Introduction
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/4/1/114166943/wepmap_orig.jpg)
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, more commonly known simply as Venezuela, is a Latin American, Spanish-speaking country located on the northeastern coast of South America in between neighboring countries Colombia, Brazil, and Guyana. It borders the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Venezuela is home to diverse terrain such as the Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in the northwest, Guiana Highlands in the southeast, and llanos central plains. The Guiana Highlands are home to Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall. Venezuela has a hot, tropical climate which is more moderate towards the highlands. Approximately half of Venezuela is jungle forest located in the Guiana Highlands.
Venezuela gained its independence from Spain on July 5th, 1811. Along with Colombia and Ecuador, Venezuela formed part of Gran Colombia until 1830 when the three became distinct countries. Twenty-three different states, one capital district, and one federal dependency constitute the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Venezuela’s major natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, and diamonds. Due to its oil industry, Venezuela has one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America (Saxena, Mukul, and Omoniyi 2010, p. 197).
Venezuela has a population of 31,304,016 as of July 2017 with an area comparative to twice the size of California. Most of its population is centered in the northern and western highlands along the eastern spur of the Andes. This area includes the country’s capital: Caracas. Ninety-six percent of Venezuelans identify as Roman Catholic, while two percent identify as Protestant and the remaining two percent identify as other.
Venezuela has a diverse population both ethically and linguistically. Venezuela has 48 languages, and 44 living languages. Of the 44 living languages, 39 are indigenous languages (Simons and Fennig 2017). English is considered a foreign language, as Venezuela belongs in the Expanding Circle of English, according to Kachru in The Handbook of World Englishes a country that belongs in the Expanding circle of English uses English as a lingua franca, or a language that enables speakers of different first languages to communicate through English (Kachru 2006, p. 147). In other words, English usage is primarily limited to business and international communication.
Venezuela gained its independence from Spain on July 5th, 1811. Along with Colombia and Ecuador, Venezuela formed part of Gran Colombia until 1830 when the three became distinct countries. Twenty-three different states, one capital district, and one federal dependency constitute the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Venezuela’s major natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, and diamonds. Due to its oil industry, Venezuela has one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America (Saxena, Mukul, and Omoniyi 2010, p. 197).
Venezuela has a population of 31,304,016 as of July 2017 with an area comparative to twice the size of California. Most of its population is centered in the northern and western highlands along the eastern spur of the Andes. This area includes the country’s capital: Caracas. Ninety-six percent of Venezuelans identify as Roman Catholic, while two percent identify as Protestant and the remaining two percent identify as other.
Venezuela has a diverse population both ethically and linguistically. Venezuela has 48 languages, and 44 living languages. Of the 44 living languages, 39 are indigenous languages (Simons and Fennig 2017). English is considered a foreign language, as Venezuela belongs in the Expanding Circle of English, according to Kachru in The Handbook of World Englishes a country that belongs in the Expanding circle of English uses English as a lingua franca, or a language that enables speakers of different first languages to communicate through English (Kachru 2006, p. 147). In other words, English usage is primarily limited to business and international communication.
(Nicole Poplin-Dille, Fall 2017)