No matter where you go in the world, you will find people using language. Humans use language to communicate with each other, to express themselves, and to relate to their environment. The languages of a community, and the beliefs that people have about these languages, give us insight into individual and community values, priorities, and ideas. As an anthropologist who studies language, some of the questions I ask in my research are: Which languages are used in a particular community? Which sorts of people speak which languages, and why? What ideologies or beliefs do people have about different languages, and what does this tell us about relationships of power in this community?
In Patagonia today, the main language spoken is Spanish. Spanish is the official language of Argentina, first brought by Spanish colonizers in the 16th century. However, there are many other languages spoken in this region. The earliest settlers in Patagonia spoke Welsh, and other early immigrants spoke English, German, and Lithuanian. More recently, immigrants from Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia have brought languages like Portuguese and Quechua.
