Post #2

LANGUAGE

In Honduras, there are ten languages spoken. The official language of Honduras is Spanish. From Guatemala and Mexico, the Maya arrived in what is known today as Honduras. They were one of the many native groups originally in Honduras before the Europeans started exploring the Americas. On August 14, 1502, Europeans set foot for the first time on this land. On his fourth trip to the Americas, Columbus found this new land and named it Honduras which when translated means "depths" because of the deep waters there. In the 1530's, the spanish kept trying to invade Honduras because of the gold and silver that was found in its terrain. In 1537, Lempira, a Lanca chief, led a revolt against the Spaniards who were trying to turn the indigenous people into slaves. Lanca was assassinated and the revolution had ended. This is when the Spanish overtook the land and that is why the main language of Honduras is Spanish. Smaller revolts took place when African slaves were introduced.

Copan ruins 

The five indigenous languages till spoken in Honduras are Garifuna, Miskito, Sumo, Pech, and Jicaque. Garifuna is the most popular and is spoken by about 100,000 Hondurans. The language came from the Arawakan dialect which was spoken by the Arawak, an indigenous group of people in Honduras. Miskito is spoken by about 29,000 Hondurans. Pech is another indigenous language spoken by less than 1000 Hondurans. The people who speak Pech call themselves which when translated means "people" and they refer to any other person as "Pechakua" which means "other people".

The last four spoken languages are Arabic (spoken by about 42,000 people), Armenian (spoken by about 1,300 people), Turkish (spoken by about 900 people), and Yue Chinese (spoken by about 1,000 people).

Extinct languages in Honduras are Ch'orti' and Matagalpa. the Lencan languages aren't extinct but are endangered because only about 400 people speaking it. three other indigenous languages that are becoming extinct are Mayanga, Tol , and Mayan.

Ch'orti' alphabet 

TRADE ORGANIZATIONS

Honduras is a member of the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO)

It joined the United Nations on December 17, 1945. A quick backstory of the creation of the United Nations is that it was after World War II and the world wanted peace. It was founded in 1945 and is one of the most powerful intergovernmental organizations in the world. Honduras's goal in the UN is to recover peace, creating investment opportunities for poor families and, combating corruption, and promoting transparency.

The World Trade Organization was founded on January 1st, 1995. It replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) founded in 1948. It is the largest international economic organization in the world. Honduras joined the organization right when it was formed. Its role for Honduras is to regulate tariffs, trade policies, and regional trade agreements.

GINI INDEX RATING

As of 2017, the GINI index (World Band estimate) of Honduras is 50.50. The Gini Index "...measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution." (World Bank). An index of 0 is perfect equality and one of 100 means perfect inequality.

GDP

The gross domestic product per capita based on power-parity in current prices was 5,395 international dollars. GDP based on PPP means the GDP of the country is converted to international dollars by dividing the purchase power parity rates (A purchasing power parity (PPP) between two countries, A and B, is the ratio of the number of units of country A’s currency needed to purchase in country A the same quantity of a specific good or service as one unit of country B’s currency will purchase in country B. PPPs can be expressed in the currency of either of the countries. In practice, they are usually computed among large numbers of countries and expressed in terms of a single currency, with the U.S. dollar (US$) most commonly used as the base or “numeraire” currency.") (Knoema).

MAJOR CONCERN (week of 2/10/20)

The most recent concerning news in Honduras is that the head of national police, Leonel Luciano Sauceda, and his wife, Patricia Sbeltlana Estrada, were arrested February 10th, 2020 for money laundering. Sauceda was appointed head of police just two weeks ago.Between 2006 and 2017, Sauceda had 13 bank accounts and 13.8 million lempiras ($560,000) unaccounted for.

Leonel Luciano Sauceda 

WEBSITES USED

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-honduras.html
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/honduras/history
https://www.un.org/en/ga/69/meetings/gadebate/24sep/honduras.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-introductiontobusiness/chapter/global-trade-agreements-and-organizations/
https://www.un.org/en/ga/69/meetings/gadebate/24sep/honduras.shtml
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/honduras_e.htm
https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/honduras/indicator/SI.POV.GINI
https://knoema.com/atlas/Honduras/GDP-per-capita-based-on-PPP
https://apnews.com/40581989d1ded514ff5f27258867ddec