The Spanish Language
Spanish, a Romance language, derives from Latin, with Castilian being
considered to be the purest form of Spanish.
Spanish or Castilian is an Iberian Romance language spoken as a first
language by about 352 million people, or by 417 million including non-native
speakers.
Spanish and English are practically neck in neck to be the second most
commonly used language in the world.
The majority
of Spanish speakers are in Latin America; followed by the United States
and Spain itself. Nearly no Spanish is spoken in Africa, except for
Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara, or Asia, where it is only spoken
in some areas of the Philippines.
Other countries or semi-autonomous areas with significant Spanish-speaking
populations include Andorra, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France,
Gibraltar, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay,
Peru, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, the United States and Venezuela.
Source: Ethnologue.
In Spain, the North Castilian dialect is generally considered to be
the standard type. In Latin America, Mexico, Colombia, Peru or Bolivia
have their own regional dialects but share one standard variety also
known as "High Land Spanish".
Spanish in Spain and Spanish in Latin America vary slightly with the
evolving development since the colonization of the Americas. In Latin
America the use of indigenous words and differing pronunciation mark
the differences between the mainland’s Spanish.
Modern Spanish has an estimated 4,000 words with Arabic roots.
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