The Demographics of Colonization in Paraguay and the Emergence of Paraguayan Guarani

Paraguay is the only country in Latin America where an originally indigenous
language has both gained official status and is spoken by the vast majority of
the population. The typological, structural and lexical features of this language
and its sociolectal varieties, known in the literature as Paraguayan Guarani,
have been analyzed in language contact studies alongside contemporary
sociolinguistic aspects of Paraguayan bilingualism. However, an account of
how the language emerged as a result of particular circumstances during conquest and early colonization is still missing. The initial socio-demographic
circumstances became decisive factors in the early emergence of Paraguayan
Guarani. Such circumstances include, among others: a) the size and composition
of the Guarani population at the time of conquest; b) the size and pattern
of early Spanish immigration and settlement in Paraguay; and c) the patterns of
settlement and organization of Guarani population both in Spanish and Indian
villages. This contribution addresses the emergence of Paraguayan Guarani
from a social and demographic point of view, focusing on the first century of
Spanish colonization.