|
Spanish
|
||
| Resources | Courses | Instructors |
| Spanish Club |
(Espaņol) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. It is the only official language
covering the entirety of Spain, most Latin American countries and one of the official languages of Equatorial
Guinea. In total, twenty-five nations and territories use Spanish as their primary language. Besides, it is an
important language in other twenty countries.
Spanish originated as a Latin dialect along the remote cross road strips among the Cantabria, Burgos, Soria
and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile,
where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later
brought to the Americas and other parts of the world in the last five centuries by Spanish explorers and
colonists.
The language was spoken by roughly 364 million people worldwide in the year 2000, making Spanish the most
popular Romance language and the second to fifth most spoken language by number of native speakers. It is
estimated that the combined total of native and non-native Spanish speakers is 400–500 million, probably
making it the third most spoken language by total number of speakers.
Spanish is also one of six official working languages of the United Nations and one of the most used global
languages. It is spoken most extensively in the Americas, Spain and to a small extent in Africa and Asia
Pacific. It is also the second most widely spoken language in the United States and arguably the most popular
foreign language for study in US schools and Universities. Within the globalized market, there is currently an
international expansion and recognition of the Spanish language in literature, the film industry, television
(notably telenovelas) and music.
Language information from Wikipedia
