ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay — When she was a student in Paraguay, teachers forced her to kneel on jagged granules of salt and maize for entire mornings as punishment for speaking her mother tongue, Guaraní, in ...

LOMA GRANDE, Paraguay — When it came time to choose a wedding venue, Margarita Gayoso and her partner Christian Ojeda knew exactly where they wanted to go. Despite living in Spain, the couple traveled ...

Yet because the language’s use remains primarily oral, it rarely appears in official documents, government records and literary works. Even finding a Catholic priest who could preside over Gayoso’s ...

A pedestrian walks past a mural that says in the Guarani language "pueblo okue, Paraguay ñanemba'e" which means "People are moving. Paraguay is ours" in Asuncion, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.

What language entails Those working to preserve the language contend there’s more to Guaraní than words. “The fundamental human values that we Paraguayans hold come from it,” Verón said. “Solidarity, ...

Why Guaraní remains at the heart of Paraguay Of the country’s 6.9 million people, about 1.6 million reported Guaraní as their main language, according to Paraguay’s official 2024 data. Whereas, 1.5 ...