Spanish-speaking World

El Español y el mundo hispanohablante

(Spanish and the Spanish-speakering world)

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​Spanish is the official language in 21 different countries on 4 different continents.

Question:

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Where did the Spanish language originate?​

Español/Castellano

What we consider the Spanish language or "Castellano" as it's called in Spain is really only one of several languages and dialects spoken on the Iberian Peninsula where Spain is located.

Spain before Ferdinand and Isabella united the territory

Spain has so many different languages because it was originally a group of several smaller kingdoms each with its own language.

Importance of Ferdinand and Isabella

With their marriage in 1469,

Ferdinand and Isabella united Aragón and Castile, Spain's two most powerful kingdoms. This union laid the foundation of a mighty empire and began a period of rapid growth and colonization.

Colonization

Ferdinand and Isabella sponsored the famous voyage of Christopher Columbus. This was the beginning of Spain's colonial period (1492–1832) during which Spain was one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world. This picture shows the land held by the Spanish Empire.

The Conquistadors - the conquerers

Main Languages of Spain

• Castilian (castellano), is a Western Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain and today has hundreds of millions of native speakers in the Americas and Spain.

• Catalan (català) is a Western Romance language derived from Vulgar Latin and named after the medieval Principality of Catalonia, in northeastern modern Spain.

• Basque (euskara) is a language spoken in the Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Linguistically, Basque is unrelated to the other languages of Europe and is a language different from any other known living language.

Main Languages of Spain

• Aragonese (aragonés in Aragonese) is a Romance language spoken in several dialects by 10,000 to 30,000 people in the Pyrenees valleys of Aragon, Spain

• Asturleonese (Asturllionés, in Asturleonese and Asturleonés in Castilian Spanish) is a romance language known by many glossonyms like Leonese, Asturian or Mirandese, spoken in the Western part of Spain.

• Extremaduran (Estremeñu) is the group of vernacular Romance dialects of the Asturleonese language spoken in Extremadura and adjoining areas in the province of Salamanca.

Main Languages of Spain

• Galician (galego) is an Indo-European language of Celtic origin like Gaelic. It is spoken by some 2.4 million people, mainly in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain.

• Valencian (valencià, llengua valenciana, or idioma valencià) is a linguistic variety of Catalan spoken in the Valencian Community along the Eastern coast of Spain.

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Indigenous People of the Americas

Paste the link below into a new window in your browser and learn more about the people who the Spanish Conquistadors conquered in what is now Mexico and Central America

https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/mesoamerica/

Indigenous People of the Americas

Paste the link below into a new window in your browser and learn more about the people who the Spanish Conquistadors conquered in South America

https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/incacivilization/

El Mundo Hispano

(The Spanish-speaking world)

The Spanish Conquest is why there are so many places in the world today that speak Spanish. It is the 4th most spoken language after English, Chinese and Hindu.

La Cultura Hispana

(Spanish-speaking culture)

Cultures in the Spanish-speaking world vary greatly. Many Spanish-speaking countries have an interesting mixture of Spanish culture melded with the traditions of the indigenous peoples who the Spanish conquered. In addition to Spanish, there are many indigenous languages that are still spoken in various regions.

Example of the mixing of Spanish and Indigenous cultural traditions

Paste the link below into a new window in your browser and learn more about the way indigenous cultures mixed with the culture of the Spanish conquerers.

https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/dayofthedead/