Post #2
Language is an integral component to any culture. Its uniqueness allows speakers to share a bond which is broken when translated into another form.
The national language spoken across South American countries is pretty evenly split between Portuguese and Spanish, with the exception of Dutch, French and English in Suriname, French Guiana and Guyana respectively.
In Ecuador specifically, the official language of the nation is Spanish. Yet, like most South American countries, Ecuador is home to a large population of indigenous tribes, each with a unique culture and language. Ethnologue lists 24 different languages spoken in Ecuador, 9 of which are just variations of the incan language, Quichua, spoken by the most populous Amerindian ethnic group in Ecuador called the Quichuan.
The ancestors of this indigenous group were thought to have migrated from Eurasia across the land bridge; today, the Quichuan people in Ecuador are located in the valleys, as well as in the páramo regions, between the upper forest line and the permanent snow line, of the Andes Mountains. The term “Amerindian” originated when Christopher Columbus mistook the Americas for India, but the term in present day is used colloquially in reference to people living in the Americas in pre-Columbian times. Though the Quichuan peoples are allowed to freely use their native tongues — and in fact, are encouraged and protected by the Ecuador constitution to do so — many also speak Spanish, allowing for only marginal disconnects and language barriers. The effort of the Ecuador constitution to preserve the culture and language of ethnic groups should be an example to all countries.
A country’s interactions in the world is an indicative factor in evaluating its position relative to others. Ecuador is no newbie to the global stage. The country was one of the 51 original members to sign membership to the UN in San Fransisco on June 26, 1945. Ecuador also interests itself with the broader matters of regional relations between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), of which Ecuador is also a member. Similarly, Ecuador has also been a member of the IMF since its beginnings in 1945. Because Ecuador is a member of the EU, by default they have also been a member of WTO since its start in 1992.
Gross domestic product of a country is a monetary measure of the market value for all goods and services produced in a country, and analyzing this data based on purchasing power parity (GDP [PPP]) allows for adjustments based on the relative cost of local goods, services and inflation rates of the country. According to the World Bank, Ecuador ranks 66th, paling in comparison to the United States’ number two spot. However, in the grand scheme of GDP rankings, Ecuador is ranked higher than over half of the rest of the sovereign globe.
Another indication of national wealth is the GINI index, which measures the extent to which the distribution of income or consumption expenditure among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A GINI index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality. As of 2016, Ecuador’s GINI coefficient was 45, which is not awful. In fact, when compared once again with the United States, it is only 3.5 points higher; not so pale in comparison this time around. Moreover, Ecuador’s coefficient is on the decline, whereas U.S. is on the incline, indicating strides in the right direction for Ecuador.
Ecuador’s efforts to conserve culture and language, coupled with the country’s descent in wealth disparities provide a promising picture of leaps toward an even more fiscally and socially stable future.
