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Main article: History of the Spanish language
A page of Cantar de Mio Cid, in mediaeval Castilian.
Spanish evolved from Vulgar Latin introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by Romans during the Second Punic War around 210 BC, with influence from Arabic during the Andalusian period[13] and other surviving influences from Basque and Celtiberian, as well as Germanic languages via the Visigoths.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Castilian is thought to have evolved in the northern fringes of the Iberian Peninsula during the 10th century along the remote crossroad strips among the Alava, Cantabria, Burgos, Soria and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain (see Glosas Emilianenses), as a strongly innovative and differing variant from its nearest cousin, Leonese, with a higher degree of Basque influence in these regions (see Iberian Romance languages).
Modern Spanish developed in Castile with the Readjustment of the Consonants (Reajuste de las sibilantes) during the 15th century. Typical features of Spanish diachronic phonology include lenition (Latin vita, Spanish vida), palatalisation (Latin annum, Spanish año, and Latin anellum, Spanish anillo) and diphthongisation (stem-changing) of stressed short e and o from Vulgar Latin (Latin terra, Spanish tierra; Latin novus, Spanish nuevo). Similar phenomena can be found in other Romance languages as well.
This northern dialect from Cantabria was carried south during the Reconquista.
The first Spanish grammar (Gramática de la lengua castellana) — and, incidentally, the first grammar of any modern European language — was written in Salamanca, Spain, in 1492, by Elio Antonio de Nebrija. When he presented it to Queen Isabella, according to anecdote, she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire.[14] In his introduction to the grammar, dated August 18, 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire."[15]
From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Americas and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonisation. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's influence on the Spanish language from the 17th century has been so great that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes (the language of Cervantes).[16]
In the 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara, and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City. For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language.
[ Tags:Romance,Latin,Romance Language,Iberian Peninsula,10th Century,Spanish Empire,Romans,Second Punic War,Bc,5th Century,Visigoths,Arabic,15th Century,To The Americas,Cantar De Mio Cid,Castilian,Vulgar Latin,Andalusian,Basque,Celtiberian,Germanic Languages,Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra,Alava,Cantabria,Burgos,Soria,La Rioja,Glosas Emilianenses,Leonese,Iberian Romance Languages,Castile,Phonology,Lenition,Palatalisation,Diphthongisation,Stem,Reconquista,Gramática De La Lengua Castellana,Salamanca,Elio Antonio De Nebrija,Queen Isabella,16th Century,Americas,Spanish East Indies,Spanish Colonisation,17th Century,20th Century,Equatorial Guinea,Western Sahara,Spanish Harlem,New York City,United States,Spain, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Geographic distribution |
Spanish is recognised as one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union, the Organisation of American States, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the African Union, the Union of South American Nations, the Latin Union, and the Caricom and has legal status in the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Country
Population [17]
Spanish as a native language speakers[18]
Bilingual and as a second language speakers (in countries where Spanish is official) or as a foreign language (where it is not official)[19][20]
Spanish speakers as percentage of population[21]
Total number of Spanish speakers
Mexico
108,396,211 [22]
101,908,787
6,861,481
98.5%
106,770,268
United States
309,059,724[23]
34,559,894 [24]
7,140,106
15.8% [25]
50,000,000[26] + 7,820,000 students[27]
Spain
46,951,532 [28]
41,786,863 [29]
4,581,088
98.8%
46,388,113
Colombia
45,600,000 [30]
45,157,680
77,520
99.2%
45,235,200
Argentina
40,518,951 [31]
38,866,177
1,037,285
99.4%
40,275,837
Venezuela
28,908,000 [32]
27,890,438
670,666
98.8%
28,561,104
Peru
29,461,933[33]
23,501,784
2,012,250
86.6%
25,514,034
Chile
17,094,270 [34]
15,225,828
1,600,024
99.3%
16,974,610
Ecuador
14,238,000 [35]
13,226,349
731,319
98.1%
13,957,668
Guatemala
14,027,000
9,075,469
3,043,859
86.4%
12,119,328
Cuba
11,204,000
11,136,776
99.4%
11,136,776
Dominican Republic
10,090,000
9,987,082
62,558
99.6%
10,049,640
Bolivia
10,426,154[36]
4,350,833
4,813,756
87.9%
9,164,589
Honduras
7,876,197[37]
7,652,513
144,922
99.0%
7,797,435
Morocco
29,680,069 [38]
20,000 [39]
6,479,935
21.9% [40]
6,499,935
El Salvador
6,183,002[41]
6,164,451
99.7%
6,164,451
France
64,057,790
440,106 [42]
5,721,380
9.6%
6,161,486
Nicaragua
5,743,000
5,019,382
551,328
97.0%
5,570,710
Costa Rica
4,549,903
4,345,130
87,126
99.2%
4,432,256
Paraguay
6,349,000
369,000
4,043,555
69.5%
4,412,555
Puerto Rico
3,982,000
3,786,882 [43]
147,334
98.8%
3,934,216
United Kingdom
60,943,912
107,654 [44]
3,814,846
6.4%
3,922,500
Uruguay
3,361,000
3,246,726
77,303
98.9
3,324,029
Panama
3,454,000
2,652,672
476,419
93.1%
3,129,091
Philippines
96,061,683
2,660 [45]
3,014,115
3.1%
3,016,773 [46]
Germany
82,369,548
140,000 [47]
2,566,972
3.2%
2,706,972
Italy
58,145,321
89,905 [48]
1,968,320
3.5%
2,058,225
Equatorial Guinea
1,153,915 [49]
n.a.
1,044,293
90.5% [50]
1,044,293
Canada
33,212,696
909,000 [51]
92,853
3%
1,001,853
Portugal
10,676,910
9,744
727,282
6.9%
737,026
Netherlands
16,645,313
19,978 [52]
662,116
4.1%
682,094
Belgium
10,403,951
85,990 [53]
515,939
5.8%
601,929
Romania
22,246,862
544,531
2.4%
544,531
Sweden
9,045,389
101,472 [54]
442,601
6%
544,073
Australia
21,007,310
106,517 [55]
374,571 [56]
2.3%
481,088 [57]
Brazil
196,342,587
445,005 [58]
More than 5 million students[59]
unknown
Poland
38,500,696
316,104
0.8%
316,104
Austria
8,205,533
267,177
3.3%
267,177
Ivory Coast
20,179,602
235,806 [60]
1.2%
235,806
Algeria
33,769,669
223,000 [61]
0.7%
223,379
Denmark
5,484,723
219,003
4%
219,003
Israel
7,112,359
130,000 [62]
45,231
2.5%
175,231 [63]
Switzerland
7,581,520
123,000 [64]
14,420
1.7% [65]
137,420
Japan
127,288,419
76,565 [66]
60,000
0.1%
136,565
Bulgaria
7,262,675
133,910
1.8%
133,910
Belize
301,270
106,795 [67]
21,848
42.7%
128,643 [67]
Netherlands Antilles
223,652
10,699
114,835
56.1%
125,534
Ireland
4,156,119
123,591
3%
123,591
Senegal
12,853,259
101,455
0.8%
101,455
Greece
10,722,816
86,742
0.8%
86,742
Finland
5,244,749
85,586
1.6%
85,586
Hungary
9,930,915
85,034
0.9%
85,034
Aruba
100,018
6,800
68,602
75.3%
75,402
Croatia
4,491,543
73,656
1.6%
73,656
Andorra
84,484
29,907 [68]
25,356
68.7% [69]
58,040
Slovakia
5,455,407
43,164
0.8%
43,164
Norway
4,644,457
12,573
23,677
0.8%
36,250
Russia
140,702,094
3,320
20,000 [70]
0.01%
23,320
New Zealand
4,173,460
21,645 [71]
0.5%
21,645
Guam
154,805
19,092
12.3%
19,092
Virgin Islands
108,612
16,788
15.5%
16,788
China
1,345,751,000
2,292[72]
12,835
0.001124%
15,127
Lithuania
3,565,205
13,943
0.4%
13,943
Gibraltar
27,967
13,857
49.5%
13,857
Cyprus
792,604
1.4%
11,044
Turkey
71,892,807
380
8,000 [73]
0.01%
8,380
Jamaica
2,804,322
8,000
0.3%
8,000
Luxembourg
486,006
3,000
4,344
1.5%
7,344
Malta
403,532
6,458
1.6%
6,458
Trinidad and Tobago
1,047,366
4,100
0.4%
4,100
Western Sahara
513,000 [17]
n.a.[74]
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
Other immigrants in the E.U.
1,399,531 [75]
1,399,531
Other students of Spanish
2,895,562 [76]
2,895,562
Total native speakers in the world + bilingual and as a second language where Spanish is official:
420,775,480 [2]
32,443,699
453,219,179 [77]
Total with Spanish speakers as a foreign language:
90,407,106
511,182,586 [78]
[ | Tags:United Nations,European Union,Organization Of Ibero-american States,Union Of South American Nations,Caricom,North American Free Trade Agreement,Latin Union,Native Language,Mexico,Spanish Speakers,Organisation Of American States,African Union,Colombia,Argentina,Venezuela,Peru,Chile,Ecuador,Bolivia,Honduras,Morocco,El Salvador,France,Puerto Rico, Hispanosphere |
See also: Hispanophone
Active learning of Spanish.[79]
It is estimated that the combined total number of Spanish speakers is between 470 and 500 million, making it the third most spoken language by total number of speakers (after Chinese, and English). Spanish is the second most-widely spoken language in terms of native speakers.[80][81] Global internet usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the Internet, after English and Chinese. [82]
[ | Tags: Europe |
Spanish spoken in the European Union
In Europe, Spanish is an official language of Spain, the country after which it is named and from which it originated. It is widely spoken in Gibraltar, though English is the official language.[83] It is the most spoken language in Andorra, though Catalan is the official language.[84][85]
Spanish is spoken in 20 different countries worldwide. It is also spoken by small communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.[86] Spanish is an official language of the European Union. In Switzerland, Spanish is the native language of 1.7% of the population, representing the largest minority after the 4 official languages of the country.[87]
[ | Tags: Spain |
Main article: Names given to the Spanish language
In Spain and in some parts of the Spanish speaking world, but not all, Spanish is called castellano (Castilian) as well as español (Spanish), that is, the language of the Castile region, contrasting it with other three languages spoken in Spain such as Galician (proto-Portuguese), Basque, and Catalan. In this manner, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of the whole Spanish State, as opposed to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. the rest of the Spanish languages). Article III reads as follows:
El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. (…) Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas…
Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. (…) The rest of the Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities…
However, to some in other linguistic regions, this term considered demeaning to them, or alienating, and will therefore use the term español exclusively. The Spanish Royal Academy uses the term español (rather than "castellano") in its publications, due to the fact that "the term derives from the Provenzal word espaignol, which in turn derives from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, which means 'from -- or pertaining to -- Hispania'"[88]. The Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas (a linguistic guide published by the Spanish Royal Academy) states that, although the Spanish Royal Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms (español and castellano) are regarded as synonymous and equally valid[89].
Currently, the name castellano, which refers directly to the sociopolitical context in which it was introduced in the Americas, is preferred particularly in the Spanish regions where other languages are spoken (Catalonia, Basque Country, Valencian Community, Balearic Islands and Galicia) as well as in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, instead of español, which is more commonly used to refer to the language as a whole in the rest of Latin America and Spain. There is a degree of controversy in some regions of Spain revolving around the use of the terms español or castellano when referring to the Spanish language, which is linked to a greater political controversy about Catalan, Basque and Galician nationalisms. The origins of the castellano language is really not in the "Castilla" but in "Cantabria", with other languages running south during the "Reconquista", as Gallego-Portuguese, Astur, Astur-Leones, Aragones and Catalán).
[ | Tags: Latin America |
Main article: Hispanic America
Most Spanish speakers are in Latin America; of all countries with a majority of Spanish speakers, only Spain and Equatorial Guinea are outside the Americas. Mexico has the most native speakers of any country. Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure—of Argentina, Bolivia (co-official with Quechua and Aymara), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico , Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní[90]), Peru (co-official with Quechua and, in some regions, Aymara), Uruguay, and Venezuela. Spanish is also the official language (co-official with English) in the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico.[91]
Spanish has no official recognition in the former British colony of Belize; however, per the 2000 census, it is spoken by 43% of the population.[92][93] Mainly, it is spoken by the descendants of Hispanics who have been in the region since the 17th century; however, English is the official language.[94]
Spain colonized Trinidad and Tobago first in 1498, introducing the Spanish language to the Carib people. Also the Cocoa Panyols, laborers from Venezuela, took their culture and language with them; they are accredited with the music of "Parang" ("Parranda") on the island. Because of Trinidad's location on the South American coast, the country is greatly influenced by its Spanish-speaking neighbors. A recent census shows that more than 1 500 inhabitants speak Spanish.[95] In 2004, the government launched the Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005.[96] Government regulations require Spanish to be taught, beginning in primary school, while thirty percent of public employees are to be linguistically competent within five years.[95]
Spanish is important in Brazil because of its proximity to and increased trade with its Spanish-speaking neighbors, and because of its membership in the Mercosur trading bloc and the Union of South American Nations.[97] In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President, making Spanish language teaching mandatory in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil.[98] In many border towns and villages (especially in the Uruguayan-Brazilian and Paraguayan-Brazilian border areas), a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken.[99]
[ | Tags:Mercosur, United States |
Main article: Spanish language in the United States
Spanish spoken in the United States. Blue indicates 50% of people speak Spanish, and grey indicates 0% speak Spanish.
According to 2006 census data, 44.3 million people of the U.S. population were Hispanic or Latino by origin;[100] 34 million people, 12.2 percent, of the population more than five years old speak Spanish at home.[101] Spanish has a long history in the United States because many south-western states were part of Mexico, and Florida was also part of Spain, and it recently has been revitalized by Hispanic immigrants. Spanish is the most widely taught language in the country after English. Although the United States has no formally designated "official languages," Spanish is formally recognized at the state level in various states besides English; in the U.S. state of New Mexico for instance, 40% of the population speaks the language. It also has strong influence in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, New York City, and Chicago and in the last decade, the language has rapidly expanded in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Phoenix, Richmond, Washington, DC, and Missouri. Spanish is the dominant spoken language in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. With a total of 33,701,181 Spanish (Castilian) speakers, according to US Census Bureau,[102] the U.S. has the world's second-largest Spanish-speaking population.[103] Spanish ran | Tags: |