The human World is geographically and linguistically very vast. Since language is the key source of communication, there have been many languages in the world. These languages belonged to a specific tribe, religious group, or geographical area. Due to a wide range of spoken languages, each country has its own National and Official language.
These languages may also be the official and national languages of more than one country. Each language is usually named after a country or a geographical area, like French after France, German after Germany, and Italian after Italy. Some countries are a case of exception. These countries might not have a whole language named after them.
They might just have a dialect of it named after them. Other countries may not even have a dialect named after them. Such a case is of Venezuela. Venezuela is a very less talked about country and many people are quite unfamiliar with it. Other main features of the country aside, some people may not be able to even correctly name the official or national language of the country.
When asked, they would just simply say “Venezuelan”. This would have been true if we follow the “a language is named after the country” rule. Due to Venezuela being an exception, it would be factually incorrect. Well, this scenario might have arisen a question in your mind, “If not Venezuelan, then what language do they speak in Venezuela?”.
This is just another mystery for you to discover. Stick around with us to help yourself get to know about the country of Venezuela and its national and official language. So, let us get started.
Conception
In the continent of South America, lies a very less talked-about country, Venezuela. Venezuela is a criminally underrated country especially when it has very diverse natural attractions. It is a beautiful country of tropical lands. Overshadowed by other South American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, Venezuela is a country with which many people are quite unfamiliar.
It is a country with a plethora of natural riches such as rainforests, fertile soil, gold mines, and Gemstones. Very little is known about its Pre-Columbian history, but what information we know, we are going to deliver right away to you. Along with the culture, traditions, and geography of Venezuela.
Many people who are non-nationals of Venezuela are also quite unsure about its language. To clear away all your ambiguities about this country, we are going to elaborate its every detail such as Venezuelan culture, its rich history, and language.
Venezuela, The Country
Venezuela is a country located on the northern coast of South America. It got independence from Spain in the 20th Century. Before the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Native Americans inhabited the historical region of Venezuela. Officially, the Bolivar Republic of Venezuela comprises of landmass and a few islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea.
The Venezuelan population comprises about 28 million people, according to the Venezuelan census of 2019. The total area of Venezuela is 916,445 kilometers square.
Caracas is the Capital city of Venezuela. Venezuela is famous for its different localities but the first thing that comes into our minds when talking about Venezuela is oil. Yes! Oil is indeed the most important factor behind the development of a country. In 1810, Venezuela was discovered to contain large quantities of crude petroleum.
From that time onwards, the discovery of oil became the major driving force behind the economic growth of the nation. Today, Venezuela produces over 3 million barrels per day of crude oil. That’s almost half of total production from Latin America.
What Language Do They Speak in Venezuela?
There are different territorial languages spoken in Venezuela but when it comes to naming languages, there are two types: Official Languages and National Languages. An official language is one whose use is mandated by law whereas a national language is one spoken by the majority of the population within a given territory.
There are three official languages in Venezuela; Spanish, English, and Portuguese. However, there are more than 20 different native languages spoken in the country.
Official Language
According to the Constitution of 1999, Castilian is the official language of Venezuela. Not to confuse, Castilian is just another term for Spanish due to territorial differences.
Indigenous Languages
All indigenous languages of Venezuela share the right of being the “official language” but many of them are eventually dying and or close to becoming endangered.
National Language
Just as the same, the National or the Native Language of Venezuela is Spanish. There are about 40 different indigenous languages of Venezuela but commonly, the greatest number of Venezuelans speak Spanish.
The two linguistic families with the highest number of languages are considerably Caribbean and Arahuacan. Many indigenous people speak Castilian as their second language. Even Castilian/Venezuelan Spanish has several indigenous dialects.
Languages Taught in Schools
There are more than a couple of languages taught in schools in Venezuela. Schools teach English, Italian, French, Latin, and Greek. English has a very high demand. Venezuelan schools teach the French language and Latin as a compulsory subject in the Humanities group. Greek and Italian also hold quite a significance in Venezuelan Schools.
Foreign Languages
We term the languages that immigrants speak as “Foreign Languages”. Due to a large number of Chinese immigrants in Venezuela, Chinese is the most spoken foreign language in Venezuela, followed by Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, German and English.
More About the Language of Venezuela
During the explorations of Christopher Columbus, the colonists introduced the Spanish to Venezuela. Most of these colonists belonged to Galicia, Basque Country, Andalusia, or the Canary Islands. Presently, there are about 30 million speakers of Venezuelan Spanish worldwide.
The Portuguese and Italian immigrants greatly influenced the Venezuelan version of Spanish in terms of accent and vocabulary.
They inspired its melodious expression and accent like Rioplatanese Spanish. German colonists also influenced some words of Venezuelan Spanish.
Conclusion
Due to the ongoing crisis, Venezuela has lost many potential tourists. The tourists who used to visit this beautiful country, a synonym of nature. Even many individuals of the local population have fled the country. According to the statistics, about 3 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2016.
The Venezuelan crisis started during the Bolivarian Revolution. It is a social, economic, and political crisis that has continued since the presidency of Hugo Chavez. Political unrest and turmoil are continuously sparking up the crisis. Currently, many travel advisors would advise you to avoid traveling to Venezuela.
This is because of the unstable political situation and petty crimes. If you still end up traveling to such a country, you would probably encounter carjacking, burglary, kidnapping, and mugging accompanied by extreme levels of violence. All of this along with shortages of food and medicine, political corruption, unemployment, economic instability, several human rights violations and extreme dependence on oil has further worsened the crisis.
In the possible future, if the crisis may end and the country may become completely stable and safe for tourists. For that time, we would suggest you not neglect this beautiful country. But currently, you should just virtually visit this country by exploring it on the Internet. We hope that after reading this article, you will be able to make an informed decision regarding visiting this wonderful place shortly.
