Spanish As World’s Most Spoken Language

Language is one of the commonest and responsive way of human communication, and presently, there are more than hundreds of main languages all across the world. Few of them are widely spoken and Spanish language is one of them. According to statistics, in the world, the second most popular language is Spanish (just after Mandarin), and Spanish is the native language of a large community that includes 5.85% of the global population.

If we convert this percentage into a wholesome number, presently, more than 410 million people communicate via Spanish language as their mother tongue. Almost 9-10 million people across the world use Spanish as their second language.

How many countries use Spanish worldwide?

There are at least twenty (20) countries that use Spanish as their official language, or they use the language as the most popular language for their communication.

As vernacular, Spanish is spoken in the countries like Hispanic America, Spain, and the country of Equatorial Guinea. For example, in Mexico, there are total population was 112,396,211, and Spanish speaking persons are 103,527,885, in the USA it is 44,468,501, in Spain 41,848,717, and in Colombia it is 45,338,905 so on.

The twenty countries, which use Spanish as their official language are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Although Spanish is not the official language, in the parameter of popularity, it is spoken in the countries like the United States, Andorra, Belize, and Gibraltar.

A short history of Spanish language

Philologically, Spanish, similar to the languages like French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian, is a Romance language that developed from the common vocabulary of old and pure Latin, which is termed in history of language as colloquial. It was evolved on the Iberian Peninsula, which is the southern-western corner of Europe where todays Spain and Portugal are located.

The Castilian continuance of common Latin (from Spain’s Castile area) got blended with the Arabic dialect. This mixed language was basically told by Moors, who occupied some parts of this region, and basically the standardized Spanish language was originated in around 1200s by these nomad people. The Andalusian dialect of Spanish was developed around the same era, and is still used in some part of southern Spain.

Do you know People speak more Spanish than English?

It’s a common conception that after mandarin, English is the most spoken language. But in reality, it is the Spanish language. The language serves as an official language in 20 countries (names are mentioned above) and the popularity of this language is spanned in South, Central and North America, as well as in the continents of Africa and Europe. To be candid, the popularity of Spanish is spanning every day.

How Spanish is spoken around the world

Distinct style in one of the unique features of this 2^nd popular language of the world. Let’s take an example. The Argentinian accent of Spanish is arguably the most distinctive. Argentinians pronounce the double ‘l’ of ‘me llamo’ (my name is) as ‘me shamo’, while the more standard pronunciation is ‘me yamo’.

There are also certain grammatical variances and many alterations in terminology, predominantly for day-to-day stuffs such as clothes and food in the Spanish use in Argentina. For instance, Juice is called ‘zumo’ in Spain, but ‘jugo’ in most of the parts of Latin America. For clothing, in most of the Spanish-speaking countries the word ‘tee-shirt’ is called ‘camiseta’, but it’s called ‘remera’ in Argentina, ‘polera’ in Chile, as well as ‘playera’ in Mexico.

Spanish is renowned for its suffixes

Another distinguishing aspect of Spanish language is its typical use of suffixes. The usual method is to add ‘-ito’ or ‘-ico’ at the end of a word, which is used for creating more demonstrative and friendly terms: for example, you can use ‘Juanito’ (from Juan), as well as ‘mi amorcito’ (my little love). However, in Latin America, this uses are more common: it’s not a traditional ‘café’ (coffee), but it is said as a ‘cafecito’. If it is a ‘cerveza’ (beer), it’s will be called as ‘cervecita’. This use of suffix adds a unique warmth and approachability that is friendlier, sweet in sound, and rhythmic and specialty of Spanish only.

Learning Spanish is advantageous for many reasons:

Spanish is an easy to learn language with lots of flexibility, if you learn it from the pro. It is a culturally rich language – the rich and friendly language is spoken in plenty of countries – it is one of the main languages used in the world of trade as well.

Spain is the eighth-largest goods export market in UK, and it was worth of £8.5 billion in 2012, A Spanish language expert can explore many opportunities here because of his/her expertise over the language itself. Some of these advantages are:

Learning Spanish will make you more marketable in the employment sector.
In travel and tourism a tour guide gets better advantage with his knowledge of Spanish language.
It is easier to learn than any other European language
Your communication skill will be improved at least in front of global audience with this world’s most popular language.

Spanish is a culturally rich language and it has a unique accountability. Multi language experts recommend widely that Spanish is quite easy to learn. If you learn from an expert teacher/institute it will be easier for you to read and write, and converse in Spanish faster, and you can be one of the community members of the global Spanish community.

An Easy Shortcut to Learning and Speaking Spanish

We have talked before about the benefits of learning a second language for your personal and professional life. We have also talked about how, for native English speakers, there is a benefit to know the second most popular language in the world: Spanish.

Out of all the languages in the world, Spanish is the one that can be very easy to pick up on, yet one that can be a little difficult to master. Despite being a universal language in most Latino/Hispanic country, it is one that’s has a specific word usage and lingo depending on the country that can make things confusing. Despite that, if you can focus on learning the Spanish of a specific country, you will find that there are ways you quickly catch up on it and learn the language in probably a more effective way than trying to learn it in a classroom setting. Like they tend to say: practice can be the best master.

There are quite a few tricks you can try out to get a head start towards the Spanish language. One that is very common and may sound silly, but it actually works is the fact there are almost 3013 English words that, just by changing a couple of letters at the end, will teach you the Spanish version of that word. For example, words that end with the last letters “IC” like Plastic, Traffic and Tropic can have an “O” added in the end and will basically become Spanish words and you know what those words will be. Another way is changing the words that end on “-TION” like Reservation, change the last letters to “-CION” and that already gives you the Spanish version of that word pretty instantaneously. Other words that can change easily are words that end on “-ATE”, where you only have to change those three letters to “-AR”, and that gives you the word. It’s a very easy trick that can get you started immediately on a lot of words that you’ll basically know the meaning to. It is a neat trick.

Once you know some words, another trick to learn is how to internalize a word. In this case, you can think of those specific words like let’s say the Spanish version of “beach” (“Playa”) and think of English sentences you could use the English version of that word. Then just swap the English word for the Spanish word, repeat your sentences a couple of times that way so you can start internalizing the word. One of the best ways to know you are improving with the learning of a new language is when your brain automatically thinks of a word without you having to mentally translate a word from English to Spanish. Doing this can help train your brain to automatically switch languages on the fly, which will make you a more fluent and natural speaker.

Once you start internalizing words, start thinking of important sentences you think you’d use if you were to travel to one of this Spanish speaking countries. Using them and listen to the people speak to you can help ingrain words and phrases to your brain through proper contextual use that can help you learn much quicker than a class. Once you internalize words, try reading Spanish books/news/etc. and watch Spanish TV shows and Movies to help ingrain the words constantly in your mind. Finally, make sure you can find a Spanish coach that will help you in both good and embarrassing moments, so you can gain the confidence as you learn Spanish. Do this, and you’ll find yourself speaking the language faster than you think.

Reasons an English Speaker Should Learn Spanish

Even though the English language is the most widely known and most widely used language in the world, the truth is that even for native speakers, the reason to learn an extra language like say, Spanish, outweighs any reason not to learn it. The world is becoming increasingly more connected and increasingly more diverse, it is almost a fool’s errand to not actively seek to learn a new language

Spanish, next to English, is the second most common language in the world, and also one of relatively easier ones to learn. Here are some of the reasons why you should learn Spanish as an English speaker:

Open your World to New Job Opportunities

Nowadays, when someone is looking for a new job, you will find that prospective employees have a higher and better chance to be hired if they have knowledge of a language other than their own. The reasons for that are pretty obvious: the world is changing. The countries in the world that deal in business are no longer living in isolation. These countries deal in business by networking and connecting with other countries; countries we may add, that may speak completely different language. Companies want to strengthen their hiring practices by bringing people with multiple language knowledge, so it will be highly beneficial for your future career prospects to know an extra language or two. Spanish and English speakers tend to be the most common that get hired in these instances. The doors it opens are significant enough for you to ignore that.

Give a Mental Boost to Your Brain

Just like knowing a new language can be of great benefit to your career, so can it be a great benefit to your own self, particularly your brain. The way learning a new language can help your mind, especially the way it can help with the way you do your thought process, can be something of great benefit to yourself. By learning a new language, it can help with memory improvement, it can help you with your attention span and it can help reduce risk of age-related cognitive decline.

Become more aware of your culture and others

One great advantage of being in the process of learning a language is how it heightens your cultural sensitivities not only of other cultures, but your own. Learning a language can be of great benefit to serve as a door to a different culture, making you better understand a different society from yours. Once you start understanding a different society, you can start looking at your own culture with a refreshed perspective, where you can get now an outsider’s perspective on your own culture and notice what works and what doesn’t. Understanding cultures with a heightened sense of cultural sensitivity can enrich your knowledge of everything around you.

STUDY ENGLISH IN BARCELONA WITH C3S BUSINESS SCHOOL

Reasons to Learn a New Language

There is no good reason for anyone, regardless of age or occupation, to go through their lives without ever learning a different language other than their native one. It will be harder to find a reason to not learn one, than finding many reasons for why it’s something good for you. What it can do to your own persona, as well as what it can do to your career, are huge benefits to take advantage of.

Here are some reasons why you should learn a new language:

Open your World to New Job Opportunities

Nowadays, when someone is looking for a new job, you will find that prospective employees have a higher and better chance to be hired if they have knowledge of a language other than their own. The reasons for that are pretty obvious: the world is changing. The countries in the world that deal in business are no longer living in isolation. These countries deal in business by networking and connecting with other countries; countries we may add, that may speak completely different language. Companies want to strengthen their hiring practices by bringing people with multiple language knowledge, so it will be highly beneficial for your future career prospects to know an extra language or two. The doors it opens are significant enough for you to ignore that.

Give a Mental Boost to Your Brain

Just like knowing a new language can be of great benefit to your career, so can it be a great benefit to your own self, particularly your brain. The way learning a new language can help your mind, especially the way it can help with the way you do your thought process, can be something of great benefit to yourself. By learning a new language, it can help with memory improvement, it can help you with your attention span and it can help reduce risk of age-related cognitive decline.

Become more aware of your culture and others

One great advantage of being in the process of learning a language is how it heightens your cultural sensitivities not only of other cultures, but your own. Learning a language can be of great benefit to serve as a door to a different culture, making you better understand a different society from yours. Once you start understanding a different society, you can start looking at your own culture with a refreshed perspective, where you can get now an outsider’s perspective on your own culture and notice what works and what doesn’t. Understanding cultures with a heightened sense of cultural sensitivity can enrich your knowledge of everything around you.

At C3S, we understand the value of learning a different language, and encourage our students to make sure they learn one to better strengthen their chances in the eyes of employers, as well as enrich their own life with the knowledge that comes with it.

For more on our language programs, click here.

English: The primary tool for International Business

Over time, you will start hearing about the important things to learn to be able to effectively do business. You’ll be told about certain kinds of courses and jobs/internships to pursue that’ll benefit your pursuit in the business life. These are things that will benefit you as a local business pursuer, and even for someone interested in pursuing international business, these things can be beneficial.

However, for international business, there are times some forget to emphasize probably the most important thing: the means for communication. Dealing internationally means probably dealing with someone with another language. But because there is a chance dealing with someone from a different country may give the impression of learning a niche language, it’s important for anyone, regardless of country, to learn the most important tool of all: the English language.

There’s no underestimating the fact of how important knowing English is for anyone even remotely interested in dealing in International Business. As probably the most common language in the world since the turn of the century, the English language has become an important staple for anyone to learn nowadays. The English language is the primary language of approximately 375 million people, not to mention almost 750 million know it as some kind of foreign language. It is so important and crucial that many companies are increasingly making it a requirement to have knowledge of it. The way the world is trying to become more globalized, where businesses interlope at the same time through different corners of the world, makes someone not learning it a fool’s errand.

With that said, it is important to not just learn the basics of standard-speaking English, but to also learn the more complex version of it if you’re interested in pursuing International Business. Speaking English in the business world means learning the restraint of fast delivery, colloquial expressions and unclear pronunciation, as well as knowing proper terms in professional areas like logistics, numbers, human resources, etc. Learning specific terms in those areas will make not only make you a sound a lot smarter, it will help you present yourself as a better professional in the international world.

At C3S, we understand the value of having the right tools to communicate and be a better business professional. Even for those who do not know the language or know it cursorily, we offer our students the chance to perfect the use of the English language through us to become the best international business professionals they can be.

For more on the language programs of C3S, click here.

Tag: languages