| − | '''Spanish''' is a [[Romance language]] originally from the northern regions of what is now [[Spain]]. Like all modern descendants of Latin, it is chiefly a derivative of [[Vulgar Latin]], the dialect of [[Latin]] spoken by the soldiers and provincial officials of the [[Roman Empire]], with some influence from regional languages of its original area. Spanish also draws heavy influence from [[Arabic]], due to the [[Moorish]] [[Umayyad|occupation]] of Spain lasting from 711 to 1492. Today, the majority of its speakers live outside of Spain, with large number [[ America|Central]] and [[South America]]. It is one of the most-spoken languages in the [[world]]. It is spoken as a first language by about 350,000,000 people, or by 417,000,000 if non-nativespeakers are included. The Spanish language is the second-most common language in the [[United States]]. | + | '''Spanish''' is a [[Romance language]] originally from the northern regions of what is now [[Spain]]. Like all modern descendants of Latin, it is chiefly a derivative of [[Vulgar Latin]], the dialect of [[Latin]] spoken by the soldiers and provincial officials of the [[Roman Empire]], with some influence from regional languages of its original area. Spanish also draws heavy influence from [[Arabic]], due to the [[Moorish]] [[Umayyad|occupation]] of Spain lasting from 711 to 1492. Today, the majority of its speakers live outside of Spain, with large numbers in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]]. It is one of the most-spoken languages in the [[world]]. It is spoken as a first language by about 350,000,000 people, or by 417,000,000 if non-nativespeakers are included. The Spanish language is the second-most common language in the [[United States]]. |