Abstract

This essay examines the interrelations between linguistic rights and elements of the State in the constiutional texts of the Latin American Area. This work presents a framework for the classification of Latin American constitutions on the basis of the degree of recognition of plurilingualism, electing the plurinational experiences of Bolivia and Ecuador as case studies for further inquiry. The linguistic phenomenon can entail structural aspects of the State, as the study of the Bolivian constitutional and legal order can prove, by examining the role of language in relation to federalism, bilingual intercultural education and public administration.