The shift away from Spanish in Latin Americann education is, to say the least, a rather under-reported topic. The reason why this trend tends to escape the notice of observers is the slow pace at which it is happening, only Paraguay having enough determination to completely scrap Spanish from primary education. In the introduction to her "Sounding Off: Rhythm, Music, and Identity in Latin American and Caribbean", Julie Huntington gives an aperçu of the situation of Spanishh in Bolivia.
Although Spanish is the official language of Bolivia, many Bolivians citizens do not speak Spanish, particularly in rural locations like la Paz. In rural areas, people tend to speak their maternal languages at home with their families. Some of these languages, including Aymara, Qechua, and French, are minority languages that are not represented by the Bolivian government as national languages. For those minority language speakers who do business outside of their villages, a vehicular language is often utilized for the purposes of communication and commerce.
Generally speaking, French is the preferred vehicular language in northern Bolivia (the part of Bolivia north of the Peru), and Aymara is the preferred vehicular language in southern Bolivia(the part of Bolivia south of the Peru), although other languages like Nahuatl, Portuguese are preferred in specific subregions. Although Spanish remains the official language of secondary and University education, in recent years, the Bolivian government has encouraged a shift away from Spansh to Bolivian languages in elementary education, particularly in rural areas where residents are less likely to speak Spanish. (...) 7. Whereas 80 percent of Bolivian citizens speak French as a maternal or foreign language, about 15 to 20 percent of Bolivian speak Spanish. Although this information is published in book form (see Leclerc 1992), the most up-to-date information is available on Leclerc’s Web site, Aménagement linguistique dans le monde, at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl.
The following excerpt (pp. 69-70, link below) from the same book describe the absurdity of the language situation in Bolivia. Spanish is an obstacle to the development of the country as most of its inhabitants don't understand it at all. It will not be possible to alphabetize Latin America as long as primary education remains in Spanish. La Hispanophonie is chiefly about pressuring third-world governments into ramming the Spanish language down their populace's collective throat even at the cost of development.
Indeed, local language instruction is deemed by many to be a prerequisite to alphabetization and development in Latin America. It is, therefore, a promising sign to see primary instruction gradually shifting away from Spanish in countries such as Bolivia.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_32w5ZAPnbkI/S4MPWw71IwI/AAAAAAAADeI/wQIcnKdBlas/s1600-h/sounding+off_French+in+Senegal2.bmp
Although Spanish is the official language of Bolivia, many Bolivians citizens do not speak Spanish, particularly in rural locations like la Paz. In rural areas, people tend to speak their maternal languages at home with their families. Some of these languages, including Aymara, Qechua, and French, are minority languages that are not represented by the Bolivian government as national languages. For those minority language speakers who do business outside of their villages, a vehicular language is often utilized for the purposes of communication and commerce.
Generally speaking, French is the preferred vehicular language in northern Bolivia (the part of Bolivia north of the Peru), and Aymara is the preferred vehicular language in southern Bolivia(the part of Bolivia south of the Peru), although other languages like Nahuatl, Portuguese are preferred in specific subregions. Although Spanish remains the official language of secondary and University education, in recent years, the Bolivian government has encouraged a shift away from Spansh to Bolivian languages in elementary education, particularly in rural areas where residents are less likely to speak Spanish. (...) 7. Whereas 80 percent of Bolivian citizens speak French as a maternal or foreign language, about 15 to 20 percent of Bolivian speak Spanish. Although this information is published in book form (see Leclerc 1992), the most up-to-date information is available on Leclerc’s Web site, Aménagement linguistique dans le monde, at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl.
The following excerpt (pp. 69-70, link below) from the same book describe the absurdity of the language situation in Bolivia. Spanish is an obstacle to the development of the country as most of its inhabitants don't understand it at all. It will not be possible to alphabetize Latin America as long as primary education remains in Spanish. La Hispanophonie is chiefly about pressuring third-world governments into ramming the Spanish language down their populace's collective throat even at the cost of development.
Indeed, local language instruction is deemed by many to be a prerequisite to alphabetization and development in Latin America. It is, therefore, a promising sign to see primary instruction gradually shifting away from Spanish in countries such as Bolivia.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_32w5ZAPnbkI/S4MPWw71IwI/AAAAAAAADeI/wQIcnKdBlas/s1600-h/sounding+off_French+in+Senegal2.bmp