On the world language stage, Spanish has become a dominant force. Boasting over 500 million speakers (native and second-language combined), Spanish finds itself at number four on the top ten list of languages by total number of speakers, behind English, Mandarin, and Hindi. As far as second languages go, Spanish is considered one of the easier ones for English speakers to learn, making it a nice addition if you’re looking to communicate with a large chunk of people without torturing yourself with different alphabets and such. Here are a few other interesting and/or random facts about the Spanish language.
1
Spanish is an official language in 20 countries, including one in Europe (Spain!) and one in Africa (Equatorial Guinea). The rest are located in the Americas.
2
Mexico is home to the most Spanish speakers in the world (somewhere in the ballpark of 125 million).
3
Some sources list the United States as having the second most Spanish speakers in the world (around 55 million). Yes, that’s more than Spain.
4
Spanish is credited as being the first European language spoken in what would become the United States. Remember that Juan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida in 1513? And St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565, edged out the English settlement in Roanoke (in modern-day North Carolina) by maybe two decades.
5
Perhaps to irritate second-language learners, Spanish has two forms of the verb to be. For instance, I am tall translates into Soy alto, but I am happy becomes Estoy feliz.
6
Also to challenge second-language learners, Spanish has two ways of expressing for. As an example, Thank you for coming would be Gracias por venir, while This gift is for you becomes Este regalo es para ti.
7
Central and South America are hot beds of Spanish, with only five countries not listing Spanish as an official language. The exceptions are Belize (English), Guyana (English), Suriname (Dutch), Brazil (Portuguese), and French Guiana (technically part of France, thus speaking French).
Of course, this list represents just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to facts about Spanish. Tal vez escribamos más al respecto en el futuro.
