SOUTH AMERICA GOTTA TALK AT LEAST 3 LANGUAGES DUE TO THE MAYOR IMMIGRATION FROM EUROPE AND OTHER COUNTRIES TO SOUTH AMERICA THE MAYORITY OF EUROPEANS LIVING IN SOUTH AMERICA, ARE GERMANS, PORTUGUESE, SPANIERDS, ITALIANS AND POLISH GO BACK TO SCHOOL AND LEARN HISTORY