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Spanish Language Profile Español |
After Chinese, Spanish is the world's most widely spoken language. It
is the national language of Spain and of all South American republics
with the exception of Brazil and Guyana; of the six republics of Central
America; and of Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.
Spanish is widely spoken in the Balearic and Canary Islands, Morocco,
the west coast of Africa, Canada, the United States, and the Philippines.Like all Romance languages, Spanish has a long and complex history. Its evolution from Latin, its formation and standardization, and its diffusion well beyond the ancient borders of Iberia have been the result of a great many factors at work over many centuries. While Castilian and Andalusian emerged early on as distinct offshoots of medieval Latin, their spread was interrupted for nearly 500 years by the Moorish occupation of Spain, when Arabic was widely spoken throughout the Iberian Peninsula. When Moorish dominance came to an end in the fifteenth century, the Catholic monarchs Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragón declared Castilian the official language of their kingdom. Soon after, Spanish conquerors and explorers carried both Castilian and Andalusian - the dialect spoken in and around Seville - to South and Central America and to parts of North America. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Spanish-speaking settlements spread from Mexico northward into Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California and southern Colorado. After the Mexican War (1844-46), when these areas were annexed, the remaining inhabitants created a distinct Spanish-speaking population within the United States. 
With heavy immigration from South and Central America throughout the
twentieth century, Spanish has become firmly established in the United
States. Strong economic and educational ties between the United States
and Spanish-speaking countries, frequent travel by Americans south of
the border, and a vast literature that includes such classics as Cervantes
and modern greats like Borges and Marquez, also contribute to the unrivalled
popularity of Spanish in American schools and universities. In recent
years schools with classes in both English and Spanish have sprung up
across the country, and radio and television stations have begun to
feature all-Spanish programming. At last count, there were no fewer
than 17 million Americans who spoke Spanish as their first language.
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