Spanish language - Wikipedia

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Romance language
"Castilian language" redirects here. For the specific variety of the language, see
Castilian Spanish
. For the broader branch of Ibero-Romance, see
West Iberian languages
Spanish
Castilian
castellano
Pronunciation
[espaˈɲol]
[kasteˈʎano]
pron.
with
yeísmo
[kasteˈʝano]
Native to
Spain
Hispanic America
Equatorial Guinea
Speakers
L1
: 519 million (2025)
L2
: 117 million (2025)
Total: 636 million (2025)
Language family
Indo-European
Italic
Latino-Faliscan
Latin
Romance
Italo-Western
Western Romance
Gallo
Iberian
Ibero-Romance
West Iberian
Castilian
Spanish
Early forms
Vulgar Latin
Proto-Romance
Old Spanish
Early Modern Spanish
Writing system
Latin script
Spanish alphabet
Spanish Braille
Signed forms
Signed Spanish
(using signs of the local language)
Official status
Official language in
20 countries
1 dependent territory
, and
1 partially recognized country
Organizations including the
AU
CAN
ACS
CARICOM
CELAC
EU
ALADI
Parlatino
Mercosur
OSCE
OAS
UN
USAN
OEI
and
WTO
Regulated by
Association of Spanish Language Academies
Language codes
ISO 639-1
es
ISO 639-2
spa
ISO 639-3
spa
Glottolog
stan1288
Linguasphere
51-AAA-b
Official majority language
Co-official or administrative language but not majority native language
Secondary language (more than 20% Spanish speakers) or culturally important
This article contains
IPA
phonetic symbols.
Without proper
rendering support
, you may see
question marks, boxes, or other symbols
instead of
Unicode
characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see
Help:IPA
Spanish
) or
Castilian
castellano
) is a
Romance language
of the
Indo-European language family
that evolved from the
Vulgar Latin
spoken on the
Iberian Peninsula
of
Europe
. It originated in the
Kingdom of Castile
, a historical kingdom in north-central
Spain
Today, it is a
global language
with 519 million native speakers, mainly in the
Americas
and Spain, and about 636 million speakers total, including second-language speakers. Spanish is the official language of
20 countries
, as well as one of the
six official languages
of the
United Nations
Spanish is the world's
second-most spoken native language
after
Mandarin Chinese
the world's
fourth-most spoken language
overall after
, Mandarin Chinese, and
Hindustani
Hindi
Urdu
); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is
Mexico
Spanish is part of the
Ibero-Romance language group
, in which the language is also known as
Castilian
castellano
). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the
collapse of the Western Roman Empire
in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century,
10
and the first systematic written use of the language happened in
Toledo
, a prominent city of the
Kingdom of Castile
, in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the
early modern period
spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas.
11
As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. About 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek.
12
Alongside English and
French
, it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world.
13
Spanish is well represented in the
humanities
and
social sciences
14
Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese
15
and the second most used language by number of websites after English.
16
Spanish is used as an official language by
many international organizations
, including the United Nations,
European Union
Organization of American States
Union of South American Nations
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
African Union
, and others.
Name of the language and etymology
edit
Main article:
Names given to the Spanish language
Name of the language
edit
In Spain and some other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only
but also
castellano
(Castilian), the language from the
Kingdom of Castile
, contrasting it with other
languages spoken in Spain
such as
Galician
Basque
Asturian
Catalan/Valencian
Aragonese
Occitan
and other minor languages.
The
Spanish Constitution of 1978
uses the term
castellano
to define the
official language
of the whole of Spain, in contrast to
las demás lenguas españolas
lit.
the other
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 other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities...
The
Royal Spanish Academy
Real Academia Española
), on the other hand, currently uses the term
in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language
castellano
17
The
Diccionario panhispánico de dudas
(a language guide published by the Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term
in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms—
and
castellano
—are regarded as synonymous and equally valid.
18
Etymology
edit
The term
castellano
is related to
Castile
Castilla
or archaically
Castiella
), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name
Castile
, in turn, is usually assumed to be derived from
castillo
('castle').
In the
Middle Ages
, the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as
Romance
and later also as
Lengua vulgar
19
Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as
Romance castellano
romanz castellano
romanz de Castiella
),
lenguaje de Castiella
, and ultimately simply as
castellano
(noun).
19
Different etymologies have been suggested for the term
(Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy,
derives from the
Occitan
word
espaignol
and that, in turn, derives from the
Vulgar Latin
hispaniolus
('of Hispania').
20
Hispania
was the Roman name for the entire
Iberian Peninsula
There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist
Ramón Menéndez Pidal
suggested that the classic
hispanus
or
hispanicus
took the suffix
-one
from
Vulgar Latin
, as happened with other words such as
bretón
(Breton) or
sajón
(Saxon).
citation needed
History
edit
Main article:
History of the Spanish language
The
Cartularies of Valpuesta
, written in a late form of Latin, were declared in 2010 by the Royal Spanish Academy as the record of the earliest words written in Castilian, predating those of the
Glosas Emilianenses
21
Like the other
Romance languages
, the Spanish language evolved from
Vulgar Latin
, which was brought to the
Iberian Peninsula
by the
Romans
during the
Second Punic War
, beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called
Paleohispanic languages
)—some distantly related to Latin as
Indo-European languages
, and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in the Iberian Peninsula. These languages included
Proto-Basque
Iberian
Lusitanian
Celtiberian
and
Gallaecian
The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the
modern era
, the most important
influences
on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring
Romance languages
Mozarabic
Andalusi Romance
),
Navarro-Aragonese
Leonese
Catalan/Valencian
Portuguese
Galician
Occitan
, and later,
French
and
Italian
. Spanish also
borrowed
a considerable number of words from
Andalusi Arabic
, and a few from
Basque
. In addition, many more words were borrowed from
Latin
through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both
Classical Latin
and
Renaissance Latin
, the form of Latin in use at that time.
According to the theories of
Ramón Menéndez Pidal
, local
sociolects
of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of
Burgos
, and this dialect was later brought to the city of
Toledo
, where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century.
22
In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin,
Leonese
, and, according to some authors, was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see
Iberian Romance languages
). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the
Reconquista
, and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the
Arabic
of
Al-Andalus
, much of it indirectly, through the Romance
Mozarabic dialects
(some 4,000
Arabic
-derived words, make up about 8% of the language today).
23
The written standard for this new language was developed in the cities of
Toledo
, in the 13th to 16th centuries, and
Madrid
, from the 1570s.
22
The development of the
Spanish sound system
from that of
Vulgar Latin
exhibits most of the changes that are typical of
Western Romance languages
, including
lenition
of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin
vīta
> Spanish
vida
). The
diphthongization
of Latin stressed short
and
—which occurred in
open syllables
in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in the following table:
Latin
Spanish
Ladino
Aragonese
Asturian
Galician
Portuguese
Catalan
Gascon / Occitan
French
Sardinian
Italian
Romanian
petra
ie
dra
pedra
pedra
pèira
ie
rre
pedra
perda
ie
tra
ia
tră
'stone'
terra
ie
rra
terra
tèrra
terre
terra
țară
'land'
moritur
ue
re
ue
rre
morre
mor
morís
eu
rt
mòrit
uo
re
oa
re
'dies (v.)'
mortem
ue
rte
morte
mort
mòrt
mort
morte, morti
morte
oa
rte
'death'
Chronological map showing linguistic evolution in southwest Europe
Spanish is marked by
palatalization
of the Latin double consonants (
geminates
nn
and
ll
(thus Latin
annum
> Spanish
año
, and Latin
anellum
> Spanish
anillo
).
The consonant written
or
in Latin and pronounced
[w]
in Classical Latin had probably "
fortified
" to a bilabial fricative
/β/
in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with the consonant written
(a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is
no difference
between the pronunciation of orthographic
and
Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring
Gascon
extending as far north as the
Gironde estuary
, and found in a small area of
Calabria
), attributed by some scholars to a Basque
substratum
was the mutation of Latin initial
into
h-
whenever it was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The
h-
, still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many
-/
doublets
in modern Spanish:
Fernando
and
Hernando
(both Spanish for "Ferdinand"),
ferrero
and
herrero
(both Spanish for "smith"),
fierro
and
hierro
(both Spanish for "iron"), and
fondo
and
hondo
(both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though
fondo
means "bottom", while
hondo
means "deep"); additionally,
hacer
("to make") is
cognate
to the root word of
satisfacer
("to satisfy"), and
hecho
("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of
satisfecho
("satisfied").
Compare the examples in the following table:
Latin
Spanish
Ladino
Aragonese
Asturian
Galician
Portuguese
Catalan
Gascon / Occitan
French
Sardinian
Italian
Romanian
filium
ijo
fijo
(or
hijo
fillo
fíu
fillo
filho
fill
filh
ilh
fils
fizu, fìgiu, fillu
figlio
fiu
'son'
facere
acer
fazer
fer
facer
fazer
fer
far
faire
ar
(or
èr
faire
fàghere, fàere,
fàiri
fare
a face
'to do'
febrem
fiebre
(calentura)
febre
fèbre
frèbe
rèbe
(or
erèbe
fièvre
calentura
febbre
febră
'fever'
focum
fuego
fueu
fogo
foc
fuòc
fòc
uèc
feu
fogu
fuoco
foc
'fire'
Some
consonant clusters
of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table:
Latin
Spanish
Ladino
Aragonese
Asturian
Galician
Portuguese
Catalan
Gascon / Occitan
French
Sardinian
Italian
Romanian
cl
āvem
ll
ave
clave
clau
ll
ave
chave
chave
clau
clé
giae, crae,
crai
chiave
cheie
'key'
fl
amma
ll
ama
fl
ama
chama
chama
flama
flama
flamme
framma
fiamma
flamă
'flame'
pl
ēnum
ll
eno
pleno
plen
ll
enu
cheo
cheio
pleno
ple
plen
plein
prenu
pieno
plin
'plenty, full'
ct
ch
güeito
ch
oito
oito
oito
oi
vuit
huit
uè
ch
uò
ch
uèit
huit
oto
otto
opt
'eight'
mu
lt
um
mu
ch
mu
mu
nch
mu
muito
mu
mu
nch
mu
moito
mo
muito
molt
molt
(arch.)
très
beaucoup
moult
meda
molto
mult
'much,
very,
many'
Antonio de Nebrija
, author of
Gramática de la lengua castellana
, the first grammar of a modern European language
24
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
a dramatic change
in the pronunciation of its
sibilant consonants
, known in Spanish as the
reajuste de las sibilantes
, which resulted in the distinctive
velar
[x]
pronunciation of the letter
⟨j⟩
and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic
interdental
[θ]
("th-sound") for the letter
⟨z⟩
(and for
⟨c⟩
before
⟨e⟩
or
⟨i⟩
). See
History of Spanish (Modern development of the Old Spanish sibilants)
for details.
The
Gramática de la lengua castellana
, written in
Salamanca
in 1492 by
Elio Antonio de Nebrija
, was the first grammar written for a modern European language.
25
According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to
Queen Isabella I
, she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire.
26
In his introduction to the grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire."
27
From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered
America
and the
Spanish East Indies
via
Spanish colonization of America
Miguel de Cervantes
, author of
Don Quixote
, is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called
la lengua de Cervantes
("the language of Cervantes").
28
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
Geographical distribution
edit
See also:
Hispanophone
Geographical distribution of the Spanish language
Official or co-official language
Important minority (more than 25%) or majority language, but not official
Notable minority language (less than 25% but more than 500,000 Spanish speakers)
Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2025, it is estimated that about 519 million people speak Spanish as a
native language
, making it the second
most spoken language by number of native speakers
29
An additional 117 million speak Spanish as a second or
foreign language
, making it the fourth
most spoken language in the world overall
after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 636 million speakers.
30
Spanish is also the third
most used language on the Internet
, after English and Chinese.
31
Europe
edit
Main article:
Peninsular Spanish
Percentage of people who self reportedly know enough Spanish to hold a conversation, in the EU, 2005
Native country
More than 8.99%
Between 4% and 8.99%
Between 1% and 3.99%
Less than 1%
Spanish is the official language of
Spain
. Upon the emergence of the
Castilian Crown
as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred.
32
Hard policies imposing the language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward.
33
Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include
Gibraltar
and
Andorra
34
Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the
United Kingdom
France
Italy
, and
Germany
35
Spanish is the most widely studied
Romance language
in Europe. According to Eurostat data, about 27% of secondary school students in the European Union study Spanish, making it the second most taught foreign language after English and the most studied Romance language on the continent.
36
Spanish is an official language of the
European Union
Americas
edit
Hispanic America
edit
Main article:
Spanish language in the Americas
Today, the majority of the Spanish speakers live in
Hispanic America
. Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either
de facto
or
de jure
—of
Argentina
Bolivia
(co-official with 36 indigenous languages),
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
(co-official with 63 indigenous languages),
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
(co-official with
Guaraní
),
37
Peru
(co-official with
Quechua
Aymara
, and "the other indigenous languages"),
38
Puerto Rico
(co-official with
),
39
Uruguay
, and
Venezuela
United States
edit
Main article:
Spanish language in the United States
See also:
Spanish language in California
New Mexican Spanish
, and
Isleño Spanish
Percentage of the U.S. population aged 5 and over who speaks Spanish at home in 2019, by states
Spanish language has a long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century.
40
In the wake of the
1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty
, hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States.
40
The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce.
41
According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of the U.S. population were of
Hispanic
or
Hispanic American
by origin.
42
In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population.
43
Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of
Puerto Rico
, where it is also an official language along with English.
Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included.
44
While English is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of
New Mexico
45
The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of
Los Angeles
San Diego
Miami
San Antonio
New York
San Francisco
Dallas
Tucson
and
Phoenix
of the
Arizona Sun Corridor
, as well as more recently,
Chicago
Las Vegas
Boston
Denver
Houston
Indianapolis
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
Cleveland
Salt Lake City
Atlanta
Nashville
Orlando
Tampa
Raleigh
and
Baltimore-Washington, D.C.
due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration.
Rest of the Americas
edit
Although Spanish has no official recognition in the former
British colony
of
Belize
(known until 1973 as
British Honduras
) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language.
46
Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing
native Spanish speaking
minority,
Trinidad and Tobago
has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched the
Spanish as a First Foreign Language
(SAFFL) initiative in March 2005.
47
Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the
Dutch Caribbean
islands of
Aruba
Bonaire
and
Curaçao
ABC Islands
) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speak Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency.
48
The local language
Papiamentu
(or Papiamento in Aruba) is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish.
In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of
Mercosur
in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in
Brazil
49
50
In 2005, the
National Congress of Brazil
approved a bill, signed into law by the
President
, making it mandatory for
schools
to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil.
51
In September 2016 this law was revoked by
Michel Temer
after the
impeachment of Dilma Rousseff
52
In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a
mixed language
known as
Portuñol
is spoken.
53
Africa
edit
Sub-Saharan Africa
edit
See also:
Equatoguinean Spanish
Spanish language signage in
Malabo
, capital city of
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the
Spanish colonial period
54
Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in the Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business.
55
Spanish is spoken as a native language by a small minority in Equatorial Guinea, primarily in larger cities.
56
57
The
Instituto Cervantes
estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish.
58
The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages.
59
Spanish is spoken by very small communities in
Angola
due to Cuban influence from the
Cold War
and in
South Sudan
among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence.
60
North Africa and Macaronesia
edit
See also:
Canarian Spanish
and
Saharan Spanish
Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of
Ceuta
and
Melilla
and the
Canary Islands
, located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off the northwest of the African mainland. The
Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands
traces its origins back to the
Castilian conquest in the 15th century
, and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas,
61
which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish.
62
The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as a second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system.
63
While far from its heyday during the
Spanish protectorate in Morocco
, the Spanish language has some presence in northern
Morocco
, stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media.
64
According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of the population.
65
Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish,
64
with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla.
66
Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education).
64
In
Western Sahara
, formerly
Spanish Sahara
, a primarily
Hassaniya Arabic
-speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
as its secondary official language,
67
and in the
Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf
Algeria
), where the Spanish language is still taught as a second language, largely by Cuban educators.
68
69
70
Spanish is also an official language of the
African Union
71
Asia
edit
See also:
Chavacano
Philippine Spanish
, and
Spanish language in the Philippines
An 1892 issue of
La Solidaridad
, a Spanish-language newspaper on the
colonial Philippines
published in
Barcelona
by Filipino exiles and international students
Spanish was an official language of the
Philippines
from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During
Spanish colonization
, it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as a first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos (
Ilustrados
). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing.
72
Map of the
Chavacano
language in various
provinces of the Philippines
, as well as
Sabah
in
Malaysia
(where it is spoken by immigrants)
Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of
American administration
after the
Spanish–American War
but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s.
73
Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and
Filipino
, a standardized version of
Tagalog
Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under the administration of
Ferdinand Marcos
two months later.
74
It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language.
75
Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that
the government
shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of the country's constitution.
76
In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language,
77
78
and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system,
79
with over 7,000 students studying the language in the 2021–2022 school year alone.
80
The
local business process outsourcing industry
has also helped boost the language's economic prospects.
81
Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is about 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population,
82
a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely.
83
Aside from standard Spanish, a Spanish-based creole language called
Chavacano
developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish.
84
The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996.
85
The local
languages of the Philippines
also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from
Mexican Spanish
, owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through
New Spain
until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898.
86
87
Oceania
edit
Announcement in Spanish on
Easter Island
, welcoming visitors to
Rapa Nui National Park
Spanish is the official and most spoken language on
Easter Island
, which is geographically part of
Polynesia
in Oceania and politically part of
Chile
. However, Easter Island's traditional language is
Rapa Nui
, an
Eastern Polynesian language
As a legacy of comprising the former
Spanish East Indies
, Spanish loan words are present in the local languages of
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Palau
Marshall Islands
and
Micronesia
88
89
In addition, in Australia and New Zealand, there are native Spanish communities, resulting from emigration from Spanish-speaking countries (mainly from the
Southern Cone
).
90
Spanish speakers by country
edit
Main article:
List of countries by Spanish-speaking population
20 countries and one United States territory speak Spanish officially, and the language has a significant unofficial presence in the rest of the United States along with Andorra, Belize and the territory of Gibraltar.
Worldwide Spanish fluency (
grey
and * signifies official language)
Country
Population
91
Speakers of Spanish as a native language
92
93
94
Native speakers and proficient speakers as a second language
92
95
Total number of Spanish speakers (including limited competence speakers)
92
96
97
Mexico
133,367,428
98
125,098,647 (93.8%)
99
125,632,117 (94.2%)
92
132,300,489 (99.2%)
99
United States
340,110,990
100
44,867,699 (13.9% of 321,745,943)
101
49,671,936 (15.4% of 321,745,943)
64,867,699
Colombia
53,110,609
108
52,090,885 (98.1%)
92
109
52 962 217 (99.7%)
110
Spain
49,315,949
111
42,214,452 (85.6%)
112
47,343,311 (96%)
112
48,908,080 (99.5%)
112
Argentina
47,473,760
113
45,574,810 (96.0%)
114
46,856,601 (98.7%)
92
47,188,917 (99.4%)
97
Peru
34,412,393
115
28,527,874 (82.9%)
116
117
29,594,658 (86.6%)
92
30,600,340 (88.9%)
110
Venezuela
28,460,000
118
27,720,040 (97.4%)
92
119
28,240,466 (99.2%)
110
Chile
20,206,953
120
19,317,847 (95.6%)
92
121
19,945,772 (99.6%)
110
Ecuador
18,013,000
122
16,877,244 (93.7%)
92
17,474,448 (97.0%)
110
17,642,817 (98.6%)
123
Guatemala
18,079,810
124
12,637,787 (69.9%)
125
13,722,576 (75.9%)
92
16,440,943 (90.8%)
110
Bolivia
12,332,252
126
7,485,677 (60.7%)
127
9,927,463 (80.5%)
92
12,064,523 (97.8%)
110
Cuba
11,089,511
128
10,996,367 (99.2%)
92
10,996,367 (99.2%)
110
Dominican Republic
10,878,267
129
10,323,475 (94.9%)
92
10,747,728 (98.8%)
97
Honduras
10,039,862
130
9,549,917 (95.1%)
92
131
9,949,503 (99.1%)
97
France
68,381,000
132
557,001 (1% of 55 700 114)
96
133
1,910,258 (4% of 55 700 114)
95
7,798,016 (14% of 55 700 114)
96
Brazil
212,584,000
134
1,350,000
107
135
7,425,818
Nicaragua
6,803,886
136
6,484,103 (95.3%)
137
138
6,599,769 (97.1%)
92
6,734,219 (98.9%)
110
Paraguay
6,417,076
139
3,946,502 (61.5%)
140
4,318,692 (67.3%)
92
6,397,823 (99,7%)
110
141
El Salvador
6,029,976
142
6,015,876
143
6,023,946 (99.9%)
110
Germany
83,190,556
144
716,772 (1% of 71 677 231)
96
145
2,150,317 (3% of 71 677 231)
95
5,734,178 (8% of 71 677 231)
96
Costa Rica
5,327,387
146
5,268,786 (98.9%)
92
5,326,600 (99.9%)
110
Panama
4,565,559
147
3,944,643 (86.4)
92
148
4,495,892 (98.4%)
110
Uruguay
3,499,451
149
3,348,975 (95.7%)
150
151
3,467,956 (99.1%)
92
Puerto Rico
3,203,295
152
3,049,537 (95.2%)
153
3,200,092 (99.9%)
92
United Kingdom
68,265,209
154
215,062 (0.4%)
155
518,480 (1% of 51,848,010)
156
3,110,880 (6% of 51,848,010)
157
Italy
60,542,215
158
515,597 (1% of 51,862,391)
96
1,546,790 (3% of 51,862,391)
95
3,093,580 (6% of 51,862,391)
96
Morocco
36,828,330
159
136,892
92
1,888,625
92
160
(10%)
161
Canada
41,465,298
162
600,795 (1.6%)
163
1,171,450
164
(3.2%)
165
1,775,000
166
167
Netherlands
18,070,000
168
1,328,731 (9% of 14 763 684)
96
Equatorial Guinea
1,505,588
169
1,114,135 (74%)
92
1,320,401 (87.7%)
170
Portugal
10,639,726
171
48,791
172
178,312 (2% of 8,915,624)
95
1,089,995
172
Belgium
11,812,354
173
96,193 (1% of 9,619,330)
96
192,387 (2% of 9,619,330)
95
961,933 (10% of 9,619,330)
96
Sweden
10,588,230
174
85,415 (1% of 8,541,497)
96
854,149 (10% of 8,541,497)
96
Ivory Coast
29,389,150
175
798,095 (students)
92
Australia
27,309,396
176
175,491
92
559,491
92
Switzerland
9,060,598
177
212,970
92
(2.3%)
178
179
556,131
92
Philippines
114,123,600
180
6,834
92
554,530
92
181
Romania
19,051,562
182
485,241 (3 of 16,174,719)
96
Denmark
5,982,117
183
440,213 (9% of 4,891,261)
96
Western Sahara
590,506
184
N/A
185
423,739
92
Benin
12,910,087
186
412,515 (students)
92
Cameroon
28,758,503
187
403,000 (students)
92
Senegal
12,853,259
356,000 (students)
92
Poland
38,036,118
188
319,829 (1% of 31,982,941)
96
Austria
9,198,214
189
76,471 (1% of 7,647,176)
95
305,887 (4% of 7,647,176)
96
Ireland
5,380,300
190
40,059 (1% of 4,005,909)
96
120,177 (3% of 4,005,909)
95
280,414 (7% of 4,005,909)
96
Belize
430,191
191
224,130 (52.1%)
192
224,130 (52.1%)
270,160 (62.8%)
192
Czech Republic
10,897,237
193
89,820 (1% of 8,982,036)
95
269,461 (3% of 8,982,036)
96
Algeria
47,400,000
194
1,149
92
263,428
92
Curaçao
Sint Maarten
Bonaire
Sint Eustatius
Saba
244,700
46,621
92
203,339
92
Finland
5,638,675
195
186,917 (4% of 4,672,932)
96
Greece
10,400,720
196
91,679 (1% of 9,167,896)
95
183,358 (2% of 9,167,896)
96
Bulgaria
6,445,481
197
59,175 (1% of 5,917,534)
95
177,526 (3% of 5,917,534)
96
Gabon
2,408,586
198
167,410 (students)
92
Hungary
9,540,000
199
83,135 (1% of 8,313,539)
95
166,271 (2% of 8,313,539)
96
Russia
146,028,325
200
28,924
92
163,354 (134,430 students)
92
Japan
123,440,000
201
131,000
92
160,000
92
Slovakia
5,421,272
202
45,915 (1% of 4,591,487)
95
91,830 (2% of 4,591,487)
96
Israel
10,045,100
203
104,000
92
149,000
92
Norway
5,594,340
204
13,000
92
132,888
92
Aruba
107,566
205
14,737
92
89,387
92
Luxembourg
672,050
206
16,000 (3% of 533,335)
96
37,000 (7% of 533,335)
95
80,000 (15% of 533,335)
96
Andorra
85,101
207
34,132 (43.2%)
92
49,018 (57.6%)
208
71,677 (80.0%)
209
92
Trinidad and Tobago
1,368,333
210
4,000
92
70,401
92
China
1,408,280,000
211
15,130
92
69,028 (53,898 students)
92
New Zealand
22,000
92
58,373 (36,373 students)
92
Slovenia
35,194 (2%
156
of 1,759,701
212
52,791 (3%
157
of 1,759,701
212
India
1,428,627,663
213
4,855
92
51,104 (46,249 students)
92
Guam
153,836
214
1,309
92
32,233
92
Gibraltar
34,003
215
24,958 (73.4%
216
31,725 (93.3 %
217
Lithuania
2,972,949
218
28,297 (1%
157
of 2,829,740
212
Turkey
85,664,944
219
5,460
92
21,660
92
Egypt
105,914,499
220
21,000
221
US Virgin Islands
16,788
92
16,788
16,788
Latvia
2,209,000
13,943 (1%
157
of 1,447,866
212
Cyprus
2%
157
of 660,400
212
Estonia
9,457 (1%
157
of 945,733
212
Jamaica
2,711,476
222
8,000
92
8,000
8,000
Namibia
666
3,866
223
3,866
Malta
3,354 (1%
157
of 335,476
212
Total
8,152,000,000 (total world population)
224
490,995,339
(6%)
225
92
515,833,121
(6.3%)
92
584,203,675
(7.2%)
225
92
226
Grammar
edit
Main article:
Spanish grammar
This section
does not
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any
sources
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Miguel de Cervantes
, considered by many the greatest author of Spanish literature, and author of
Don Quixote
, widely considered the first modern European novel
Most of the grammatical and
typological
features of Spanish are shared with the other
Romance languages
. Spanish is a
fusional language
. The
noun
and
adjective
systems exhibit two
genders
and two
numbers
. In addition, articles and some
pronouns
and
determiners
have a neuter gender in their singular form. There are about fifty
conjugated
forms per
verb
, with 3 tenses: past, present, future; 2
aspects
for past:
perfective
imperfective
; 4
moods
: indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative; 3 persons: first, second, third; 2 numbers: singular, plural; 3
verboid
forms: infinitive, gerund, and past participle. The indicative mood is the
unmarked
one, while the subjunctive mood
expresses uncertainty or indetermination
, and is commonly paired with the conditional, which is a mood used to express "would" (as in, "I would eat if I had food"); the imperative is a mood to express a command, commonly a one word phrase – "¡Di!" ("Talk!").
Verbs express
T–V distinction
by using different persons for formal and informal addresses. (For a detailed overview of verbs, see
Spanish verbs
and
Spanish irregular verbs
.)
Spanish
syntax
is considered
right-branching
, meaning that subordinate or
modifying
constituents
tend to be placed after head words. The language uses
prepositions
(rather than postpositions or inflection of nouns for
case
), and usually—though not always—places
adjectives
after
nouns
, as do most other Romance languages.
Spanish is classified as a
subject–verb–object
language; however, as in most Romance languages, constituent order is highly variable and governed mainly by
topicalization
and
focus
. It is a "
pro-drop
", or "
null-subject
" language—that is, it allows the deletion of subject pronouns when they are
pragmatically
unnecessary. Spanish is described as a "
verb-framed
" language, meaning that the
direction
of motion is expressed in the verb while the
mode
of locomotion is expressed adverbially (e.g.
subir corriendo
or
salir volando
; the respective English equivalents of these examples—'to run up' and 'to fly out'—show that English is, by contrast, "satellite-framed", with mode of locomotion expressed in the verb and direction in an adverbial modifier).
Phonology
edit
Spanish as spoken in Spain
Main article:
Spanish phonology
The Spanish phonological system evolved from that of
Vulgar Latin
. Its development exhibits some traits in common with other
Western Romance languages
, others with the neighboring Hispanic varieties—especially
Leonese
and
Aragonese
—as well as other features unique to Spanish. Spanish is alone among its immediate neighbors in having undergone frequent aspiration and eventual loss of the Latin initial
/f/
sound (e.g. Cast.
harina
vs. Leon. and Arag.
farina
).
227
The Latin initial consonant sequences
pl-
cl-
, and
fl-
in Spanish typically merge as
ll-
(originally pronounced
[ʎ]
), while in Aragonese they are preserved in most dialects, and in Leonese they present a variety of outcomes, including
[tʃ]
[ʃ]
, and
[ʎ]
. Where Latin had
-li-
before a vowel (e.g.
filius
) or the ending
-iculus
-icula
(e.g.
auricula
), Old Spanish produced
[ʒ]
, that in Modern Spanish became the velar fricative
[x]
hijo
oreja
), whereas neighboring languages have the palatal lateral
[ʎ]
(e.g. Portuguese
filho
orelha
; Catalan
fill
orella
).
Segmental phonology
edit
Spanish vowel chart, from
Ladefoged & Johnson (2010
:227)
The Spanish
phonemic
inventory consists of five vowel phonemes (
/a/
/e/
/i/
/o/
/u/
) and 17 to 19 consonant phonemes (the exact number depending on the dialect
228
). The main
allophonic
variation among vowels is the reduction of the high vowels
/i/
and
/u/
to glides—
[j]
and
[w]
respectively—when unstressed and adjacent to another vowel. Some instances of the mid vowels
/e/
and
/o/
, determined lexically, alternate with the diphthongs
/je/
and
/we/
respectively when stressed, in a process that is better described as
morphophonemic
rather than phonological, as it is not predictable from phonology alone.
The Spanish consonant system is characterized by (1) three
nasal
phonemes, and one or two (depending on the dialect)
lateral
phoneme(s), which in syllable-final position
lose their contrast
and are subject to
assimilation
to a following consonant; (2) three
voiceless
stops
and the
affricate
/tʃ/
; (3) three or four (depending on the dialect)
voiceless
fricatives
; (4) a set of voiced
obstruents
/b/
/d/
/ɡ/
, and sometimes
/ʝ/
—which alternate between
approximant
and
plosive
allophones depending on the environment; and (5) a phonemic distinction between the "
tapped
" and "
trilled
-sounds (single
⟨r⟩
and double
⟨rr⟩
in orthography).
In the following table of consonant phonemes,
/ʎ/
is marked with an asterisk (*) to indicate that it is preserved only in some dialects. In most dialects it has been merged with
/ʝ/
in the merger called
yeísmo
. Similarly,
/θ/
is also marked with an asterisk to indicate that most dialects do not distinguish it from
/s/
(see
seseo
), although this is not a true merger but an outcome of different evolution of sibilants in southern Spain.
The phoneme
/ʃ/
is in parentheses () to indicate that it appears only in
loanwords
. Each of the voiced obstruent phonemes
/b/
/d/
/ʝ/
, and
/ɡ/
appears to the right of a
pair
of voiceless phonemes, to indicate that, while the
voiceless
phonemes maintain a phonemic contrast between plosive (or affricate) and fricative, the
voiced
ones alternate
allophonically
(i.e. without phonemic contrast) between plosive and approximant pronunciations.
Consonant phonemes
229
Labial
Dental
Alveolar
Palatal
Velar
Nasal
Stop
tʃ
Continuant
Lateral
Flap
Trill
Prosody
edit
Spanish is classified by its
rhythm
as a
syllable-timed language
: each syllable has approximately the same duration regardless of stress.
230
231
Spanish
intonation
varies significantly according to dialect but generally conforms to a pattern of falling tone for declarative sentences and
wh-questions
(who, what, why, etc.) and rising tone for
yes/no questions
232
233
There are no syntactic markers to distinguish between questions and statements and thus, the recognition of declarative or interrogative depends entirely on intonation.
Stress most often occurs on any of the last three syllables of a word, with some rare exceptions at the fourth-to-last or earlier syllables. Stress tends to occur as follows:
234
better source needed
in words that end with a
monophthong
, on the penultimate syllable
when the word ends in a
diphthong
, on the final syllable.
in words that end with a consonant, on the last syllable, with the exception of two grammatical endings:
-n
, for third-person-plural of verbs, and
-s
, for plural of nouns and adjectives or for second-person-singular of verbs. However, even though a significant number of nouns and adjectives ending with
-n
are also stressed on the penult (
joven
virgen
mitin
), the great majority of nouns and adjectives ending with
-n
are stressed on their last syllable (
capitán
almacén
jardín
corazón
).
Preantepenultimate stress (stress on the fourth-to-last syllable) occurs rarely, only on verbs with
clitic
pronouns attached (e.g.
guardándoselos
'saving them for him/her/them/you').
In addition to the many exceptions to these tendencies, there are numerous
minimal pairs
that contrast solely on stress such as
sábana
('sheet') and
sabana
('savannah');
límite
('boundary'),
limite
('he/she limits') and
limité
('I limited');
líquido
('liquid'),
liquido
('I sell off') and
liquidó
('he/she sold off').
The orthographic system unambiguously reflects where the stress occurs: in the absence of an accent mark, the stress falls on the last syllable unless the last letter is
⟨n⟩
⟨s⟩
, or a vowel, in which cases the stress falls on the next-to-last (penultimate) syllable. Exceptions to those rules are indicated by an acute accent mark over the vowel of the stressed syllable. (See
Spanish orthography
.)
Speaker population
edit
Spanish is the official, or national language in
18 countries and one territory in the Americas
Spain
, and
Equatorial Guinea
. With a population of over 410 million,
Hispanophone America
accounts for the vast majority of Spanish speakers, of which
Mexico
is the most populous Spanish-speaking country. In the
European Union
, Spanish is the
mother tongue
of 8% of the population, with an additional 7% speaking it as a second language.
235
Additionally, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the
United States
and is by far the most popular foreign language among students.
236
In 2015, it was estimated that over 50 million Americans spoke Spanish, about 41 million of whom were native speakers.
237
With continued immigration and increased use of the language domestically in public spheres and media, the number of Spanish speakers in the United States is expected to continue growing over the forthcoming decades.
238
Dialectal variation
edit
A world map attempting to identify the main dialects of Spanish
Main article:
Spanish dialects and varieties
While being mutually intelligible, there are important variations (
phonological
grammatical
, and
lexical
) in the spoken Spanish of the various regions of Spain and throughout the Spanish-speaking areas of the Americas.
The national variety with the most speakers is
Mexican Spanish
. It is spoken by more than twenty percent of the world's Spanish speakers (more than 112 million of the total of more than 500 million, according to the table above). One of its main features is the
reduction
or loss of
unstressed vowels
, mainly when they are in contact with the sound /s/.
239
240
In Spain, northern dialects are popularly thought of as closer to the standard, although positive attitudes toward southern dialects have increased significantly in the last 50 years. The speech from the educated classes of Madrid is the standard variety for use on radio and television in Spain and it is indicated by many as the one that has most influenced the written standard for Spanish.
241
Central (European) Spanish speech patterns have been noted to be in the process of merging with more innovative southern varieties (including Eastern Andalusian and Murcian), as an emerging interdialectal levelled
koine
buffered between the Madrid's traditional national standard and the Seville speech trends.
242
Phonology
edit
See also:
Phonetic change "f → h" in Spanish
The four main phonological divisions are based respectively on (1) the phoneme
, (2) the
debuccalization
of syllable-final
/s/
, (3) the sound of the spelled
⟨s⟩
, (4) and the phoneme
The phoneme
/θ/
(spelled
before
or
and spelled
⟨z⟩
elsewhere), a
voiceless dental fricative
as in English
th
ing
, is maintained by a majority of Spain's population, especially in the northern and central parts of the country. In other areas (some parts of southern Spain, the
Canary Islands
, and the Americas),
/θ/
does not exist and
/s/
occurs instead. The maintenance of phonemic contrast is called
distinción
in Spanish, while the merger is generally called
seseo
(in reference to the usual realization of the merged phoneme as
[s]
) or, occasionally,
ceceo
(referring to its interdental realization,
[θ]
, in some parts of southern Spain). In most of Hispanic America, the spelled
⟨c⟩
before
⟨e⟩
or
⟨i⟩
, and spelled
⟨z⟩
is always pronounced as a
voiceless dental sibilant
The debuccalization (pronunciation as
[h]
, or loss) of syllable-final
/s/
is associated with the southern half of Spain and lowland Americas: Central America (except central Costa Rica and Guatemala), the Caribbean, coastal areas of southern Mexico, and South America except Andean highlands. Debuccalization is frequently called "aspiration" in English, and
aspiración
in Spanish. When there is no debuccalization, the syllable-final
/s/
is pronounced as
voiceless "apico-alveolar" sibilant
or as a
voiceless dental sibilant
in the same fashion as in the next paragraph.
The sound that corresponds to the letter
⟨s⟩
is pronounced in northern and central Spain as a
voiceless "apico-alveolar" sibilant
[s̺]
(also described acoustically as "
grave
" and articulatorily as "retracted"), with a weak "hushing" sound reminiscent of
retroflex
fricatives. In
Andalusia
Canary Islands
and most of Hispanic America (except in the
Paisa region
of Colombia) it is pronounced as a
voiceless dental sibilant
[s]
, much like the most frequent pronunciation of the /s/ of English.
The phoneme
/ʎ/
, spelled
⟨ll⟩
, a
palatal lateral
consonant that can be approximated by the sound of the
⟨lli⟩
of English
million
, tends to be maintained in less-urbanized areas of northern Spain and in the
highland areas of South America
, as well as in
Paraguay
and
lowland Bolivia
. Meanwhile, in the speech of most other Spanish speakers, it is merged with
/ʝ/
("curly-tail
"), a non-lateral, usually voiced, usually fricative, palatal consonant, sometimes compared to English
/j/
yod
) as in
acht
and spelled
⟨y⟩
in Spanish. As with other forms of allophony across world languages, the small difference of the spelled
⟨ll⟩
and the spelled
⟨y⟩
is usually not perceived (the difference is not heard) by people who do not produce them as different phonemes. Such a phonemic merger is called
yeísmo
in Spanish. In
Rioplatense Spanish
, the merged phoneme is generally pronounced as a postalveolar fricative, either voiced
[ʒ]
(as in English
measure
or the French
⟨j⟩
) in the central and western parts of the dialectal region (
zheísmo
), or voiceless
[ʃ]
(as in the French
⟨ch⟩
or Portuguese
⟨x⟩
) in and around Buenos Aires and Montevideo (
sheísmo
).
243
Morphology
edit
The main
morphological
variations between dialects of Spanish involve differing uses of pronouns, especially those of the second
person
and, to a lesser extent, the
object pronouns
of the third
person
Voseo
edit
Main article:
Voseo
An examination of the dominance and stress of the
voseo
feature in Hispanic America. Data generated as illustrated by the
Association of Spanish Language Academies
. The darker the area, the stronger its dominance.
Virtually all dialects of Spanish make the
distinction
between a formal and a familiar
in the
second-person
singular
and thus have two different
pronouns
meaning "you":
usted
in the formal and either
tú
or
vos
in the familiar (and each of these three pronouns has its associated verb forms), with the choice of
tú
or
vos
varying from one dialect to another. The use of
vos
and its verb forms is called
voseo
. In a few dialects, all three pronouns are used, with
usted
tú
, and
vos
denoting respectively formality, familiarity, and intimacy.
244
In
voseo
vos
is the
subject
form (
vos decís
, "you say") and the form for the object of a
preposition
voy con vos
, "I am going with you"), while the direct and indirect
object
forms, and the
possessives
, are the same as those associated with
tú
Vos sabés que tus amigos te respetan
("You know your friends respect you").
The verb forms of the general
voseo
are the same as those used with
tú
except in the present
tense
indicative
and
imperative
) verbs. The forms for
vos
generally can be derived from those of
vosotros
(the traditional second-person familiar
plural
) by deleting the
glide
[i̯]
, or
/d/
, where it appears in the ending:
vosotros pensá
vos pensás
vosotros volvé
vos volvés
pensa
vosotros
) >
pensá!
vos
),
volve
vosotros
) >
volvé!
vos
).
245
General
voseo
River Plate Spanish
Indicative
Subjunctive
Imperative
Present
Simple past
Imperfect past
Future
Conditional
Present
Past
pensás
pensaste
pensabas
pensarás
pensarías
pienses
pensaras
pensases
pensá
volvés
volviste
volvías
volverás
volverías
vuelvas
volvieras
volvieses
volvé
dormís
dormiste
dormías
dormirás
dormirías
duermas
durmieras
durmieses
dormí
The forms in
bold
coincide with standard
tú
-conjugation
In Central American
voseo
, the
tú
and
vos
forms differ in the present subjunctive as well:
Central American
voseo
Indicative
Subjunctive
Imperative
Present
Simple past
Imperfect past
Future
Conditional
Present
Past
pensás
pensaste
pensabas
pensarás
pensarías
pensés
pensaras
pensases
pensá
volvés
volviste
volvías
volverás
volverías
volvás
volvieras
volvieses
volvé
dormís
dormiste
dormías
dormirás
dormirías
durmás
durmieras
durmieses
dormí
The forms in
bold
coincide with standard
tú
-conjugation
In Chilean
voseo
, almost all
vos
forms are distinct from the corresponding standard
tú
-forms.
Chilean
voseo
Indicative
Subjunctive
Imperative
Present
Simple past
Imperfect past
Future
246
Conditional
Present
Past
pensái(s)
pensaste
pensabais
pensarí(s)
pensaráis
pensaríai(s)
pensí(s)
pensarai(s)
pensases
piensa
volví(s)
volviste
volvíai(s)
volverí(s)
volveráis
volveríai(s)
volvái(s)
volvierai(s)
volvieses
vuelve
dormís
dormiste
dormíais
dormirís
dormiráis
dormiríais
durmáis
durmierais
durmieses
duerme
The forms in
bold
coincide with standard
tú
-conjugation
The use of the pronoun
vos
with the verb forms of
tú
vos piensas
) is called "pronominal
voseo
". Conversely, the use of the verb forms of
vos
with the pronoun
tú
tú pensás
or
tú pensái
) is called "verbal
voseo
". In Chile, for example, verbal
voseo
is much more common than the actual use of the pronoun
vos
, which is usually reserved for highly informal situations.
Distribution in Spanish-speaking regions of the Americas
edit
Although
vos
is not used in Spain, it occurs in many Spanish-speaking regions of the Americas as the primary spoken form of the second-person singular familiar pronoun, with wide differences in social consideration.
247
better source needed
Generally, it can be said that there are zones of exclusive use of
tuteo
(the use of
tú
) in the following areas: almost all of
Mexico
, the
West Indies
Panama
, most of
Colombia
Peru
Venezuela
and coastal
Ecuador
Tuteo
as a cultured form alternates with
voseo
as a popular or rural form in
Bolivia
, in the north and south of Peru, in Andean Ecuador, in small zones of the Venezuelan Andes (and most notably in the Venezuelan state of
Zulia
), and in a large part of Colombia. Some researchers maintain that
voseo
can be heard in some parts of eastern Cuba, and others assert that it is absent from the island.
248
Tuteo
exists as the second-person usage with an intermediate degree of formality alongside the more familiar
voseo
in
Chile
, in the Venezuelan state of
Zulia
, on the Caribbean coast of
Colombia
, in the
Azuero Peninsula
in Panama, in the Mexican state of
Chiapas
, and in parts of Guatemala.
Areas of generalized
voseo
include
Argentina
Nicaragua
, eastern
Bolivia
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Costa Rica
Paraguay
Uruguay
and the Colombian departments of
Antioquia
Caldas
Risaralda
Quindio
and
Valle del Cauca
244
Ustedes
edit
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does not
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any
sources
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Ustedes
functions as formal and informal second-person plural in all of Hispanic America, the
Canary Islands
, and parts of
Andalusia
. It agrees with verbs in the 3rd person plural. Most of Spain maintains the
formal/familiar distinction
with
ustedes
and
vosotros
respectively. The use of
ustedes
with the second person plural is sometimes heard in Andalusia, but it is non-standard.
Usted
edit
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does not
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any
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Usted
is the usual second-person singular pronoun in a formal context, but it is used jointly with the third-person singular voice of the verb. It is used to convey respect toward someone who is a generation older or is of higher authority ("you, sir"/"you, ma'am"). It is also used in a
familiar
context by many speakers in Colombia and Costa Rica and in parts of Ecuador and Panama, to the exclusion of
tú
or
vos
. This usage is sometimes called
ustedeo
es
in Spanish.
In Central America, especially in Honduras,
usted
is often used as a formal pronoun to convey respect between the members of a romantic couple.
Usted
is also used that way between parents and children in the Andean regions of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.
Third-person object pronouns
edit
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Most speakers use (and the
Real Academia Española
prefers) the pronouns
lo
and
la
for
direct objects
(masculine and feminine respectively, regardless of
animacy
, meaning "him", "her", or "it"), and
le
for
indirect objects
(regardless of
gender
or
animacy
, meaning "to him", "to her", or "to it"). The usage is sometimes called "etymological", as these direct and indirect object pronouns are a continuation, respectively, of the
accusative
and
dative
pronouns of Latin, the ancestor language of Spanish.
A number of dialects (more common in Spain than in the Americas) use additional rules for the pronouns, such as animacy, or
count noun
vs.
mass noun
, rather than just direct vs. indirect object. The ways of using the pronouns in such varieties are called "
leísmo
", "
loísmo
", or "
laísmo
", according to which respective pronoun,
le
lo
, or
la
, covers more than just the etymological usage (
le
as a direct object, or
lo
or
la
as an indirect object).
Vocabulary
edit
Some words can be significantly different in different Hispanophone countries. Most Spanish speakers can recognize other Spanish forms even in places where they are not commonly used, but Spaniards generally do not recognize specifically American usages. For example, Spanish
mantequilla
aguacate
and
albaricoque
(respectively, 'butter', 'avocado', 'apricot') correspond to
manteca
(word used for
lard
in
Peninsular Spanish
),
palta
, and
damasco
, respectively, in Argentina, Chile (except
manteca
), Paraguay, Peru (except
manteca
and
damasco
), and Uruguay. In the healthcare context, an assessment of the Spanish translation of the
QWB-SA
identified some regional vocabulary choices and US-specific concepts, which cannot be successfully implemented in Spain without adaptation.
249
Vocabulary
edit
Spanish vocabulary has been influenced by several languages. As in other European languages,
Classical Greek
words (Hellenisms) are abundant in the terminologies of several fields, including art, science, politics, nature, etc.
250
Its vocabulary has also been
influenced by Arabic
, having developed during the
Al-Andalus
era in the
Iberian Peninsula
, with about 8% of its vocabulary having
Arabic
lexical roots.
251
252
253
254
It may have also been influenced by
Basque
Iberian
Celtiberian
Visigothic
, and other neighboring Ibero-Romance languages.
255
254
Additionally, it has absorbed vocabulary from other languages, particularly other Romance languages such as
French
Mozarabic
Portuguese
Galician
Catalan
Occitan
, and
Sardinian
, as well as from
Quechua
Nahuatl
, and
other indigenous languages of the Americas
256
In the 18th century, words taken from French referring above all to fashion, cooking and bureaucracy were added to the Spanish lexicon. In the 19th century, new loanwords were incorporated, especially from English and German, but also from Italian in areas related to music, particularly opera and cooking. In the 20th century, the pressure of English in the fields of technology, computing, science and sports was greatly accentuated.
In general,
Hispanic America
is more susceptible to loanwords from English or Anglicisms. For example:
mouse
(computer mouse) is used in Hispanic America, in
Spain
ratón
is used. This happens largely due to closer contact with the
United States
. For its part, Spain is known by the use of Gallicisms or words taken from neighboring
France
(such as the Gallicism
ordenador
in European Spanish, in contrast to the Anglicism
computador
or
computadora
in American Spanish).
Relation to other languages
edit
Further information:
Comparison of Portuguese and Spanish
Spanish is closely related to the other
West Iberian Romance languages
, including
Asturian
Aragonese
Galician
Ladino
Leonese
Mirandese
and
Portuguese
. It is somewhat less similar, to varying degrees, from other members of the
Romance language
family.
It is generally acknowledged that Portuguese and Spanish speakers can communicate in written form, with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility.
257
258
259
260
Mutual intelligibility
of the
written
Spanish and Portuguese languages is high, lexically and grammatically.
Ethnologue
gives estimates of the
lexical similarity
between related languages in terms of precise percentages. For Spanish and Portuguese, that figure is 89%, although phonologically the two languages are quite dissimilar. Italian on the other hand, is phonologically similar to Spanish, while sharing lower lexical and grammatical similarity of 82%. Mutual intelligibility between Spanish and
French
or between Spanish and
Romanian
is lower still, given lexical similarity ratings of 75% and 71% respectively.
261
262
Comprehension of Spanish by French speakers who have not studied the language is much lower, at an estimated 45%. In general, thanks to the common features of the writing systems of the Romance languages, interlingual comprehension of the written word is greater than that of oral communication.
The following table compares the forms of some common words in several Romance languages:
Latin
Spanish
Galician
Portuguese
Astur-Leonese
Aragonese
Catalan
French
Italian
Romanian
nōs (alterōs)
1,2
"we (others)"
nosotros
nós
nosoutros
nós, nós outros
nós
nosotros
nusatros
nosaltres
(arch.
nós
nous
noi, noialtri
noi
'we'
frātre(m) germānu(m)
"true brother"
hermano
irmán
irmão
hermanu
chirmán
germà
(arch.
frare
frère
fratello
frate
'brother'
die(m) mārtis
Classical
"day of Mars"
tertia(m) fēria(m)
Late Latin
"third (holi)day"
martes
Martes
Terza Feira
Terça-Feira
Martes
Martes
Dimarts
Mardi
Martedì
Marți
'Tuesday'
cantiōne(m)
canticu(m)
canción
(arch.
cançón
canción
cançom
canção
canción
(also
canciu
canta
cançó
chanson
canzone
cântec
'song'
magis
plūs
más
(arch.
plus
máis
mais
más
más
(also
més
més
(arch.
pus
or
plus
plus
più
mai
'more'
manu(m) sinistra(m)
mano izquierda
(arch.
mano siniestra
man esquerda
mão esquerda
(arch.
mão sẽestra
manu izquierda
(or
esquierda
also
manzorga
man cucha
mà esquerra
(arch.
mà sinistra
main gauche
mano sinistra
mâna stângă
'left hand'
rēs, rĕm
"thing"
nūlla(m) rem nāta(m)
"no born thing"
mīca(m)
"crumb"
nada
nada
(also
ren
and
res
nada (arch. rés)
nada
(also
un res
cosa
res
rien, nul
niente, nulla
mica
(negative particle)
nimic, nul
'nothing'
cāseu(m) fōrmāticu(m)
"form-cheese"
queso
queixo
queijo
quesu
queso
formatge
fromage
formaggio/cacio
caș
10
'cheese'
1. In Romance etymology, Latin terms are given in the Accusative since most forms derive from this case.
2. As in "us very selves", an emphatic expression.
3. Also
nós outros
in early modern Portuguese (e.g.
The Lusiads
), and
nosoutros
in Galician.
4. Alternatively
nous autres
in
French
5.
noialtri
in many Southern
Italian dialects and languages
6. Medieval Catalan (e.g.
Llibre dels fets
).
7. Modified with the learned suffix
-ción
8. Depending on the written norm used (see
Reintegrationism
).
9. From
Basque
esku
, "hand" +
erdi
, "half, incomplete". This negative meaning also applies for Latin
sinistra(m)
("dark, unfortunate").
10. Romanian
caș
(from Latin
cāsevs
) means a type of cheese. The universal term for cheese in Romanian is
brânză
(from unknown etymology).
263
Judaeo-Spanish
edit
Further information:
Judaeo-Spanish
The
Rashi script
, originally used to print Judaeo-Spanish
An original letter in Haketia, written in 1832
Judaeo-Spanish, also known as Ladino,
264
is a variety of Spanish which preserves many features of medieval Spanish and some old Portuguese and is spoken by descendants of the
Sephardi Jews
who were
expelled from Spain in the 15th century
264
While in Portugal the conversion of Jews occurred earlier and the assimilation of
New Christians
was overwhelming, in Spain the Jews kept their language and identity. The relationship of Ladino and Spanish is therefore comparable with that of the
Yiddish language
to
German
. Ladino speakers today are almost exclusively
Sephardi
Jews, with family roots in Turkey, Greece, or the Balkans, and living mostly in Israel, Turkey, and the United States, with a few communities in Hispanic America.
264
Judaeo-Spanish lacks the
Native American vocabulary
which was acquired by standard Spanish during the
Spanish colonial period
, and it retains many archaic features which have since been lost in standard Spanish. It contains, however, other vocabulary which is not found in standard Spanish, including vocabulary from
Hebrew
, French, Greek and
Turkish
, and other languages spoken where the Sephardim settled.
Judaeo-Spanish is in serious danger of extinction because many native speakers today are elderly as well as elderly
olim
(immigrants to
Israel
) who have not transmitted the language to their children or grandchildren. However, it is experiencing a minor revival among Sephardi communities, especially in music. In Hispanic American communities, the danger of extinction is also due to assimilation by modern Spanish.
A related dialect is
Haketia
, the Judaeo-Spanish of northern
Morocco
. This too, tended to assimilate with modern Spanish, during the Spanish occupation of the region.
Writing system
edit
Main article:
Spanish orthography
Spanish language
A manuscript of the
Cantar de mio Cid
, 13th century
Overview
Pronunciation
stress
Orthography
Names
History
Old
Middle
Influences
Grammar
Determiners
Nouns
gender
Pronouns
personal
object
Adjectives
Prepositions
Verbs
conjugation
irregular verbs
Dialects
Andalusian
Andean
Argentine
Belizean
Bolivian
Canarian
Caribbean
Central American
Chilean
Colombian
Costa Rican
Cuban
Dominican
Ecuadorian
Equatoguinean
Guatemalan
Honduran
Mexican
Murcian
New Mexican
Nicaraguan
Paraguay
Panamanian
Peninsular
Peruvian
Philippine
status
Puerto Rican
Rioplatense
Saharan
Salvadoran
Standard
Uruguayan
Venezuelan
Dialectology
Seseo
Yeísmo
Voseo
Leísmo
Loísmo
Interlanguages
Llanito
Jopara
Judaeo-Spanish
Portuñol
Spanglish
Castrapo
Creoles
Roquetas Pidgin
Chavacano or Chabacano
Palenquero or Palenque
Aljamiado
Teaching
Hispanism
ASALE
RAE
Instituto Cervantes
Spanish is written in the
Latin script
, with the addition of the character
eñe
, representing the phoneme
, a letter distinct from
⟨n⟩
, although typographically composed of an
⟨n⟩
with a
tilde
). Formerly the
digraphs
⟨ch⟩
che
, representing the phoneme
/t͡ʃ/
) and
⟨ll⟩
elle
, representing the phoneme
or
/ʝ/
), were also considered single letters. However, the digraph
⟨rr⟩
erre fuerte
, 'strong r',
erre doble
, 'double r', or simply
erre
), which also represents a distinct phoneme
/r/
, was not similarly regarded as a single letter. Since 1994
⟨ch⟩
and
⟨ll⟩
have been treated as letter pairs for
collation
purposes, though they remained a part of the alphabet until 2010. Words with
⟨ch⟩
are now alphabetically sorted between those with
⟨cg⟩
and
⟨ci⟩
, instead of following
⟨cz⟩
as they used to. The situation is similar for
⟨ll⟩
265
266
Thus, the Spanish alphabet has the following 27 letters:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, Ñ, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.
Since 2010, none of the digraphs (
ch, ll, rr, gu, qu
) are considered letters by the Royal Spanish Academy.
267
The letters
and
are used only in words and names coming from foreign languages (
kilo, folklore, whisky, kiwi
, etc.).
With the exclusion of a very small number of regional terms such as
México
(see
Toponymy of Mexico
), pronunciation can be entirely determined from spelling. Under the orthographic conventions, a typical Spanish word is stressed on the
syllable
before the last if it ends with a vowel (not including
⟨y⟩
) or with a vowel followed by
⟨n⟩
or an
⟨s⟩
; it is stressed on the last syllable otherwise. Exceptions to this rule are indicated by placing an
acute accent
on the
stressed vowel
The acute accent is used, in addition, to distinguish between certain
homophones
, especially when one of them is a stressed word and the other one is a
clitic
: compare
el
('the', masculine singular definite article) with
él
('he' or 'it'), or
te
('you', object pronoun) with
té
('tea'),
de
(preposition 'of') versus
dé
('give' [formal imperative/third-person present subjunctive]), and
se
(reflexive pronoun) versus
sé
('I know' or imperative 'be').
The interrogative pronouns (
qué
cuál
dónde
quién
, etc.) also receive accents in direct or indirect questions, and some demonstratives (
ése
éste
aquél
, etc.) can be accented when used as pronouns. Accent marks used to be omitted on capital letters (a widespread practice in the days of
typewriters
and the early days of computers when only lowercase vowels were available with accents), although the
Real Academia Española
advises against this and the orthographic conventions taught at schools enforce the use of the accent.
When
is written between
and a front vowel
or
, it indicates a "
hard g
" pronunciation. A
diaeresis
indicates that it is not silent as it normally would be (e.g.,
cigüeña
, 'stork', is pronounced
[θiˈɣweɲa]
; if it were written *
cigueña
, it would be pronounced *
[θiˈɣeɲa]
).
Interrogative and exclamatory clauses are introduced with
inverted question and exclamation marks
and
, respectively) and closed by the usual question and exclamation marks.
Organizations
edit
Royal Spanish Academy
edit
Main article:
Royal Spanish Academy
The Royal Spanish Academy (
Real Academia Española
), founded in 1713,
268
together with the 21 other national ones (see
Association of Spanish Language Academies
), exercises a standardizing influence through its publication of dictionaries and widely respected grammar and style guides.
269
Because of influence and for other sociohistorical reasons, a standardized form of the language (
Standard Spanish
) is widely acknowledged for use in literature, academic contexts and the media.
Association of Spanish Language Academies
edit
Main article:
Association of Spanish Language Academies
Member states of the ASALE
270
The Association of Spanish Language Academies (
Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española
, or
ASALE
) is the entity which regulates the Spanish language. It was created in Mexico in 1951 and represents the union of all the separate academies in the Spanish-speaking world. It comprises the academies of 23 countries, ordered by date of academy foundation:
Spain
(1713),
271
Colombia
(1871),
272
Ecuador
(1874),
273
Mexico
(1875),
274
El Salvador
(1876),
275
Venezuela
(1883),
276
Chile
(1885),
277
Peru
(1887),
278
Guatemala
(1887),
279
Costa Rica
(1923),
280
Philippines
(1924),
281
Panama
(1926),
282
Cuba
(1926),
283
Paraguay
(1927),
284
Dominican Republic
(1927),
285
Bolivia
(1927),
286
Nicaragua
(1928),
287
Argentina
(1931),
288
Uruguay
(1943),
289
Honduras
(1949),
290
Puerto Rico
(1955),
291
United States
(1973)
292
and
Equatorial Guinea
(2016).
293
Cervantes Institute
edit
Main article:
Instituto Cervantes
The
Instituto Cervantes
('Cervantes Institute') is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. This organization has branches in 45 countries, with 88 centers devoted to the Spanish and Hispanic American cultures and Spanish language.
294
The goals of the Institute are to promote universally the education, the study, and the use of Spanish as a second language, to support methods and activities that help the process of Spanish-language education, and to contribute to the advancement of the Spanish and Hispanic American cultures in non-Spanish-speaking countries. The institute's 2015 report "El español, una lengua viva" (Spanish, a living language) estimated that there were 559 million Spanish speakers worldwide. Its latest annual report "El español en el mundo 2018" (Spanish in the world 2018) counts 577 million Spanish speakers worldwide. Among the sources cited in the report is the
U.S. Census Bureau
, which estimates that the U.S. will have 138 million Spanish speakers by 2050, making it the biggest Spanish-speaking nation on earth, with Spanish the mother tongue of almost a third of its citizens.
295
Official use by international organizations
edit
For a more comprehensive list, see
List of countries where Spanish is an official language § International organizations
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any
sources
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adding citations to reliable sources
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Spanish is one of the official languages of the
United Nations
, the
European Union
, the
World Trade Organization
, the
Organization of American States
, the
Organization of Ibero-American States
, the
African Union
, the
Union of South American Nations
, the
Antarctic Treaty Secretariat
, the
Latin Union
, the
Caricom
, the
North American Free Trade Agreement
, the
Inter-American Development Bank
, and numerous other international organizations.
Sample text
edit
Article 1 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
in Spanish:
Todos los seres humanos nacen libres e iguales en dignidad y derechos y, dotados como están de razón y conciencia, deben comportarse fraternalmente los unos con los otros.
296
Article 1 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
in English:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
297
See also
edit
Language portal
Spanish words and phrases
edit
Café para todos
Cuento
List of English–Spanish interlingual homographs
Longest word in Spanish
Most common words in Spanish
Olé
Olé, Olé, Olé
Spanish profanity
Spanish proverbs
Tertulia
Vale un Perú
Spanish-speaking world
edit
Association of Academies of the Spanish Language
Countries where Spanish is an official language
Hispanic culture
Hispanicization
Hispanidad
Hispanism
Hispanophone
Fundéu BBVA
Instituto Cervantes
International Conference of the Spanish Language
List of Spanish-language poets
Panhispanism
Royal Spanish Academy
Spanish-language literature
Spanish-language music
Influences on the Spanish language
edit
Arabic language influence on the Spanish language
List of Spanish words of Germanic origin
List of Spanish words of Philippine origin
Dialects and languages influenced by Spanish
edit
Alemañol
Barranquenho
Caló
Chamorro
Chavacano
Creoles
Frespañol
Jopara
Judaeo-Spanish
List of English words of Spanish origin
Llanito
Media Lengua
Palenquero
Papiamento
Philippine languages
Portuñol
Spanglish
Spanish dialects and varieties
edit
Spanish dialects and varieties
European Spanish
Peninsular Spanish
Andalusian Spanish
Andalusian language movement
Castilian Spanish
Castrapo
(Galician Spanish)
Castúo
(Extremaduran Spanish)
Murcian Spanish
Canarian Spanish
Spanish language in the Americas
North American Spanish
Mexican Spanish
Spanish in the United States
Central American Spanish
Caribbean Spanish
South American Spanish
Bolivian Spanish
Chilean Spanish
Colombian Spanish
Ecuadorian Spanish
Paraguayan Spanish
Peruvian Spanish
Uruguayan Spanish
Venezuelan Spanish
Spanish in Africa
Equatoguinean Spanish
Saharan Spanish
Spanish in Asia
Spanish in the Philippines
Notes
edit
75% of U.S. Hispanics speak Spanish very well or pretty well (according to a 2022 survey).
102
There were 68,013,553 Hispanics in the U.S.
103
of which 62,879,127 are over 5 years old,
104
as of 2024. 75% of this figure is 47,159,345. There were also another 2,512,591 non-Hispanic Spanish speakers at home older than 5 years old (5.6% of 44,867,699) as of 2024.
105
In 2011, a similar survey tells that 82% of U.S. Hispanics speak Spanish very well or pretty well, and there were another 2.8 million non Hispanics who speak Spanish at home.
106
44,867,699 as a first language + 20,000,000 (Hispanics with limited proficiency, and part of the 8.9 million Spanish students that they are non-Hispanic). Some of the 11 million undocumented Hispanic immigrants not reflected in the census are not included.
92
90% of U.S. Hispanics know how to speak at least a little Spanish (according to a 2022 survey).
102
There were 68,013,553 Hispanics in the U.S.
103
of which 62,879,127 are over 5 years old,
104
as of 2024. There were also another 2,512,591 non-Hispanic Spanish speakers at home older than 5 years old (5.6% of 44,867,699) as of 2024.
105
Total number of people who speak at least a little Spanish: 59,103,805.
107
To avoid double counting, 7.9 million Spanish students are not included, nor are some of the 7.4 million undocumented Hispanics who may not be reflected in the census).
Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 148,392
Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 335,576
Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 219,534
Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 85,869
People with Spanish limited competence in Ecuador: 537,552. Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 451,533
Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 1,638,867
Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 267,729
3% of people in France older than 12, speak Spanish very well, and 1% speak Spanish as a native language.
1,350,000 immigrants native speakers + 96,000 descendants of immigrants
107
+ 1,931,480
Portuñol
speakers in border areas + 4,048,338 Spanish students
92
Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 69,667
Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 19,253. Indigenous population that have limited competence: 2,456,048 (page 45, 34 of "Anuario del Instituto Cervantes 2024").
2% of people in Germany older than 12, speak Spanish very well, and 1% speak Spanish as a native language.
Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 897
Indigenous population that does not speak Spanish: 69,667
2% of people in Italy older than 12, speak Spanish very well, and 1% speak Spanish as a native language.
1% of people in Belgium older than 12, speak Spanish very well, and 1% speak Spanish as a native language.
There are 1,149 native Spanish speakers + 173,600 Spanish speakers with limited competence + 88,679 Spanish students.
There are 13,000 native Spanish speakers + 24,000 Spanish speakers with limited competence + 95,888 Spanish students.
4% of people in Italy older than 12, speak Spanish very well, and 3% speak Spanish as a native language.
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aa
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Reports and documents - Data annex - Europeans and their languages - page 58. The source offers percentages of people over 12 years old in each EU country, who speak Spanish at a very good level (page 58). Of the total EU population over 12 years old, 9% are native Spanish speakers, another 3% have a very good level of Spanish, and a total of 17% can hold a conversation in Spanish (page 54). Therefore, native and very good Spanish speakers account for 12% (9%+3%).
"Eurobarometer: Report: Europeans and their languages"
. European Union. 2023. pp. 11, 21.
Native and non native people who speak Spanish well enough in order to be able to have a conversation.
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Archived
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"2025 population estimate"
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"Census INE estimate for 1 July 2025"
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There are 5,782,260 people who speak other language as mother tongue (main languages: Quechua (among 32 Quechua's varieties) 4,773,900, Aymara (2 varieties) 661,000, Chinese 100,000).
"World Population Prospects 2024 (2024-2050)"
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"Venezuela"
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There are 1,098,244 people who speak other language as their mother tongue (main languages: Chinese 400,000, Portuguese 254,000, Wayuu 199,000, Arabic 110,000)
"Census estimate for 1992 to 2050"
[Reports] (in Spanish). INE. 2025.
"Chile"
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Archived
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There are 281,600 people who speak another language, mainly Mapudungun (250.000)
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There are 207,750 people who speak another language, mainly Garifuna (98,000).:
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. Insee.fr. 2024.
There are more than 433,000 emigrants from predominantly Spanish-speaking countries in France, of which 93.6% speak native Spanish (
Inst. Cerv. Anuario 2024
): 310,072 Spaniards (
INE, 2025
) + 31,151 Colombians + 16,473 Chileans + 14,807 Argentines + 13,390 Mexicans + 13,361 Peruvians + 7,249 Venezuelans + 5,466 Cubans + 4,730 Ecuatorians + 3,992 Dominicans + 3,598 Bolivians + 3,423 Guatemalans + 2,784 Uruguayans + 1,178 Paraguayans (
datosmacro 2020
). On the other hand, we should consider Spanish emigrants who have become French citizens and still speak Spanish, or the descendants of Spanish emigrants born in France who speak Spanish at home.
"IBGE population estimations"
[The IBGE publishes the population estimates for 1 July 2024] (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024.
There are 1,554,744 emigrants from predominantly Spanish-speaking countries in Brazil (
nepo.unicamp.br 2024
), of which 93.6% speak native Spanish (
Inst. Cerv. Anuario 2024
): 672,894 Venezuelans + 187,562 Bolivians + 143,928 Spaniards (
INE, 2025
) + 108,587 Colombians + 106,271 Argentines + 68,650 Paraguayans + 65,976 Cubans + 61,033 Peruvians + 59,562 Uruguayans + 25,064 Mexicans + 24,393 Chileans + 14,793 Ecuatorians + 4,793 Dominicans + 2,962 Hondurans + 2,179 Costa Ricans + 1,905 Guatemalans. Total Native Spanish speakers 1,454,676.
"Census estimate for 2023"
(PDF)
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There are 490,124 people who speak another language, mainly Mískito (154,000).:
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There are 14,100 people who speak other language as their mother tongue (main language, Kekchí with 12,300 speakers):
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manteca
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manteiga
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fromage
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External links
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, Cervantes Institute. A Spanish government agency, responsible for promoting the study and the teaching of the Spanish language and culture.
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, Foundation of Emerging Spanish. A non-profit organization with collaboration of the RAE which mission is to clarify doubts and ambiguities of Spanish.
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