The Language of Spanish - Creative Word

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world. Surpassed by only Mandarin, the language is spoken by approximately 490 million people worldwide, 329 million of whom are native speakers. Such is its international significance, Spanish is also one of the few official languages of major international organisations such as the United Nations, the European Union, and Mercosur.

 

las-partidas Spanish Language BookHISTORY OF THE LANGUAGE

Originating from vulgar Latin in the 9th century, Spanish is categorised as a Romance language. About 2000 years later, it first appeared in written form in the Glosas Emilianenses, a religious text in Latin. However, it was not until the 13th century that Spanish was used on a widespread scale thanks to the contemporary ruler, King Alfonso X. During his reign he penned Las Partidas, an encyclopaedia filled with a plethora of information from laws and rules to recipes and card games. It was not until the 15th century however, when the Spanish and Portuguese colonised Latin American regions, that the widespread use of Spanish was cemented.

 

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE LANGUAGE

Today Spanish is not only spoken in Spain but in 22 other countries also, including Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. In fact, Mexico alone is home to approximately 120 million Spanish speakers, making it home to the largest Spanish speaking population worldwide.

 

Geographical Distribution of Spanish Language Speakers

 

The USA is not far behind with approximately 52 million Spanish speakers. This has led to Spanish being the second most common language to be taught in schools, after English, to accommodate for such a high population of Spanish speakers. The USA is followed by Colombia, Spain and then Argentina with 48 million, 46 million and 43 million speakers respectively. This is demonstrated on the map below which depicts the distribution of active Spanish learners worldwide. The highest concentrations are located in countries where Spanish is an official or co-official language such as the countries listed above. There are also countries with relatively high concentrations of Spanish speakers, 1 million or more, simply due to globalisation of the language and Hispanic culture in general.

Countries Learning Spanish Language

 

The differences in location have not only contributed to the international dissemination of Spanish, but have also led to its variation. For example, there are subtle differences in the language spoken in Spain and Latin America. Even within Spain, there are multiple versions of Spanish depending on which state you live in. The majority speak Spanish as we know it, known nationally as Castilian (castellano). Consequently, in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, the central government deemed Castilian as the official language of Spain. However, other states such as Galicia, Catalonia and the Basque Region speak variations of Spanish known as Galician, Catalan and Basque respectively. In fact, nearly 25% of the population speak Galician, Catalan and Basque as their first language. With current political pressure from these states desiring autonomy, it is highly probable that these additional forms of Spanish will become as significant and popular as Castilian is today.

 

Recognising the dominance of Spanish on a global scale, Creative Word offer a range of services including translation, interpreting and cultural diversity training, inspiring further learning and understanding of Spanish as well as 82 other languages. For more information on English to Spanish or Spanish to English translation, contact us today.