Spanish español, castellano
Spoken in:	Some of Europe, most of Central America, some parts of North America and some of South America, and the Caribbean; and enclaves and immigrant groups on all continents
Total speakers:	More than 410 million, 390 million of whom are native speakers
Ranking:	2–4 (varying estimates)
Language family:	Indo-European  Italic   Romance    Italo-Western     Gallo-Iberian      Ibero-Romance       West Iberian        Spanish
Official status
Official language of:	Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, European Union, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, New Mexico (USA), Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Regulated by:	Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (Real Academia Española and 21 other national Spanish language academies)
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	es
ISO 639-2:	spa
ISO/DIS 639-3:	spa
Map of the Hispanophone world, with major to minor Spanish-speaking countries or regions.
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English- based pronunciation key.

Spanish (español) or Castilian (castellano) is an Iberian Romance language. It is spoken by 332 million[1] people in countries where it is an official language, 94.6% of the whole population, 1998 data, currently these countries amount a total estimated population of 398 million, and by more than 32 million where it is an unofficial language (28 million in the US[2], 2000 data). Speakers can be nowadays estimated in 410 million in number, making Spanish the most widely spoken Romance language. World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... Map of Central America Central America is a central region of the Americas. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Central America and the Caribbean (detailed pdf map) The Caribbean (Spanish: Caribe; French: Caraïbe; Dutch: Caraïben; Portuguese: Caribe or Caraíbas) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. ... This is a list of languages ordered by number of native-language speakers, with some data for second-language use. ... Current distribution of Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families. ... The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many in Southwest Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. ... The Italic subfamily is a member of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family. ... Romance languages in the world: Blue – French; Green – Spanish; Orange – Portuguese; Yellow – Italian; Red – Romanian The Romance languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, comprise all languages that descended from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... Italo-Western is the largest sub-group of Romance languages. ... Gallo-Romance languages Gallo-Italian languages Lombard Piedmontese Emilian-Romagnol Venetian Ligurian Gallo-Rhaetian languages Oïl languages(including French) Burgundian Champenois Franc-Comtois French Gallo Lorrain Norman Anglo-Norman Channel Island Norman Auregnais Dgèrnésiais Jèrriais Sercquiais Picard Poitevin-Saintongeais Walloon Rhaetian languages Friulian Ladin Romansh *Franco... The formation of Iberian Romance languages followed more or less this process: A common Latin/Romance language with dialectal differences was spoken throughout the ancient Roman Empire. ... West Iberian language is the subcategory of Romance languages, including Spanish and Portugese. ... Official language(s) None Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq. ... The Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española is the union of all the separate academies in the Spanish speaking world that look after the principles and internal cohesion of the Spanish language. ... The Real Academia Española (Spanish for Royal Spanish Academy; often RAE) is the institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2:1998 Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 2: Alpha-3 code Twenty-two of the languages have two three-letter codes: a code for bibliographic use (ISO 639-2/B) a code for terminological use (ISO 639-2/T). ... ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 24 KB) Summary Map of Hispanophone world. ... The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of phonetic notation devised by linguists to accurately and uniquely represent each of the wide variety of sounds (phones or phonemes) used in spoken human language. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone = sound/voice) is the study of sounds (voice). ... Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... This is a concise version of the International Phonetic Alphabet for English sounds. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The formation of Iberian Romance languages followed more or less this process: A common Romance language with dialectal differences was spoken throughout the ancient Roman Empire. ... Romance languages in the world: Blue – French; Green – Spanish; Orange – Portuguese; Yellow – Italian; Red – Romanian The Romance languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, comprise all languages that descended from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ...

Spanish originated in Castile, (Spain); it was brought by Spanish explorers, colonists and empire-builders to the Western Hemisphere and other parts of the world in the last five centuries. Spanish is one of six official working languages of the United Nations and one of the most used global languages, along with English. It is spoken on all continents, most extensively in North and South America, Europe, and certain parts of Africa and Asia. Within the globalised market, there is currently an international expansion and recognition of the Spanish language in literature, the film industry, television (notably telenovelas) and music. A former kingdom in modern-day Spain, Castile (Spanish: Castilla; usually pronounced Cast-EEL in English) now compromises the regions of Old Castile in the north-west, and New Castile in the center of the country. ... The geographical western hemisphere of Earth, highlighted in yellow. ... United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Globalization (or globalisation[1]), is an umbrella term for a complex series of economic, social, technological and political changes that have been identified since the 1980s. ... Old book bindings at the Merton College library. ... Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... A telenovela is the term used to describe Spanish and Portuguese television serials derived from the terms tele short for television and novela (novel). In spite of their many differences, telenovelas can be compared to soap operas. ... Music is a form of expression in the medium of time using the structures of tones and silence. ...

Naming

Main article: Names given to the Spanish language

Spanish people tend to call this language español when contrasting it with languages of other states (e.g., in a list with French and English), but call it castellano (Castilian, from the Castile region) when contrasting it with other languages of Spain (such as Galician, Basque, and Catalan/Valencian). In this manner, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of the whole State, opposed to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. the other Spanish languages). Article III reads as follows: There are two names given to the Spanish language: Spanish (español) and Castilian (castellano). ... The Spanish people or Spaniards are the ethnic group or nation native to Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula of southwestern Europe. ... A former kingdom in modern-day Spain, Castile (Spanish: Castilla; usually pronounced Cast-EEL in English) now compromises the regions of Old Castile in the north-west, and New Castile in the center of the country. ... The most prominent of the languages of Spain is, of course, Spanish (which nearly everyone in Spain can speak and is also called in Spain castellano — Castilian). Other languages figure prominently in many regions: Basque (Euskara) in the Basque Country and Navarre; Catalan in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and Valencia... Galician (Galician: galego) is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia. ... Basque (in Basque: Euskara) is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France. ... Catalan in Europe Catalan IPA: (català ) is a Romance language, the official language of Andorra and co-official in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Valencia (under the name Valencian) and Catalonia. ... This page deals with language. ... The Spanish Constitution of 1978 is the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. ...

El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. (…) Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas…

Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. (…) Other Spanish languages shall also be official in the respective Autonomous Communities…

In some parts of Spain, mainly where people speak Galician, Basque and Catalan, the choice of words reveals the speakers' sense of belonging and their political views. People from bilingual areas might consider it offensive to call the language español, as that is the term that was chosen by Francisco Franco — during whose dictatorship the use of regional languages was discouraged — and because it connotes that Basque, Catalan and Galician are not languages of Spain. On the other hand, more nationalist speakers (both Spanish and regional nationalists) might prefer español either to reflect their belief in the unity of the Spanish State or to denote the perceived detachment between their region and the rest of the State. However, most people in Spain, regardless of place of origin, use Spanish or Castilian indistinctively. Politics of Spain takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the President of the Government is the head of government and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... Francisco El Caudillo Franco. ...

For the rest of the Spanish-speaking world, speakers of the language in many areas refer to it as español, and in only a few castellano is more common. Castellano is the name given to the Spanish language in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Some philologists use Castilian only when speaking of the language spoken in Castile during the Middle Ages, stating that it is preferable to use Spanish for its modern form. The subdialect of Spanish spoken in most parts of modern day Castile can also be called Castilian. This dialect differs from those of other regions of Spain (Andalusia and Aragon for example); the Castilian dialect is almost exactly the same as standard Spanish. Castilian is a noun and adjective that refers to the region and former kingdom of Spain; in particular, it refers to the language of this region, and is therefore considered by many to be a synonym of Spanish, though with different nuances. ... A former kingdom in modern-day Spain, Castile (Spanish: Castilla; usually pronounced Cast-EEL in English) now compromises the regions of Old Castile in the north-west, and New Castile in the center of the country. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... A former kingdom in modern-day Spain, Castile (Spanish: Castilla; usually pronounced Cast-EEL in English) now compromises the regions of Old Castile in the north-west, and New Castile in the center of the country. ... Motto: Dominator Hercules Fundator Andalucía por sí, para España y la humanidad (Andalusia for herself, for Spain, and for humankind) Capital Seville Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 2nd  87 268 km²  17,2% Population  â€“ Total (2005)  â€“ % of Spain  â€“ Density Ranked 1st  7. ... Capital Zaragoza Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 4th  47 719 km²  9,4% Population  â€“ Total (2005)  â€“ % of Spain  â€“ Density Ranked 11th  1 269 027  2,9%  26,59/km² Demonym  â€“ English  â€“ Spanish  Aragonese  aragonés Statute of Autonomy August 16, 1982 ISO 3166-2 AR Parliamentary representation  â€“ Congress seats  â€“ Senate... Standard Spanish or Neutral Spanish, is a linguistic variety or lect that is considered the correct educated standard for the Spanish language. ...

Some Spanish speakers consider "castellano" a generic term with no political or ideological links, much as "Spanish" is in English.

Related languages

Spanish/Castilian has closest affinity to the other Spanish languages (from Latin) and dialects (from Spanish itself) spoken within current borders of Spain. Most are mutually intelligible among speakers without too much difficulty.

• Aragonese (aragonés)
• Leonese (llïonés)
• Asturian (asturianu)
• Galician (galego)
• Portuguese (português)
• Extremaduran (estremeñu)
• Catalan (català)
• Occitan (aranès)
• Ladino (Djudeo-espanyol)

Languages distribution in Aragon (Aragonese in red). ... Leonese (Llïonés in Leonese) is a Romance language spoken in some parts of the provinces of León, Zamora and Salamanca in Spain. ... Asturian, Leonese, Astur-Leonese or Bable (Asturianu in Asturian, Llïonés in Leonese) is a Romance language spoken in some parts of the provinces of Asturias, León, Zamora and Salamanca in Spain, and in the area of Miranda de Douro in Portugal (where it is officially recognized as... Galician (Galician: galego) is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia. ... Extremaduran is a Romance language spoken by some thousands in Spain, most of them in the autonomous community of Extremadura and the province of Salamanca. ... Catalan in Europe Catalan IPA: (català ) is a Romance language, the official language of Andorra and co-official in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Valencia (under the name Valencian) and Catalonia. ... Occitan, or lenga dòc, or languedoc, is a Romance language (or group of languages), spoken mainly in the Languedoc or Occitania region in southern France. ... Ladino is a Romance language, derived mainly from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew. ...

Comparison between Spanish and Portuguese

Main article: Differences between Spanish and Portuguese

Between the two main languages spoken on the Iberian Peninsula, Spanish and Portuguese, there is generally a mutual understanding between the standard spoken forms, though Spanish morphology and phonetics is much easier for a Portuguese speaker to understand than vice versa. Spanish (Castillian) and Portuguese are two of the most widely spoken languages in the world today. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe. ...

Both Spanish and Portuguese are similar grammars and a majority of vocabulary as well as a common history of influence of Arabic while great part of the peninsula was under Islamic rule (both languages expanded over Islamic territories). The Arabic language (Arabic: ‎ transliterated: ), or simply Arabic (Arabic: ‎ transliterated: ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ...

The diphthongization of short stressed vowels is common in Spanish as well as the other Romance languages, but absent in Galician-Portuguese. In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds, or with two tones) is a vowel combination in a single syllable involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ...

• Lat. moritur ("he/she dies"), It. muore, Fr. meurt / muert, Sp. muere, Port. morre, Rom. muare

Orbis Latinus

• Peculiar to Spanish (as in the Gascon dialect of Occitan, possibly due to Basque substratum) is the loss of Latin initial /f/ when the next vowel does not diphthongate: compare e.g. Sp. hijo with Fr. fils, It. figlio, Port. filho, Occitan filh and Gascon hilh; also Sp. hablar, Port. falar, but Sp. fuego, Port. fogo.
• The consonant clusters cl, fl, pl of Latin became ll in Spanish, but ch in Portuguese: cf. Lat. clamare, acc. flammam, plenum; Sp. llamar, llama, lleno; Port. chamar, chama, cheio.
• The consonant clusters ct and lt of Latin became ch in Spanish, but produced diphthongs in Portuguese: cf. Lat. acc. octo, noctem, multum; Sp. ocho, noche, mucho; Port. oito, noite, muito.
• The palatal consonants ll and ñ of Spanish typically originated in Latin ll, nn, whereas Portuguese lh, nh of Portuguese were derived from Latin li, ni: cf. Lat. acc. alium, Junium, annum, gallinam, Port. alho, junho, ano, galinha, Sp. ajo, junio, año, gallina.(The Spanish letter ñ /ɲ/ was initially a shorthand for nn.)
• Spanish retained single intervocalic /l/ and /n/, which were usually elided in early Portuguese: cf. Lat. acc. caelum, volare, Sp. cielo, volar, Port. céu, voar.

Some very common words are also very different between the two: Sp. ventana (Lat. vĕntu), Port. janela (jānuella), "window"; Sp. rodilla (rŏtella), Port. joelho (genucŭlu), "knee"; Sp. calle (callis), Port. rua ([via] ruga), "street"; Sp. alfombra (Arab. alḥánbal), Port. tapete (Lat. tapēte), "carpet"; Sp. borrar (Sp. borra), Port. apagar (Lat. adpācāre), "to erase"; Sp. olvidar (oblītare), Port. esquecer (excadĕscere), "to forget". The Gascon language is an Occitan dialect mostly spoken in Gascony (in the French départements of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Landes, Gers, Gironde, a part of Lot-et-Garonne, a part of Haute-Garonne, and a part of Ariège), and in the small Spanish... In linguistics, a substratum (lat. ... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... Ñ and ñ in Arial and Times New Roman, with an example word from Panare Ñ is a letter of the modern Roman alphabet formed by an N with a diacritical tilde. ...

Comparisons between Spanish and other languages

Spanish has different common features with Catalan, an East-Iberian language which exhibits many Gallo-Romance traits. Likewise Portuguese, Spanish morphology and phonetics are much easier for a Catalan speaker to understand than the other way around. Catalan is closer to Occitan more than Spanish and Portuguese are between them. Catalan in Europe Catalan IPA: (català ) is a Romance language, the official language of Andorra and co-official in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Valencia (under the name Valencian) and Catalonia. ...

Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Classical Latin is the language used by the principal exponents of that language in what is usually regarded as classical Latin literature. ... The term Ecclesiastical Latin (sometimes called Church Latin) refers to the Latin language as used in documents of the Roman Catholic Church and in its Latin liturgies. ... Basque (in Basque: Euskara) is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France. ...

Comparison between Spanish and other Romance languages

Spanish is mutually intelligible with French with some difficulty, but not with Romanian. However it is to some degree with Italian. Although the Italian phonological system is very similar to that of Spanish, they differ greatly in grammar vocabulary and morphology and can usually be better understood if one is already familiar with the other language.

Ladino

Ladino, which is essentially medieval Castilian and closer to modern Spanish than any other language, is spoken by many descendants of the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in the 15th century. It is a mixture of mainly Castilian and Hebrew. Ladino is a Romance language, derived mainly from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew. ... In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardîm) is a Jew original to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal: ספרד, Standard Hebrew Səfárad, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄áraḏ / Səp̄āraḏ), or whose ancestors were among the Jews expelled from... Hebrew (עִבְרִית, ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. ...

History

Main article: History of the Spanish language

A page of Cantar de Mio Cid, in medieval Castilian.

The Spanish language developed from vulgar Latin, with influence from Celtiberian, Basque and Arabic, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula (see Iberian Romance languages). 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). Similar phenomena can be found in most other Romance languages as well. The Spanish language developed from vulgar Latin, with influence from Basque and Arabic, in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula (see Iberian Romance languages). ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... A page from the original codex, starting from line 1922 El Cantar de Mio Cid is the oldest preserved Spanish cantar de gesta. ... Vulgar Latin, as in this political engraving at Pompeii, was the language of the ordinary people of the Roman Empire, distinct from the Classical Latin of literature. ... Celtiberian (also Hispano-Celtic) is an extinct Celtic language spoken by the Celtiberians in northern Spain before and during the Roman Empire. ... Basque (in Basque: Euskara) is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France. ... The Arabic language (Arabic: ‎ transliterated: ), or simply Arabic (Arabic: ‎ transliterated: ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe. ... The formation of Iberian Romance languages followed more or less this process: A common Romance language with dialectal differences was spoken throughout the ancient Roman Empire. ... The vowels of modern (Standard) Arabic and (Israeli) Hebrew from the phonological point of view. ... Lenition is a kind of consonant mutation that appears in many languages. ... Palatalization means pronouncing a sound nearer to the hard palate, making it more like a palatal consonant; this is towards the front of the mouth for a velar or uvular consonant, but towards the back of the mouth for a front (e. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds, or with two tones) is a vowel combination in a single syllable involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

During the Reconquista, this northern dialect was carried south, and indeed is still a minority language in northern Morocco. The Reconquista (Reconquest) refers to the process for which the Christian Kingdoms of northern Hispania, defeated and conquered the southern Muslim and moorish states of the Iberian Peninsula, existing since the Arab invasion of 711. ... A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a country. ...

The first Latin to Spanish dictionary (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, Ma'am, the language is the instrument of the Empire. Salamanca: Plaza Mayor Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Salamanca Salamanca (population 157,906 (2003)) is a castilian city in central Spain, the capital of the province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. ... Antonio de Lebrija, also known as Antonio de Nebrija, Elio Antonio de Lebrija and Antonius Nebrissensis, (1441-1522) was a Spanish scholar born at Lebrija in the province of Seville. ... Isabella of Castile Isabella of Castile (April 22, 1451 – November 26, 1504) was queen of Castile and Aragon. ...

From the 16th century on, 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. World map showing the Americas America or the Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... Mariana Islands (sometimes called The Marianas; up to the early 20th century sometimes called the Ladrone Islands) are a group of islands made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the Pacific Ocean. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

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. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Flag Seal Nickname: Big Apple Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,214. ...

For details on borrowed words and other external influences in Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language. see also Linguistic history of Spanish The Spanish language has a long history of borrowing words, expressions and subtler features of other languages it has come in contact with. ... At first just one of many dialects of Iberian Romance spoken in Iberia, the dialect of Castile eventually became identified as the Spanish language (called español or castellano in Spanish). ...

Geographic distribution

Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations and the European Union. The majority of its speakers are located in the Western Hemisphere, and Spain. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... There are two names given to the Spanish language: Spanish (español) and Castilian (castellano). ... The Spanish language developed from vulgar Latin, with influence from Basque and Arabic, in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula (see Iberian Romance languages). ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Spanish is a relatively inflected language, with a two-gender system and about fifty conjugated forms per verb, but no noun declension and limited pronominal declension. ... The Spanish language uses determiners in a similar way to English. ... The Spanish language has nouns that express concrete objects, groups and classes of objects, qualities, feelings and other abstractions. ... The Spanish language has a range of pronouns that in some ways work quite differently from English ones. ... The Spanish language uses adjectives in a similar way to English and most other Indo-European languages. ... The Spanish language has a relatively large number of prepositions. ... Spanish verbs are one of the most complex areas of Spanish grammar. ... Main article: Spanish verbs This is a paradigm of Spanish verbs, that is, a set of conjugation tables, for the model regular verbs and for some of the most common irregular verbs (see the article on Spanish irregular verbs for common patterns of irregularity that may help understanding this paradigm). ... Spanish verbs are a complex area of Spanish grammar, with many combinations of tenses, aspects and moods (up to fifty conjugated forms per verb). ... United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The geographical western hemisphere of Earth, highlighted in yellow. ...

With approximately 106 million first-language and second-language speakers, Mexico boasts the largest population of Spanish-speakers in the world. The four next largest populations reside in Colombia (45 million), Spain (43 million), Argentina (39 million) and the United States of America (U.S. residents age 5 and older who speak Spanish at home number 31 million) [3].

Spanish is the official and most important language in 22 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), Puerto Rico (co-official English), Spain (co-official in some regions with Catalan, Galician and Basque), Uruguay, Venezuela, and Western Sahara (co-official Arabic). Quechua (Standard Quechua, Runasimi Language of People) is an Native American language of South America. ... Help wikipedia by translating the Spanish article into this article. ... Guaraní (gwah-rah-nee) [gwarani] (local name: avañeẽ) is a language spoken in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and southwestern Brazil. ... Quechua (Standard Quechua, Runasimi Language of People) is an Native American language of South America. ... Help wikipedia by translating the Spanish article into this article. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Catalan in Europe Catalan IPA: (català ) is a Romance language, the official language of Andorra and co-official in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Valencia (under the name Valencian) and Catalonia. ... Galician (Galician: galego) is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia. ... Basque (in Basque: Euskara) is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France. ... The Arabic language (Arabic: ‎ transliterated: ), or simply Arabic (Arabic: ‎ transliterated: ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ...

In Belize, Spanish holds no official recognition. However, it is the native tongue of about 50% of the population, and is spoken as a second language by another 20%. It is arguably the most important and widely-spoken on a popular level, but English remains the sole official language.

In the United States, Spanish is spoken by three-quarters of its 41.3 million Hispanic population. The continuous arrival of new immigrants enables it to resist the assimilation experienced by the languages of most previous immigrants. It is also being learned and spoken by a small, though slowly growing, proportion of its non-Hispanic population for its increasing use in business, commerce, and both domestic and international politics. Spanish does hold co-official status in the state of New Mexico, and in the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. See Spanish in the United States for further information. Hispanic, as used in the United States, is one of several terms used to categorize US citizens, permanent residents and temporary immigrants, whose background hail either from the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America or relating to a Spanish-speaking culture. ... Official language(s) None Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In Brazil, Spanish has obtained an important status as a second language among young students and many skilled professionals. In recent years, with Brazil decreasing its reliance on trade with the USA and Europe and increasing trade and ties with its Spanish-speaking neighbors (especially as a member of the Mercosur trading bloc), much stress has been placed on bilingualism and Spanish proficiency in the country (the same is true of Portuguese proficiency in neighbouring countries). On July 07, 2005, the National Congress of Brazil gave final approval to a bill that makes Spanish a mandatory foreign language in the country’s public and private primary schools [4]. The close genetic relationship between the two languages, along with the fact that Spanish is the dominant and official language of almost every country that borders Brazil, adds to the popularity. Standard Spanish and Ladino may also be spoken natively by some Spanish-descended Brazilians, immigrant workers from neighbouring Spanish-speaking countries and Brazilian Sephardim respectively, who have maintained it as their home language. Additionally, in Brazil's border states that have authority over their educational systems, Spanish has been taught for years. In many other border towns and villages (especially along the Uruguayo-Brazilian border) a mixed language commonly known as Portuñol is also spoken. Mercosur or Mercosul (Spanish: Mercado Común del Sur, Portuguese: Mercado Comum do Sul, English: Southern Common Market) is a customs union between Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela, founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro... July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 177 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Brazils bicameral National Congress (Portuguese: Congresso Nacional) consists of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. ... This article deals with the Judaeo-Spanish language. ... A mixed language is a language that arises when two languages are in contact and there is a high degree of bilingualism among speakers. ... Portuñol (also Portunhol), a portmanteau of the words Português (Portuguese) and Español (Spanish), is a mixed language based on Spanish and Portuguese. ...

In European countries other than Spain, it may be spoken by some of their Spanish-speaking immigrant communities, primarily in Andorra (where it is spoken by a great part of the population, despite having no official status), the Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom where there is a strong community in London. There has been a sharp increase in the popularity of Spanish in the United Kingdom over the last few years. It is spoken by much of the population of Gibraltar, though English remains the only official language. Yanito (llanito), an English-Spanish mixed language is also spoken. World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom, and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Yanito is the name for the patois or creole spoken in Gibraltar. ... A mixed language is a language that arises when two languages are in contact and there is a high degree of bilingualism among speakers. ...

Among the countries and territories in Oceania, Spanish is the seventh most spoken language in Australia(100,000 speakers); where there is an older Argentine, Chilean and Spanish community and growing Colombian and Mexican communities mainly in Sydney. It is also spoken by the approximately 3,000 inhabitants of Easter Island, a territorial possession of Chile. The island nations of Guam, Palau, Northern Marianas, Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia all once had Spanish speakers, but Spanish has long since been forgotten, and now only exists as an influence on the local native languages. Oceania is a geographical, often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands – mostly islands but often including Australia – in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. ... The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, and since its opening it has become an international symbol of Sydney Sydney (pronounced ) is the state capital of New South Wales, located on the east coast of Australia. ... City motto: ( Rapa Nui ) Also called Ombligo del mundo (Navel of the world) Discovered by Europeans April 5, 1722 by Jakob Roggeveen, Capital Hanga Roa Area  - City Proper  163,6 km² Population  - City (2005)  - Density (city proper) 3. ... The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a commonwealth in political union with the United States of America at a strategic location in the West Pacific Ocean. ...

In Asia the Spanish language has long been in decline. Spanish ceased to be an official language of the Philippines in 1987, and it is now spoken by less than 0.01% of the population, or 2,658 people (1990 Census), though recently there seems to have been a resurgence in interest in the language among educated youth. The sole existing Spanish-Asiatic creole language, Chabacano, is spoken by an additional 0.4% of the Filipino population; 292,630 (1990 census). Most other Philippine languages contain generous quantities of Spanish loan words. Among other Asian countries, Spanish may also be spoken by pockets of ex-immigrant communities, such as Mexican-born ethnic Chinese deported to China or third and fourth generation ethnic Japanese Peruvians returning to their ancestral homeland of Japan. World map showing the location of Asia. ... // A creole language, or just creole, is a well-defined and stable language that originated from a non-trivial combination of two or more languages, typically with many distinctive features that are not inherited from either parent. ... Chavacano, (also Chabacano or Zamboangueño), is a Spanish creole spoken in the Philippines. ... There are over 170 languages of the Philippines; almost all of them belong to the Austronesian language family. ... Overseas Chinese, more properly translated as Chinese residing abroad (華僑 in pinyin: huáqiáo, or 華胞 huábāo, or 僑胞 qiáobāo, or 華裔 huáyì) are Chinese citizens living abroad (not necessarily overseas). ... The term Ethnic Japanese, or Nikkei (日系), usually refers to people who live outside Japan, who either emigrated from Japan or are descendants of a person who emigrated from Japan. ...

In the Middle East and North Africa, small Spanish-speaking communities exist in Israel (both standard Spanish and Ladino), northern Morocco (both standard Spanish and Ladino), Turkey (Ladino), and the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which are part of Spain. A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ... This article deals with the Judaeo-Spanish language. ... Area  â€“ Total   28 km² Population  â€“ Total (2005)  â€“ Density  75,276  2688. ... Area  â€“ Total    20 km² (8 mi²) Population  â€“ Total (2005)  â€“ Density  65,488  3274. ...

In North America and the Caribbean, Spanish is also spoken by segments of the populations in Aruba, Canada (mainly in Toronto and Montreal), Netherlands Antilles (mainly on Bonaire, Curaçao and St. Maarten), Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (mainly on St. Croix). World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Central America and the Caribbean (detailed pdf map) The Caribbean (Spanish: Caribe; French: Caraïbe; Dutch: Caraïben; Portuguese: Caribe or Caraíbas) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. ... City motto: Concordia Salus (Latin: Well-being through harmony) Province Quebec Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area  - % water 366. ... Flag of Bonaire Bonaire is an island in the Netherlands Antilles, and as such, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. ... Anthem: Himno di Kòrsou Capital Willemstad Area  - Total  - % water (Not ranked) 450 km² Negligible Population  - Total  - Density 173,400 (2006) 391/km² Curaçao (pronounced [kurasão]) is an island in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. ... Saint Martin - NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) Satellite Image Saint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 150 miles east of Puerto Rico. ... A separate article treats the several rivers known as the St. ...

In Antarctica, the territorial claims and permanent bases made by Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Spain also place Spanish as the official and working language of these enclaves.

Variations

Main article: Spanish dialects and varieties

There are important variations among the regions of Spain and throughout Spanish-speaking America. In Spain the Castilian dialect pronunciation is commonly taken as the national standard (although the characteristic weak pronouns usage or laísmo of this dialect is deprecated). Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... This article should be translated from material at es:Loísmo. ...

Spanish has three second-person singular pronouns: tú, usted, and in some parts of Latin America, vos (the use of this form is called voseo). Generally speaking, tú and vos are informal and used with friends (though in Spain vos is considered an archaic form for address of exalted personages, its use now mainly confined to the liturgy). Usted is universally regarded as the formal form (derived from vuestro merced, "your mercy") , and is used as a mark of respect, as when addressing one's elders or strangers. The pronoun vosotros is the plural form of tú in most of Spain, although in the Americas (and certain southern Spanish cities such as Cádiz, and in the Canary Islands) it is replaced with ustedes. It is remarkable that the use of ustedes for the informal plural "you" in southern Spain does not follow the usual rule for pronoun-verb agreement; e.g., while the formal form for "you go", ustedes van, uses the third-person plural form of the verb, in Cádiz the informal form is constructed as ustedes vais, using the second-person plural of the verb. In the Canary Islands, though, the usual pronoun-verb agreement is preserved in most cases. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Narrator. ... In linguistics, the term grammatical number refers to ways of expressing quantity by inflecting words. ... In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun phrase. ... A movie poster in Buenos Aires shows usage of vos. ... Flag Seal Nickname: Tacita de plata (little silver cup) Location Location within Spain Government Province Cádiz Mayor Teófila Martínez (PP) Geographical characteristics Area     City 12. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Vos (see voseo) is used extensively as the primary spoken form of the second-person singular pronoun in many countries of Latin America, including Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay, the Antioquia state of Colombia and the State of Zulia in Venezuela. In Argentina, Uruguay, and increasingly in Paraguay, it is also the standard form used in the media, but media in other voseante countries continue to use usted or tú. Vos may also be used regionally in other countries. Depending on country or region, usage may be considered standard or (by better educated speakers) to be unrefined. Interpersonal situations in which the use of vos is acceptable may also differ considerably between regions. A movie poster in Buenos Aires shows usage of vos. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Motto: Capital Medellín Governor Area 63,612 km² Population  - Total (2003)  - Density   5,750,478 90 people/km² Adjective antioqueño Antioquia was one of the states in the original United States of Colombia, and is now a department in the northwest part of the Republic of Colombia. ... A state is an organized political community, occupying a territory, and possessing internal and external sovereignty, that enforces a monopoly on the use of force. ... A state is an organized political community, occupying a territory, and possessing internal and external sovereignty, that enforces a monopoly on the use of force. ... Estado Zulia is one of the 23 states (estados) into which Venezuela is divided. ...

Spanish forms also differ regarding second-person plural pronouns. The Spanish dialects of Latin America have only one form of the second-person plural, ustedes (formal or familiar, as the case may be). In Spain there are two forms — ustedes (formal) and vosotros (familiar).

The Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy), like academies formed for twenty-one other national languages, exercises a standardizing influence through its publication of dictionaries and widely respected grammar and style guides. Due to this influence and for other sociohistorical reasons, a neutral standardized form of the language (Standard Spanish) is widely acknowledged for use in literature, academic contexts and the media. The Real Academia Española (Spanish for Royal Spanish Academy; often RAE) is the institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. ... Standard Spanish or Neutral Spanish, is a linguistic variety or lect that is considered the correct educated standard for the Spanish language. ...

Some words are different, even embarrassingly so, in different Hispanophone countries. Most Spanish speakers can recognize other Spanish forms, even in places where they are not commonly used, but Spaniards generally do not recognise specifically American usages. For example, Spanish mantequilla, aguacate, albaricoque (respectively, "butter", "avocado", "apricot") become manteca, palta, and damasco in Argentina. The everyday Spanish words coger (to catch, get, or pick up) and concha (seashell) are considered extremely rude in parts of Latin America. The first meaning "to have sex" and the latter "vagina". The Puerto Rican word for "bobby pin" (pinche) is an obscenity in Mexico.

Grammar

Main article: Spanish grammar

Spanish is a relatively inflected language, with a two-gender system and about fifty conjugated forms per verb, but small noun declension and limited pronominal declension. (For a detailed overview of verbs, see Spanish verbs and Spanish irregular verbs.) Spanish is a relatively inflected language, with a two-gender system and about fifty conjugated forms per verb, but no noun declension and limited pronominal declension. ... This article is in need of attention. ... It has been suggested that natural gender be merged into this article or section. ... In linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection (regular alteration according to rules of grammar). ... A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action (bring, read), occurrence (decompose, glitter), or a state of being (exist, stand). Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. ... A noun, or noun substantive, is a part of speech (a word or phrase) which can co-occur with (in)definite articles and attributive adjectives, and function as the head of a noun phrase. ... In linguistics, declension is a paradigm of inflected nouns. ... In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun phrase. ... Spanish verbs are one of the most complex areas of Spanish grammar. ... Spanish verbs are a complex area of Spanish grammar, with many combinations of tenses, aspects and moods (up to fifty conjugated forms per verb). ...

Spanish syntax is generally Subject Verb Object, though variations are common. Spanish is right-branching, uses prepositions, and usually places adjectives after nouns. {{ Categories: | | ... In linguistic typology, subject-verb-object (SVO) is the sequence subject verb object in neutral expressions: Sam ate oranges. ... Languages typically construct phrases with a head (or nucleus) and zero or more dependents (modifiers). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with adposition. ... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually describing it or making its meaning more specific. ... A noun, or noun substantive, is a part of speech (a word or phrase) which can co-occur with (in)definite articles and attributive adjectives, and function as the head of a noun phrase. ...

Spanish is also pro-drop (allows the deletion of pronouns when pragmatically unnecessary) and verb-framed. A pro-drop language (from pronoun-dropping) is a language where pronouns can be deleted when they are in some sense pragmatically inferable (the precise conditions vary from language to language, and can be quite intricate). ... In linguistics, verb framing is a term used to describe how verb phrases in different languages vary regarding whether the main verb tends to encode the manner of motion or the direction of motion. ...

Sounds

Main article: Spanish phonology

Notes: When sounds appear in pairs, the left is unvoiced, the right is voiced. Also, allophones have been denoted with an asterisk (*). Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of phonetic notation devised by linguists to accurately and uniquely represent each of the wide variety of sounds (phones or phonemes) used in spoken human language. ... Phonetic (pho-NET-ic) is a nationwide voicemail-to-text messaging service available for most digital mobile phones in which a subscriber is provided a custom voice mailbox for the purpose of receiving all incoming voice messages as actual transcribed text for reading via short messaging (also known as SMS... Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... This is a concise version of the International Phonetic Alphabet for English sounds. ... In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. ... In phonetics, labiodentals are consonants articulated with the lower lips and the upper teeth, or viceversa. ... Dentals are consonants articulated with either the lower or the upper teeth, or both. ... Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets) of the superior teeth. ... Postalveolar (or palato-alveolar) consonants are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue between the alveolar ridge (the place of articulation for alveolar consonants) and the palate (the place of articulation for palatal consonants). ... Retroflex consonants are articulated with the tip of the tongue curled up and back so the bottom of the tip touches the roof of the mouth. ... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... The vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the human larynx. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velum—that fleshy part of the palate near the back—is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... The bilabial nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The alveolar nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The retroflex nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The palatal nasal is a type of consonant, used in some spoken languages. ... The velar nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ... The voiceless bilabial plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. ... The voiced bilabial plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless dental plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiced dental plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless velar plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. ... The voiced velar plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... Fricatives (or spirants) are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. ... The voiceless labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiced labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless dental non-sibilant fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... The voiced dental non-sibilant fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless alveolar fricatives are a type of consonantal sound. ... The voiced alveolar fricatives are a type of consonantal sound. ... The voiceless palato-alveolar fricative or domed postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiced palato-alveolar fricative or domed postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiced palatal fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... The voiced velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiceless glottal fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... An affricate is a consonant that begins like a stop (most often an alveovelar, such as [t] or [d]) and that doesnt have a release of its own, but opens directly into a fricative (or, in one language, into a trill). ... The voiceless palato-alveolar fricative or domed postalveolar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The voiced postalveolar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. ... The voiced bilabial approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The palatal approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in very many spoken languages. ... The voiced labiovelar (actually labialized velar) approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in certain spoken languages. ... In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. ... The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages (such as Russian, Spanish, Armenian, and Polish). ... In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator is thrown against another. ... The alveolar tap or flap is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... Laterals are L-like consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue, while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both sides of the tongue. ... The alveolar lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... The retroflex lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... The palatal lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... Phoneticians define phonation as use of the laryngeal system to generate an audible source of acoustic energy, i. ... Phoneticians define phonation as use of the laryngeal system to generate an audible source of acoustic energy, i. ... In Quebec, an allophone (French or English. ...

The consonantal system of Castilian Spanish, by the 16th century, underwent the following important changes that differentiated it from some nearby Romance languages, such as Portuguese and Catalan: The formation of Iberian Romance languages followed more or less this process: A common Romance language with dialectal differences was spoken throughout the ancient Roman Empire. ... Catalan in Europe Catalan IPA: (català ) is a Romance language, the official language of Andorra and co-official in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Valencia (under the name Valencian) and Catalonia. ...

• The initial /f/, that had evolved into a vacillating /h/, was lost in most words (although this etymological h- has been preserved in spelling).
• The voiced labiodental fricative /v/ (that was written u or v) merged with the bilabial oclusive /b/ (written b). Orthographically, b and v do not correspond to different phonemes in contemporary Spanish, excepting some areas in Spain, particularly the ones influenced by Catalan/Valencian.
• The voiced alveolar fricative /z/ (that was written s between vowels) merged with the voiceless /s/ (that was written s, or ss between vowels).
• The voiced alveolar affricate /dz/ (that was written z) merged with the voiceless /ts/ (that was written ç, ce, ci), and then /ts/ evolved into the interdental /θ/, now written z, ce, ci. But in Andalucia, the Canary Islands and the Americas these sounds merged with /s/ as well. Notice that the ç or c with cedilla was in its origin a Spanish letter, although is no longer used.
• The voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/ (that was written j, ge, gi) merged with the voiceless /ʃ/ (that was written x, as in Quixote), and then /ʃ/ evolved by the 17th century into the modern velar sound /x/, now written j, ge, gi. However, in Argentina, y and ll are pronounced /ʒ/ in most cases.

The consonantal system of Medieval Spanish has been better preserved in Ladino and in Portuguese, neither of which underwent the shift. The voiced labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... The voiced alveolar fricatives are a type of consonantal sound. ... The voiced alveolar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... Motto: Dominator Hercules Fundator Andaluc a por s , para Espa a y la humanidad (Andalusia for herself, for Spain, and for humanity) Capital Seville Area  - total  - % of Spain Ranked 2nd 87 268 km 17,2% Population  - Total (2003)  - % of Spain  - Density Ranked 1st 7 478 432 17,9% 85,70... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A cedilla is a hook (¸) added under certain consonant letters as a diacritic mark to modify their pronunciation. ... The voiced palato-alveolar fricative or domed postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... Quixote could mean one of several things: Quixote is also the name of a Python based web-application development platform. ... Ladino is a Romance language, derived mainly from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew. ...

Lexical stress

Spanish has a phonemic stress system — the place where stress will fall cannot be predicted by other features of the word, and two words can differ by just a change in stress. For example, the word camino (with penultimate stress) means "road" or "I walk" whereas caminó (with final stress) means "you (formal)/he/she/it walked". Also, since Spanish syllables are all pronounced at a more or less constant tempo, the language is said to be syllable-timed. In human language, a phoneme is a set of phones (speech sounds or sign elements) that are cognitively equivalent. ... In linguistics, stress is the emphasis given to some syllables (often no more than one in each word, but in many languages, long words have a secondary stress a few syllables away from the primary stress, as in the words cóunterfòil or còunterintélligence. ... In linguistics, the timing in a language comprises the rhythmic qualities of speech, in particular how syllables are distributed across time. ...

In a written word, the stressed syllable can always be identified (see Writing system of Spanish for details). An amusing example of the significance of stress (and intonation) is a puzzle which requires the subject to punctuate: como como como como como como so that it makes sense. The answer is ¿Cómo, cómo como? ¡Como como como! (What do you mean / how / do I eat? / I eat / the way / I eat!). Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Writing system

Main article: Writing system of Spanish

The pronunciation of almost any Spanish word can be perfectly predicted from its written form. Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Spanish is written using the Latin alphabet, with the addition of ñ (eñe). Historically ch (che, pronounced [tʃ]), ll [eʝe], and "rr" [[[Template:Erre]]], were until 1994 defined as single letters, with their own names and places in the alphabet (a, b, c, ch, d, …, l, ll, m, n, ñ,… ,q,r,rr,s,t …,). Since 1994 these letters have been abolished, and replaced with the appropriate letter pair. This effectively means that spelling is visibly unchanged, but words with "ch" are now alphabetically sorted between "ce" and "ci", instead of following "cz", and similarly for "ll" and "rr". However, "che", "elle" and "erre" are still used in coloquial spanish to mean "ch" "ll" and "rr" respectively. The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... Ñ and ñ in Arial and Times New Roman, with an example word from Panare Ñ is a letter of the modern Roman alphabet formed by an N with a diacritical tilde. ...

The letter u sometimes carries diaeresis (ü) after the letter g, and stressed vowels carry acute accents (á) in many words. These marks usually indicate deviations from what would be expected if one followed the customary rules of Spanish orthography. For example, gue indicates that the u is not pronounced. However, güe means that the u is also pronounced (in this case, with the w sound.) Accent marks usually indicate that the customary rules of accentuation (stress the last syllable of any word ending in a consonant (including y) other than n or s; stress the next to last syllable otherwise) are to be ignored. In a few cases, an accented letter is used to distinguish meaning: compare el (= the before a masculine singular noun) with él (= he or it). Words that could otherwise be mistaken for function words (often pronounced as enclitics, i.e. without their own stress) are often given accents (such as "té", tea, or "dé" and "sé", forms of "dar" and either "saber" or "ser", respectively). Interrogative pronouns (que, cual, donde, quien, etc.) receive accents when in questions or indirect questions. Demonstrative pronouns (ese, este, aquel, etc.) have accents when they refer to a specific, implied object and are not being used as adjectives. In addition, o (= or) is written with an accent between numerals to indicate that it is not part of the numerals: e.g., 10 ó 20 should be read as diez o veinte rather than diez mil veinte. Accent marks are frequently omitted on capital letters, but should not be. In linguistics, a, diaeresis, or dieresis (AE) (from Greek (diaerein), to divide) is the modification of a syllable by distinctly pronouncing one of its vowels. ... Ãœ, or ü, is a glyph which represents either a letter from several extended Latin alphabets, the letter U with umlaut, or a letter U with diaeresis. ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin and Greek scripts. ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... W is the twenty-third letter of the modern Latin alphabet. ... Y is the twenty-fifth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... This article is about the letter N. For the Flash game, see N (game). ... S# redirects here. ...

Interrogative and exclamatory clauses begin with inverted question ( ¿ ) and exclamation marks ( ¡ ). The question mark (also known as an interrogation point, query, or eroteme) is a punctuation mark that replaces the full stop at the end of an interrogative sentence. ... an exclamation mark An exclamation mark, exclamation point or bang, !, is usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feeling. ...

Examples of Spanish

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Spanish pronunciation

Note, the third column uses the International Phonetic Alphabet, the standard for linguists, to transcribe the sounds. There are several examples of travellers' vocabulary and one literary reference. Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of phonetic notation devised by linguists to accurately and uniquely represent each of the wide variety of sounds (phones or phonemes) used in spoken human language. ...

You can listen to these words being read out. Both the transcription and the recording represent standard Castilian pronunciation.

Examples of English with Spanish Transcription and Pronunciation

El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (opening sentence). Statues of Don Quixote (left) and Sancho Panza (right) Don Quixote de la Mancha (pronounced /don kixote ðe la mantʃa/) is a novel by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. ... Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (September 29, 1547 - April 23, 1616), was a Spanish author, best known for his novel Don Quixote de la Mancha. ...

See also

• Romance languages
• Real Academia Española
• Common phrases in Spanish
• Hispanophone
• List of English words of Spanish origin
• Names given to the Spanish language
• Spanish proverbs
• Spanish language poets
• Spanish-based creole languages
• Spanish profanity
• Portuñol
• Papiamento, Chavacano language, Spanglish, Yanito, Palenquero
• Rock en español
• Latin Union
• Islenos
• Spanish Empire
• Swadesh list of Spanish words
• Frespañol
• Spanglish

Romance languages in the world: Blue – French; Green – Spanish; Orange – Portuguese; Yellow – Italian; Red – Romanian The Romance languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, comprise all languages that descended from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... The Real Academia Española (Spanish for Royal Spanish Academy; often RAE) is the institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. ... Here is a list of common phrases in different languages. ... A hispanophone is a speaker of the Spanish language. ... This is a list of English language words whose origin can be traced to the Spanish language, also known as Spanish loan words. There is also a separate list of some words or phrases from Spanish that are sometimes used in English slang, but have not entered the standard lexicon. ... There are two names given to the Spanish language: Spanish (español) and Castilian (castellano). ... In Spanish language, the native, popular proverbs receive the name of refranes or dichos. ... This is a list of famous or notable poets who wrote through the medium of the Spanish language. ... A number of Creole languages are based on the Spanish language. ... Spanish comic using the word maldito - equivalent to bastard or prick (lit. ... Portuñol (also Portunhol), a portmanteau of the words Português (Portuguese) and Español (Spanish), is a mixed language based on Spanish and Portuguese. ... Papiamento or Papiamentu is the primary language spoken on the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao (the so-called ABC islands). ... Chavacano (as a proper noun) or Chabacano (as an adjective) is a blanket name for the Spanish-based creole languages spoken in the Philippines. ... Spanglish, a portmanteau of the words Spanish and English, is a name used to refer to a range of language-contact phenomena, primarily in the speech of the Hispanic population of the United States, which is exposed to both Spanish and English. ... Yanito is the name for the patois or creole spoken in Gibraltar. ... Palenquero (also Palenque) is a Spanish-based Creole spoken in Colombia. ... Rock en español is the latest generation of Spanish language rock and roll. ... World map of Latin Union member states The Latin Union is an international organization of nations that use a Romance language. ... Islenos are descendants of Canary Islanders who came to America and settled in the lower Mississippi Valley of Louisiana between 1778 and 1783. ... The flag of the Spanish Empire. ... Swadesh list of 207 words in English and Spanish, including the International Phonetic Alphabet pronunciation. ... Frespañol, is a portmanteau of the words Français and Español, which mean French and Spanish. ... Spanglish, a portmanteau of the words Spanish and English, is a name used to refer to a range of language-contact phenomena, primarily in the speech of the Hispanic population of the United States, which is exposed to both Spanish and English. ...

Local varieties

• Andalusian Spanish
• Argentine Spanish
• Caliche
• Central American Spanish
• Chilean Spanish
• Colombian Spanish
• Cuban Spanish
• Dominican Spanish
• Mexican Spanish
• Panamanian Spanish
• Peruvian Coast Spanish
• Puerto Rican Spanish
• Rioplatense Spanish
• Spanish in the United States
• Spanish in the Philippines
• Venezuelan Spanish

The Andalusian dialect (also called andaluz) of European Spanish is spoken in Andalusia (including Gibraltar). ... There are a series of significant differences in the way the Spanish language is spoken in the 20 or so countries and territories where it is an official language. ... Caliche or Salvadoreño is a collection of slang words unique to Salvadoran Spanish. ... While Central America is politically divided into five sovereign states (excluding Panama), it is no more fragmented linguistically in Spanish than Argentina, Mexico or Colombia. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... In Cuba, the Spanish language has some different features than in other dialects. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Mexican Spanish is the form of the Spanish language spoken in Mexico by over 90% of the population. ... This article or section needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Peruvian Coast Spanish is the form of the Spanish language spoken in the coastal region of Peru. ... Puerto Rican Spanish (español puertorriqueño) is a Spanish dialect spoken in Puerto Rico and by people of Puerto Rican descent elsewhere. ... Main urban centers of Rioplatense Spanish. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Spanish is a language of historical and cultural significance in the Philippines. ... Venezuelan Spanish is a dialect of the Spanish language spoken in Venezuela. ...

External links

Wikibooks has a manual, textbook or guide to this subject:

Spanish language

Spanish language edition of Wikipedia

Image File history File links Wikibooks-logo-en. ... Wikibooks logo Wikibooks, previously called Wikimedia Free Textbook Project and Wikimedia-Textbooks, is part of the Wikimedia Foundation. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1058x1058, 477 KB) aa Wikipedia logo, version 1058px square, no text Wikipedia logo by Nohat (concept by Paullusmagnus); compare Wikipedia File links The following pages link to this file: Arabic language Talk:Anarcho-capitalism Talk:Algorithm Talk:Anno Domini Talk:The... Wikipedia (IPA: , or ) is an international Web-based free-content encyclopedia. ...

About the Spanish language

• Spanish at About.com
• Official page of the RAE (in Spanish)
• Ethnologue report for Spanish
• A history of the Spanish language (sample, PDF)
• Spanish evolution from Latin

About. ...

Dictionaries

Spanish language edition of Wiktionary

• Yahoo Spanish-English Dictionary
• Dictionary of the RAE (Spanish-Spanish)

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a Wikimedia Foundation project intended to be a free wiki dictionary (hence: Wiktionary) (including thesaurus and lexicon) in every language. ...

Tutorials

• Spanish grammar Wikibook
• Spanish phrasebook on Wikitravel
• Learn Spanish — Spanish forum, with volunteer teachers.
• Spanish-kit.net — Free downloadable Spanish grammars, and vocabulary learning tools.

	Official languages of the United Nations
Arabic • Chinese • English French • Russian • Spanish
Source: Official UN website

	Official languages of the European Union
Czech | Danish | Dutch | English | Estonian | Finnish | French German | Greek | Hungarian | Irish | Italian | Latvian | Lithuanian | Maltese Polish | Portuguese | Slovak | Slovenian | Spanish | Swedish
Source: Official EU website