The most spoken language in South America is Portuguese. It is mainly spoken in Brazil, the largest country on the continent, where it is the official language. Portuguese was introduced during the colonial period when Brazil was a colony of Portugal, leading to its dominance over other languages in the region. While Spanish is also widely spoken due to the number of Spanish-speaking countries in South America, Portuguese holds the highest number of speakers. This linguistic landscape reflects the historical and cultural influences shaped by colonization and migration in the region.