Language in Paraguay

Paraguay's language landscape combines Castellano Paraguayo, Guaraní Paraguayo, Indigenous languages, Paraguayan Sign Language and the everyday contact variety Jopara. Jopara mixes Guaraní and Castellano through mutual influence and is especially common in informal speech. It is not a third official language. The Academia de la Lengua Guaraní maintains the official provisional Guaraní alphabet established by Resolution 54/2012, while APARLE documents Castellano Paraguayo and the Guaraní Paraguayo dictionary supports the national language variety. Article 140 of the Constitution and Law 4251/2010 establish Castellano and Guaraní as the two official languages of the three branches of government and public institutions. Inhabitants may address public authorities orally or in writing in either language. Public notices, forms, printed materials, official advertising, identity documents, copies, traffic information, place names, product labels, academic titles and municipal signs are covered by bilingual language requirements, although implementation differs between institutions and locations. In Indigenous territories, the relevant local language also matters, and public bodies should prefer staff with local language competence where this is relevant. Courts accept both official languages, and a person may give a statement in the chosen language. People who use another language should receive assistance from a language-competent person. Public employees who deal directly with citizens have a five-year period under the law to develop oral competence, and bilingual ability can receive preference where applicants have otherwise equal qualifications. The 2022 INE EPHC data for people aged five and over recorded 34.4% using both Castellano and Guaraní at home, 33.4% using Guaraní, 29.6% using Castellano and 2% using other languages. These figures show the importance of bilingualism but do not mean that spoken ability, literacy and formal service access are equal everywhere. The capital and metropolitan areas and much of written urban administration use Castellano more often, while rural and interior areas commonly use more Guaraní, bilingual speech and Jopara. Chaco communities use Indigenous languages alongside Castellano or Guaraní, and border areas may also use Portuguese and other languages. The Secretaría de Políticas Lingüísticas, abbreviated as SPL, operates under the Presidency of the Republic and applies Law 4251/2010. Its specialist directorates work on language planning, linguistic research, Indigenous language documentation and promotion, and Paraguayan Sign Language. The Ministry of Education and Science handles language-related education, while the National Secretariat of Culture, INDI, local governments, the Academia de la Lengua Guaraní and APARLE contribute in their respective areas. SPL records 19 Indigenous languages from five language families. Examples include Aché, Ava Guaraní, Mbya Guaraní, Nivaclé, Maká, Ayoreo, Ishir, Enlhet, Qom and Sanapaná. Their vitality varies greatly. Historical reference data from the 2012 Indigenous language atlas recorded high vitality for languages such as Tomárãho and Nivaclé but very low vitality for Guaná and Ava Guaraní. These historical percentages should not be treated as current national prevalence figures. The 2022 Indigenous census counted 118,890 people aged five and over. Of this population, 48% reported Guaraní as a first or communication language, 42.6% an Indigenous language and 9.4% another language, no language or no response. Education policy supports early literacy in a child's mother tongue when it is an official or Indigenous language. Indigenous peoples should begin education in their own language, while the Ministry of Education and the school community select the starting language according to actual language competence and collective agreement. Both official languages are taught and used across education levels, and teachers in Indigenous areas may also need the relevant local language. Law 6530/2020 officially recognizes Paraguayan Sign Language, called Lengua de Señas Paraguaya or LSPy, as a language connected with communication, education, identity, culture and language rights. It is not a third official language. The SPL's Dirección General de Lengua de Señas is responsible for this area. Decree 9274/2023 and SPL Resolution 120/2026 provide the current institutional framework, including a national interpreter registry. Deaf people retain a free choice of communication. The law also covers official information in Guaraní and Castellano across state and private providers of official information. In July 2026, the SPL and MITIC began a process to normalize Guaraní in state media, digital content, public services and platforms. This is an implementation process rather than proof of complete bilingual coverage. A 2016 SPL study of 212 public institutions found a gap between legal requirements and practice. It recorded 95.12% of signs in Castellano, 4.17% as bilingual and 0.86% in Guaraní. Recorded emails were 97.64% Castellano, 0.47% bilingual and 0.47% Jopara. The study is neither current nor representative of every institution, but it illustrates why legal language rights and actual service access may differ.