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The Spanish Language

Spanish (español) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. It is the only official language covering the entirety of Spain, most Latin American countries and one of the official languages of Equatorial Guinea. In total, twenty-five nations and territories use Spanish as their primary language. Besides, it is an important language in twenty other countries.

Spanish originated as a Latin dialect along the remote cross road strips among the Cantabria, Burgos, Soria and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later brought to the Americas and other parts of the world in the last five centuries by Spanish explorers and colonists.

The language was spoken by roughly 364 million people worldwide in the year 2000, making Spanish the most popular Romance language and the second to fifth most spoken language by number of native speakers. It is estimated that the combined total of native and non-native Spanish speakers is 400–500 million, probably making it the third most spoken language by total number of speakers.

Spanish is also one of six official working languages of the United Nations and one of the most used global languages. It is spoken most extensively in the Americas, Spain and to a small extent in Africa and Asia Pacific. It is also the second most widely spoken language in the United States and arguably the most popular foreign language for study in US schools and Universities. Within the globalized market, there is currently an international expansion and recognition of the Spanish language in literature, the film industry, television and music.
Origins of the Spanish Language

The Spanish language developed from Vulgar Latin, with influence from Celtiberian, Basque and Arabic, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Typical features of Spanish diachronical phonology include lenition (Latin vita, Spanish vida), palatalization (Latin annum, Spanish año) and diphthongation (stem-changing) of short e and o from Vulgar Latin (Latin terra, Spanish tierra; Latin novus, Spanish nuevo).

During the Reconquista, this northern dialect from Cantabria was carried south, and indeed is still a minority language in the northern coastal regions of Morocco.

The first Latin to Spanish grammar (Gramática de la Lengua Castellana) was written in Salamanca, Spain, in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija. When Isabella of Castile was presented with the book, she asked, What do I want a work like this for, if I already know the language?, to which he replied, Your highness, the language is the instrument of the Empire.

From the 16th century onwards, the language was brought to the Americas, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marianas, Palau, and the Philippines by Spanish colonization. Also in this epoch, Spanish became the main language of Politics and Art across the major part of Europe. In the 18th century, French took its place.

In the 20th century, Spanish was introduced in Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara and parts of the United States, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City, that had not been part of the Spanish Empire.
Geography of the Spanish Language

Spanish is one of the official languages of the Organization of American States, the United Nations, the Union of South American Nations, and the European Union.

With approximately 106 million first-language and second-language speakers, Mexico boasts the largest population of Spanish-speakers in the world. The three next largest Spanish-speaking populations reside in Colombia, Spain and Argentina.

Spanish is the official language in 20 countries: Argentina, Bolivia (co-official Quechua and Aymara), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea (co-official French), Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama , Paraguay (co-official Guaraní), Peru (co-official Quechua and Aymara), Spain (co-official in some regions with Catalan, Galician and Basque), Uruguay, Venezuela, and the U.S. Territory Puerto Rico (co-official English).

The vast majority of its speakers are located in Spain and the Western Hemisphere.

Number of Spanish Speakers by Country

Rank	Country	Speakers
1	Mexico	106,255,000
2	Colombia	46,500,000
3	Spain	44,000,000
4	Argentina	41,248,000
5	Venezuela	26,021,000
6	Peru	23,191,000
7	Chile	15,795,000
8	Cuba	11,285,000
9	Ecuador	10,946,000
10	Dominican Rep	8,850,000
11	Guatemala	8,163,000
12	Honduras	7,267,000
13	Bolivia	7,010,000
14	El Salvador	6,859,000
15	Nicaragua	5,503,000
16	Paraguay	4,737,000
17	Costa Rica	4,220,000
18	Puerto Rico	4,017,000
19	Uruguay	3,442,000
20	Panama	3,108,000
21	Philippines	3,180,000
22	Equatorial Guinea	447,000

Source: Wikipedia