Chiquitano (also Bésɨro or Tarapecosi) is an indigenous language isolate, possibly one of the Macro-Jê languages spoken in the central region of Santa Cruz Department of eastern Bolivia and the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil.
Chiquitano (also Bésɨro or Tarapecosi) is an indigenous language isolate, possibly one of the Macro-Jê languages spoken in the central region of Santa Cruz Department of eastern Bolivia and the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil.
The languages of Bolivia include Spanish and several dozen indigenous languages, most prominently Aymara, Quechua, Chiquitano, Guaraní and the Bolivian Sign Language (closely related to the American Sign Language). Indigenous languages and Spanish are official languages of the state according to the 2009 Constitution. The constitution says that all indigenous languages are official, listing 36 specific indigenous languages, of which some are extinct. Spanish and Quechua are spoken primarily in the Andes region, Aymara is mainly spoken in the Altiplano around Lake Titicaca, Chiquitano is spoken in the central part of Santa Cruz department, and Guarani is spoken in the southeast on the border with Paraguay and Argentina.