What led to Spanish and Portuguese becoming dominant languages in Latin America?(1 point)
Missionaries used Spanish and Portuguese languages as part of their conversion of Indigenous peoples.
Indigenous languages did not have the necessary vocabulary to become a common language compared to Spanish and
Portuguese.
Indigenous peoples adopted European languages because they were seen as superior to their own.
Musicians wanted to entertain European audiences in their own languages.
The missionaries used Spanish and Portuguese languages as part of their conversion of Indigenous peoples.
The correct answer is:
Indigenous peoples adopted European languages because they were seen as superior to their own.
The correct answer is: Indigenous peoples adopted European languages because they were seen as superior to their own.
To arrive at this answer, we can analyze the historical context of Spanish and Portuguese colonization in Latin America. During the Age of Discovery and subsequent colonization efforts, the Spanish and Portuguese were the primary European powers that explored and settled in the region.
The Spanish and Portuguese colonizers encountered numerous Indigenous peoples with diverse languages and cultures. As part of their conquest and assimilation strategies, the colonizers imposed their languages on the Indigenous populations. They viewed their own languages as superior and associated them with prestige, power, and civilization.
The Indigenous peoples often faced pressure to adopt Spanish and Portuguese as dominant languages. Many were coerced or forced to learn these languages, while others saw it as an opportunity to access economic, social, and political advancements under colonial rule. Consequently, over time, Spanish and Portuguese became the dominant languages in Latin America, supplanting many Indigenous languages.
While missionaries did play a role in the conversion of Indigenous peoples to Christianity, and some musicians may have sought to entertain European audiences in their languages, these factors alone were not the primary drivers behind the dominance of Spanish and Portuguese. The core reason was the imposition of European languages based on perceived superiority.