Spanish language
The Spanish language is a member of the Romance language family, the group of languages descending from Vulgar Latin, the dialect spoken by the soldiers and provincial officials of the Roman Empire. Originally spoken in the northern regions of what is now Spain, Spanish also draws some influence from the regional languages of its area. Spanish also draws heavy influence from Arabic, due to the Moorish occupation of Spain lasting from 711 to 1492.
Today, the majority of its speakers live outside of Spain, with large numbers in 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-native speakers are included. The Spanish language is the second-most common language in the United States, as well as the second-most natively spoken language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese.
It is more difficult for native Spanish speakers to learn English than it is for native English speakers to learn Spanish, due to the complexity and inconsistency of English grammar and pronunciation compared to Spanish.
Distribution
- Spain
- Former Spanish colonies in the Caribbean - (Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba)
- Latin America (with the exceptions of Portuguese-speaking Brazil, French-speaking French Guiana, Dutch-speaking Suriname, and English-speaking Guyana)
- Hispanic populations in the United States
- former Spanish colonies in Africa, eg Equatorial Guinea
- a distinct dialect is spoken in the Philippines
