View source for Languages of Guyana

{{Short description|none}}
{{Languages of
| country = Guyana
|image=Downtown Georgetown (23357530030).jpg |caption=Signs in [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]] with text in English
| official = [[English language|English]]
| vernacular = [[Guyanese Creole]], [[Caribbean English]]
| indigenous = [[Kapóng language|Akawaio]], [[Arawak language|Arawak]], [[Atorada language|Atorada]], [[Carib language|Carib]], [[Macushi language|Macushi]], [[Mapidian language|Mapidian]], [[Kapóng language|Patamona]], [[Pemon language|Pemon]], [[Waiwai language|Waiwai]], [[Wapishana language|Wapishana]], [[Warao language|Warao]]
| minority = [[Guyanese Hindustani]]
| foreign = [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[French language|French]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
| sign = [[Guyanese Sign Language]], [[South Rupununi Sign Language]]
 |keyboard       = [[QWERTY]]
 |keyboard image = [[File:KB United States.svg|200px]]
}}
[[English language|English]] is the official language of [[Guyana]], which is the only [[South America]]n country with English as the official language.<ref name=Smock>{{cite book|last=Smock|first=Kirk|title=Guyana: The Bradt Travel Guide|year=2008|publisher=Bradt|isbn=978 1 84162 223 1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/guyanabradttrave0000smoc/page/19 19]|url=https://archive.org/details/guyanabradttrave0000smoc/page/19}}</ref><ref name=Ali>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Arif|title=Guyana|year=2008|publisher=Hansib|location=London|isbn=978-1-906190-10-1}}</ref>
[[File:UmanaYana-Georgetown.jpg|thumb|The [[Umana Yana]] in [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]]; the name means "Meeting place of the people" in [[Waiwai language|Waiwai]].]]
[[Guyanese Creole]] (an English-based [[Creole language|creole]] with [[African languages|African]], [[Indo-Guyanese|Indian]], and Amerindian [[syntax]]) is widely spoken in Guyana.<ref name=Smock />

[[Caribbean Hindustani#Guyanese Hindustani|Guyanese Hindustani]] is retained and spoken by some Indo-Guyanese for cultural and religious reasons. Guyanese Bhojpuri may be used by older generations, folk songs, or in a limited way at home, while standard Hindi is used in religious service, writing, and passively through the consumption of Hindi film exports from India.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gambhir|first=Surendra K.|date=1983|title=Diglossia in Dying Languages: A Case Study of Guyanese Bhojpuri and Standard Hindi|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30027654|journal=Anthropological Linguistics|volume=25|issue=1|pages=28–38|issn=0003-5483}}</ref> [[Tamil language|Tamil]] was once spoken by a segment of the Indo-Guyanese community, although its usage has declined over generations, and it remains mostly in religious and cultural contexts.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=George|first=Stephanie Lou|title=Invoking the Supernatural and the Supranational: Tappu, Trance, and Tamil Recordings in Indo-Guyanese ‘Madras Religion’ and the Politics of Sonic Presence|trans-title=Invoquer le surnaturel et le supranational : tappu, transe et enregistrements tamouls dans la « religion de Madras » indo-guyanaise, et politique de la présence sonore|journal=Civilisations|volume=69|pages=41–56|year=2020|url=https://journals.openedition.org/civilisations/4822|publisher=Open Edition Journals|access-date=7 March 2021}}</ref>

A number of [[Amerindian language]]s are also spoken by a minority of the population.  These include [[Cariban languages]] such as [[Macushi language|Macushi]], [[Akawaio language|Akawaio]] and [[Waiwai language|Wai-Wai]]; and [[Arawakan languages]] such as [[Arawak language|Arawak]] (or Lokono) and [[Wapishana language|Wapishana]].<ref name=Smock /><ref name=Ali />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=GY Ethnologue list] ([http://www.ethnologue.com/show_map.asp?name=GY&seq=10 map])

{{Languages of Guyana}}
{{South America in topic|Languages of}}
{{Authority control}}

{{South American languages}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Languages Of Guyana}}
[[Category:Languages of Guyana| ]]