## Introduction  
Latin America is a linguistic unit marked by two important aspects: (i) its official languages (Portuguese, Spanish and French) were transplanted from Europe in the context of colonization; and (ii) these languages came into intense contact with local Indigenous languages, languages of forced immigration ${ }^{1}$ (the trafficking of slaves from Africa) and, later, languages of voluntary immigration (European and Asian).  
The languages spoken by the deported Africans, along with the local Indigenous languages, played an important role in the formation of the varieties of Portuguese, Spanish and French that established themselves in the new lands. Demographic factors (a greater or lesser number of Africans), social factors (more or less integration between whites, blacks and Indigenous peoples) and economic factors (production more or less dependent on slavery) have had a decisive impact on the differences observed in the current linguistic situation of the Latin American countries. The diverse ethnic make-up of these countries stems from the interaction of these elements. There are predominantly black societies, such as those of some Caribbean countries, in particular Haiti and the  
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[^0]:    1 It is estimated that Spanish America received more than one and a half million Africans and Brazil around 5.5 million, according to data from the website http://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates.  
Dominican Republic, and countries with a significant proportion of people of African descent such as Brazil, Cuba and Colombia; and there are nations with significant black minorities, such as Venezuela, Peru and Uruguay.