The+Spanish+of+Uruguay

=**The Spanish of Uruguay**= =By: Taylor Downs= Uruguay shares a Spanish linguistic and cultural background, even though approximately one quarter of the population is of Italian origin.

=**History of Uruguay**=

In colonial times, the first inhabitants before the European explorers settled in the area of[|Charrua]. Charrua was a small tribe was was driven out of Paruguay. Portugal controlled much of Uruguay, although the Spanish had been the first European explorers. The spanish arrived in Uruguay in 1516, but not many people were around because of the absence of gold and silver. it wasn't until the 16th and 17th centuries that people started settling into Uruguay. In 1603 the spanish introduced cattle which ended up being a main source of wealth for the country. By 1828, Uruguay successfully expelled the Portuguese. Independence did not usher in a period of peace. For a long time the country was plagued by revolutions and other forms of political unrest. The period from 1839-1851 has gone down in history as the period of the Great War (Guerra Grande). "Jan M.G. Kleinpenning" The conflict was initially limited to a confrontation between the Colorados and the Blancos. The coloradoes were the "Reds" and the Blancos were the "Whites". "Jan M.G. Kleinpenning" **Modern Uruguay** In 2004, Uruguay elected [|Tabare Vazquezas]president. "www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108124.html"

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Spanish is the official language. Indigenous languages are no longer used, although Uruguay has welcomed immigrants, a significant number of which speak Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, Russian or Yiddish. "Uruguayan Spanish, like Argentine Spanish, has been somewhat modified by the Italians who migrated in large numbers to both countries"(http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com). Uruguay language is softer then Castallano, while some words are commonly used in Spain. The gauchos have influenced the language, particularly in words dealing with their way of life. Brazilero, a Portuguese-Spanish mix, is spoken on the Brazilian frontier.===== =[|Geography of Uruguay]=

Uruguay is located in Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil. Uruguay is split up into 4 regions, the regions include the interior, the littoral, Greater Montevideo, and the coast.
 * Interior-** this is the largest of the four regions and includes Artigas, Cerro Largo, Durazno, Flores, Florida, Lavalleja, Rivera, Salto, Tacuarembó, Treinta y Tres, Río Negro, and Soriano.


 * Littoral-** this region stretches west along the Río de la Plata from Montevideo. To the north along the Río Uruguay.


 * Greater Montevideo-** [|Montevideo]is the largest city, capital, and chief port of Uruguay. It is also the only city in Uruguay with a population of over 1,00,000. The Greater Montevideo is by far the most developed of the 4 regions and dominates the nation economically and culturally.


 * The Coast-** the coast stretches east from Montevideo along the [|Río de la Plata]and are the cities of Canelones, Maldonado, and Rocha.


 * The Climate-** Uruguay has a climate that is fairly cold across the whole region and because of its abundance for water high humidity, and fog are common. The absence of mountains in Uruguay makes every place vulnerable for high winds. The rain is pretty much distributed evenly across the entire region of Uruguay. Most of Uruguay is a rolling plain, and the country itself has flat plains on the western, southern, and eastern edges. "www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2091.htm"


 * =Culture of Uruguay=


 * Art**- Uruguay's most famous painter was [|Juan Manuel Blanes]. He was known for painting large canvases of the daily life of the gaucho. [|Pedro Figari]painted scenes of the daily life and countryside of Montevideo. "en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay"


 * Distinct Music**- Uruguayans enjoy musicals such as tango, folk and waltz, as well as local forms such as murga, candombe and milonga. Also carnivals are a very big social and cultural event in Uruguay.


 * Literature**- Uruguay's most famous work of literature is Ariel by José Enrique Rodó. Florencio Sánchez wrote plays about social issues that pertained to Uruguay.
 * Religion**- Uruguay has no official religion, and church and state are separated. Religious freedom is guaranteed and not forced onto anyone. About 3/5 of Uruguayans are Roman Catholics. Usually Uruguayans baptise their children and marry in churches but less than half attend church on a regular basis.


 * Food**- Uruguayans are the opposite of Vegetarians. They love to eat meat, Uruguayan dishes include morcilla dulce, a type of blood sausage cooked with ground orange fruit, orange peel and walnuts. Drinks include mate, and tea.

i didnt know uruguay was that small and is about the size of the states washington and oklahoma: i thought the country was much bigger. another thing that was interesting was that theirs barely any mountains or mountain ranges in uruguay so that makes uruguay have many wind storms and it is very flat with rolling plains. I learned how many wars they fought and how much termoil they fought through to gain independence. This project was very interesting ti me to do research on a country i didn't know much about. I learned a lot of cool and interesting facts by taking a little time with research and reading some books.
 * What I learned about Uruguay?**

Book- Jan M.G. Kleinpenning, Peopling the Purple Land: A Historical Geography of Rural Uruguay, 1500-1915 Keizersgracht 395-397 1016 EK Amsterdamn The Netherlands/ Oaises Bajos
 * Sources-**

www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2091.htm http://www.presidencia.gub.uy/_web/pages/vazquez02.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montevideo http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=4028 http://spanishdialects2.wikispaces.com/The+Spanish+of+Paraguay http://spanishdialects2.wikispaces.com/Catalan+Language+of+Spain http://spanishdialects2.wikispaces.com/The+Spanish+of+Argentina http://spanishdialects2.wikispaces.com/Castallano http://spanishdialects2.wikispaces.com/Spain http://spanishdialects2.wikispaces.com/indigenous www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108124.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Uruguay-LANGUAGES.html __http://www.rau.edu.uy/uruguay/cultura/blanes2.htm____ http://www.museum.oas.org/permanent/americanism/figari/bio.html__