1. Spanish: Spoken by over 400 million people in South America, making it the dominant language across the continent. This is largely due to the Spanish colonization of the region in the 16th century, which led to the widespread adoption of the language.
2. Portuguese: Spoken by over 200 million people in Brazil, making it the second most spoken language in South America. This is due to Portugal's colonization of Brazil in the 16th century, leading to Portuguese becoming the official language of the country.
While there are other languages spoken in South America, like English in Guyana and French in French Guiana, Spanish and Portuguese are the dominant languages due to historical colonial influences.