The Languages of El Salvador is what the country has been influenced throughout its history from the roots of the indigenous languages. Spanish is the official language of El Salvador, plus the indigenous as recognized languages:[1]
El idioma oficial de El Salvador es el castellano. El gobierno está obligado a velar por su conservación y enseñanza. Las lenguas autóctonas que se hablan en el territorio nacional forman parte del patrimonio cultural y serán objeto de preservación, difusión y respeto.
The official language of El Salvador is Castilian. The government is required to ensure its conservation and teaching. The spoken indigenous languages in the national territory are part of the cultural heritage and will be preserved, disseminated and respected.
There are also foreign languages that came from immigrants of the world and its descendants such as English, French, Italian, among others.[2]
Indigenous languages
Before colonization, El Salvador had seven indigenous languages, four of which became extinct while the other three survived throughout history despite being endangered:
Endangered languages
In the Pipil group they speak the Nawat, considered the most widely spoken indigenous language in the country; it was spoken by more than a thousand inhabitants.
In the Lenca group, Potón is spoken, it is located in the eastern part of the country and considered as near extinction with 32 inhabitants speaking it.
In the Cacaopera group it is located in the department of Morazán, considered as another nearly extinct language with 24 inhabitants.
Extinct languages
Mayans spoke the Poqomam (†), which was traced in the west of the department of Santa Ana; and the Chʼortiʼ (†), which was the language by the majority area of the Department of Chalatenango and Northern Santa Ana, before being conquered by the Spanish in the mid-1530s.[3][4][5][6]
The Xinca group (†), was located in the west of the department of Ahuachapán, which was influenced from Guatemala.[7][8]
Mangue (†) was located in the east of the department of La Unión, considered a completely extinct language.
Spanish is the most widely spoken language for historical reasons of European colonialization, which is present as the official language since the Constitution of 1962.[9] The last revision was the Constitution of the Republic of 1983, which is indicated in Article 62 of the Third Section, Chapter II.[1] This Central American dialect certainly has the Yeísmo in its allophones and the seseo like any other Spanish American country; its form of respect for the second person represents the voseo, although the tuteo is preserved alternatively and the term usted as a formal treatment.[10]
The Salvadoran Sign Language (SSL), has been officially recognized since 2005 and has various Salvadoran associations for the deaf culture mixed with American Sign Language (ASL). Among them are the Salvadoran Association of the Deaf, the Association for the Integral Development of the Salvadoran Deaf Community (ASDICSSA) and the Pro Education Foundation of El Salvador (FUNPRES). [11]
Foreign Languages
El Salvador has approximately 7% of the population who speak foreign languages by the foreign communities of the country mentioned by some of these.[2]
English is the language spoken by almost half of its population academically, economically and socially, ranked as the fiftieth in the world with a moderate score of 524.[12]
French is present in its community for migration situations based on their stories, their education, and their economy.[13]
Italian is where its cultural influence was marked from the 19th Century that has its speaking community.[14]
^Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D. (2021). "Salvadoran Sign Language". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (24 ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
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