How has the Spanish language spread?

Spain, formally the Kingdom of Spain is a country in Southwestern Europe with some pockets of territory across the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of 505,990 km2 (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe, the second-largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fourth-largest country by area on the European continent. With a population exceeding 47.3 million, Spain is the sixth-most populous country in Europe, and the fourth-most populous country in the European Union. Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe’s most ancient cities Cádiz and Málaga.

The Spanish language is a Romance language that originated in the Castille region of Spain. That is why it is also known as Castilian. The Spanish language has its roots in Latin, which was brought to the Iberian peninsula after the Roman How has the Spanish language spread? How has the Spanish language spread? Conquest in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. In the 13th century, King Alfonso made the Castilian dialect an official language of government administration. Today over 500,000,000 persons speak Spanish in Spain, all of Central and South America except Brazil (where the closely related Portuguese language is spoken), as well as in the Canary Islands, parts of Morocco, and the Philippines. It is the second most spoken language in the world, next to Mandarin Chinese. It is also considered the world’s second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese as per various research. It is also the third most studied language in the world.

1. From where it began: Spanish colonization brought the language to the Americas beginning in 1492. Today, “Latin America” refers to countries that were subject to Spanish, French, and Portuguese imperialism and therefore still speak a Latin-based language. As a result of Spanish colonialism in Latin America and a few other areas of the globe, Spanish is the official language of 20 countries today and is spoken by 400 million native speakers worldwide.
2. Spread of Spanish in the USA: The first European settlement in the present-day United States was actually established by Spain in what is now Florida. Spanish was the historical language of many current US states while controlled by the Spanish or Mexican governments. The gradual annexation of southwestern states changed the official language to English, but Spanish is still spoken by large portions of the populations in these areas today.
3. Helps multiple businesses: Present-day Spain is home to several regional languages: Castilian, Catalan, Galician and Basque.Iin some cases, these languages are not mutually intelligible for speakers, meaning that they can’t understand each other without some difficulty. For example, the Basque language did not originate from the same language family as Spanish, and so it cannot be considered a dialect of Spanish. Today, Spaniards use Castilian Spanish as their lingua franca, but they use their regional language in their everyday lives and, in some cases, in schools and business.
4. Where are we at today: Over the years, through a combination of conquest, coalition, and conversion, the Spanish language has spread from Europe to the Americas and now to Asia and even Africa. Once the language of only a small, unconquered region of the Iberian peninsula, Spanish has become a worldwide language spoken by millions.

It may surprise you to know that Shakespeare’s English was considered Modern English – that’s how much a language can change over the years! Unlike Old English or Middle English, Old Spanish is relatively easy for a Modern Spanish (from the 16th century on) speaker to interpret. The ability to read original medieval artefacts and ancient texts is a rare opportunity for language learners, which is usually complex even for native speakers.

There’s an amazing new way to learn Spanish! Want to see what everyone’s talking about!

Click here.

Keep Learning!