The Spanish language: history and culture of the Spanish language. Do you know that, before Latin arrived, many languages were spoken on the Iberian Peninsula? Basque, Tartessian, Iberian, Celtic, Celtiberian, Ligurian... are just some of the languages that were used before Latin.
Do you know that, before I arrived the latinWere many languages spoken on the Iberian Peninsula?
Basque, Tartessian, Iberian, Celtic, Celtiberian, Ligurian... are just some of the languages that were used before Latin.
There is not much information about these languages and what there is is quite confusing ☹. Only Basque or Basque survived, which today is one of the 4 official languages of Spain.
Yes, yes, in Spain we have 4 official languages. Do you know what they are? Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Galician. Spanish is spoken throughout Spain and the other 3 in different communities. And all of them, except Basque, come from Latin.
The Romans began the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the 2nd century BC. c. and, as they took control of the territory, the use of Latin increased.
Cultured Latin was not used, since the soldiers used vulgar Latin to communicate and this is what spread. Thus, little by little, a linguistic unity was created that did not exist before the arrival of the Romans.
The evangelization of the different territories of the Peninsula also helped to spread Latin because Christianity took it as its official language.
The pre-Roman languages coexisted with Latin, but little by little they disappeared.
Roman domination was so strong that the culture prior to Roman rule was completely lost although we still preserve some words of pre-Roman origin such as "dog", "spear", "raft" or "pond".
The only language that survived, as we have said, was Basque because the Basque Country was not dominated like the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. Its geography and the warrior character of its inhabitants helped them not to be conquered.
Roman domination not only influenced linguistically, it also contributed a lot in the field of law and religion.
The Peninsula was Roman until the beginning of the 5th century AD. c.
Let's look at a little history about the Spanish language. Surely you have heard many times that Spanish is a Romance language, but... do you really know what Romance languages are?
The Romance languages They are the languages that emerged from vulgar latin: Aragonese, Leonese, Castilian, Galician, Portuguese, Catalan, Provençal, French, Italian, Sardinian, Romansh, Romanian and Dalmatian.
During the 5th century, barbarian people invaded the Iberian Peninsula and ended the dominion Roman.
Of these peoples, the Visigoths stand out, who came in large numbers and adapted to the culture and the vulgar Latin that was used in Spain.
These peoples also left us some Germanisms such as "war", "pride", "clothes" or "guard".
The arrival of the Germanic or barbarian peoples caused the appearance of variants of Latin in different areas such as Galician, Asturian, Castilian or Catalan.
In the year 711, the Arab invasion took place that ended the Visigoth kingdom and maintained power over the Iberian Peninsula for eight centuries.
And you don't know what? They also left many words of Arabic origin such as "apricot", "cotton", "sewer", "pillow" or "cup". These are just some examples of the Arabic influence on the Spanish language.
In the territories dominated by the Arabs, the mozarabic, a mixture of evolved Latin with many Arabic terms.
What was the origin of Spanish? In what year was the Spanish language created?
It arose in Castile, That is why it is also called Castilian. Did you know that at first many people laughed at him because they considered him a bit crude? It began as a dialect that was spoken north of Burgos, near Cantabria and the Basque Country.
The first texts in Spanish date from the 10th century.
In the 13th century Alfonso X the Wise He did a great job of homogenizing and unifying Spanish.
Mozarabic gradually disappeared during the Reconquista (1480-1492) and Castilian spread throughout the rest of Spanish territory.
Later, with the conquest of America, the language spread throughout Latin America.
Now you know where the Spanish language came from, we hope you find it interesting!
In the year 1713 the Royal Spanish Academy to set the language. Over the years the institution has adapted to the times and currently ensures that the changes that the language undergoes do not break the unity.
Later, in 1991, the Cervantes Institute, an institution that represents and promotes the Spanish language abroad and that in 2021 celebrated its 30th birthday.
These two institutions are fundamental for the Spanish language.
The Cervantes Institute is responsible for universally promoting the teaching, study and use of Spanish and contributes to the dissemination of Hispanic cultures abroad.
This institution is present in 88 cities in 45 countries and has two headquarters in Spain, one in Madrid and the other in Alcalá de Henares.
What are the objectives and functions of the Cervantes Institute?
We are going to summarize them below, but if you want more information, you can consult the Cervantes Institute information
How many things! TRUE?
What place does the Spanish language occupy in the world? How many people speak the Spanish language?
Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world. More than 493 million people speak Spanish as their native language, each year this number increases considerably.
Ahead is only Chinese with more than 900 million speakers.
In how many countries is Spanish spoken? EIt's the official language in 21 countries, take it now!
Do you want to know all the countries where the Spanish language is spoken? are the following:
Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. All of these countries have Spanish as their official language.
What other name does the Spanish language receive?
Spanish is also called Castilian because Castile was the area where this Romance modality began to be spoken in the Middle Ages.
But… Is there any difference between Spanish and Castilian?
If you want to know, keep reading.
In Latin America Castilian and Spanish They are understood as synonyms and, according to the Pan-Hispanic Dictionary They serve “to designate the common language of Spain and many nations of America.”
Although both can be used, it is more advisable to use spanishlbecause it avoids the ambiguity that can be created when we use Spanish.
The term Spanish can be ambiguous because, on the one hand, it refers to the Romanesque dialect of the Middle Ages and, on the other hand, it refers to the Spanish dialect currently spoken in Castile.
In Spain it is also uses Spanish when we talk about the official language and relate it to the other co-official languages of Spain: Galician, Catalan or Basque.
In the Spanish language, as in all languages, there are many errors in use, some of a lexical nature and others of a grammatical nature.
Some Spaniards have problems with words like «bat», «towel», «vagabond» or «september». They often say "murciégalo", "toballa", "vagamundo" or "september".
Although they are not correct, these words appear as they are in the dictionary, but it always refers us to the correct meaning.
Some common grammatical errors are use of the verb have in plural when it indicates existence. «They had many people”, the correct thing is to say “There were many people”.
Or add a -s to the second person singular of the indefinite preterite. «I don't you said the truth" instead of "You didn't tell me the truth."
Even the Spanish often doubt the prepositions and sometimes they don't know which one to user. «I disagree with some of your ideas” instead of “I disagree with some of your ideas.”
Other very common errors are related to pronouns. For example, secularism consists of using the pronoun the instead of himand: «The "I said you were tired" instead of "I told him you were tired."
Spanish is full of peculiarities and interesting facts. Here we leave you 11, let's see which one seems most curious to you...
In 2021, more than 24 million students studied Spanish as a foreign language, specifically 24,069,206. There is no doubt that Spanish is in fashion.
Spanish competes with French and Chinese for second place as the most studied language.
Spanish students have been increasing steadily each year, while the number of French and German students has decreased.
What do you think that in 18 of the 27 member states of the European Union, Spanish is the language they would most like to learn?
Maybe it doesn't surprise you! Maybe one day Spanish will be the most spoken language in the world… Who knows?
The presence of Spanish in secondary and higher education has grown substantially and almost 26% of foreign language students choose Spanish ahead of French or German.
According to some studies, The increase in Spanish students is mainly due to commercial exchanges between Spanish-speaking countries and the rest of the world.
That is to say, among the most important reasons that lead a foreign language student to choose Spanish are work reasons.
Another of the most frequent reasons for choosing Spanish as a second language is for studies., which, in the long run, also has a work purpose.
Of course, many people study Spanish for pleasure or because they are attracted to Spanish culture (music, gastronomy, cinema...). Did you know that in China they say that Spanish is the language to speak with the gods?
What leads you to study Spanish?
If you want to learn this beautiful language, in Hispania, Spanish school we offer you a wide variety of courses both of face-to-face courses as of online courses to achieve your goals, whatever they may be, with an expert Spanish teacher for foreigners who knows how to teach the Spanish language in a practical way and generating joy in the classroom 🙂
Spanish is a living language, you will love it!
In our classes we will show you that what they say about Spanish being one of the most difficult languages is not true, you'll see!
Now that you know how to learn the Spanish language from Spain, We will be very happy to accompany you on your adventure.
Article written by Marta Gasco for Hispania, Spanish school
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