The Real News Podcast How one South American country has held on to its Indigenous language | Stories of Resistance
Jun 20, 2025
04:21
If you walk down the street in Paraguay, you will hear people speaking Spanish, the official language of most of the countries of Latin America. But, particularly if you are in the countryside, you will also hear something else: Guaraní.
It’s one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in the Americas; a mother tongue of roughly six and half million people. In particular, in Paraguay.
There, most Paraguayans speak Guaraní or a mixture of Guaraní and Spanish, regardless of whether or not they are Indigenous Guaraní, mestizo, or white. When Paraguay was invaded in the mid-1800s, Guaraní became the language of resistance. It has been preserved and passed down from generation to generation.
This is episode 49 of Stories of Resistance—a podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Independent investigative journalism, supported by Global Exchange's Human Rights in Action program. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.
If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review.
And please consider signing up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed, either in Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen.
Visit Michael Fox’s Patreon: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also follow his reporting and support his work and this podcast.
Written and produced by Michael Fox.
Here is Michael Fox’s reporting for The World on Guaraní: https://theworld.org/stories/2024/10/01/guarani-is-identity-how-an-indigenous-paraguayan-language-has-endured-through-the-ages
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It’s one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in the Americas; a mother tongue of roughly six and half million people. In particular, in Paraguay.
There, most Paraguayans speak Guaraní or a mixture of Guaraní and Spanish, regardless of whether or not they are Indigenous Guaraní, mestizo, or white. When Paraguay was invaded in the mid-1800s, Guaraní became the language of resistance. It has been preserved and passed down from generation to generation.
This is episode 49 of Stories of Resistance—a podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Independent investigative journalism, supported by Global Exchange's Human Rights in Action program. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.
If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review.
And please consider signing up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed, either in Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen.
Visit Michael Fox’s Patreon: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also follow his reporting and support his work and this podcast.
Written and produced by Michael Fox.
Here is Michael Fox’s reporting for The World on Guaraní: https://theworld.org/stories/2024/10/01/guarani-is-identity-how-an-indigenous-paraguayan-language-has-endured-through-the-ages
Subscribe to Stories of Resistance podcast here
Become a member and join the Stories of Resistance Supporters Club today!
Sign up for our newsletter
Follow us on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Donate to support this podcast
Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.
Follow us on:
Bluesky: @therealnews.com
Facebook: The Real News Network
Twitter: @TheRealNews
YouTube: @therealnews
Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork
Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!