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| {{Infobox Language | | {{TOC|right}} |
| | name = Spanish
| | [[File:Linguistic map Southwestern Europe-en.gif | thumb | 400px | left | This animated map shows the southward growth of [[Romance languages]], like the Castilian, as Christian rule displaced muslim rule.]] |
| | nativename = {{lang|es|español, castellano}}
| | '''Spanish''' or '''Castilian''' (in its own [[language (genera)|language]]: ''español'', ''castellano'') is one of the [[Romance languages]]. It began as a variety of [[Latin language|Latin]] in what is now northern [[Spain]], and has since become one of the world's most widely-spoken languages. Its is nowadays the first spoken language and the state language of [[Spain]], as well as of a majority of [[Latin America]]n countries which are, from north to south, [[Mexico]], Cuba, the [[Dominican Republic]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]], [[El Salvador]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Panama]], [[Venezuela]], [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]], [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]], [[Paraguay]], [[Uruguay]], [[Argentina]] and [[Chile]]. In most of these countries, however, Spanish coexists with several minority languages. Spanish is also used by an important part of the population of the [[United States of America]], has an official status in [[Equatorial Guinea]] and enjoys some diffusion in the [[Philippines]], in [[Morocco]] and in [[Western Sahara]]. |
| | familycolor = Indo-European
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| | region = [[Spain]], [[Mexico]], [[Central America]], [[South America]], the [[Caribbean]] region, [[Equatorial Guinea]], and a significant minority in the [[United States]]
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| | speakers = Native: 364 million<br />Total: 400-480 million
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| | rank = 2-5 (natively), 3 (total)
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| | fam2 = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
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| | fam3 = [[Romance languages|Romance]]
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| | fam4 = [[Italo-Western languages|Italo-Western]]
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| | fam5 = [[Gallo-Iberian]]
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| | fam6 = [[Ibero-Romance languages|Ibero-Romance]]
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| | fam7 = [[West Iberian languages|West Iberian]]
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| | nation = [[Argentina]], [[Bolivia]], [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Cuba]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Ecuador]], [[El Salvador]], [[Equatorial Guinea]], [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]], [[Mexico]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Panama]], [[Paraguay]], [[Peru]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Spain]], [[Uruguay]], and [[Venezuela]].
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| | agency = [[Association of Spanish Language Academies|Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española]] ([[Real Academia Española]] and 21 other national Spanish language academies)
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| | iso1 = es
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| | iso2 = spa
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| | iso3 = spa
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| | map = [[Image:Map-Hispanophone World.png|center|300px]]<center><small>Map of the Hispanophone world,<br>with major to minor Spanish-speaking countries or regions.</center></small>
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| }}
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| '''Spanish''' is an [[Iberian languages|Iberian Romance language]] originally from the northern area of [[Spain]]. It is the official language of Spain, most [[Latin America]]n countries and [[Equatorial Guinea]]. In total, twenty nations and several territories use Spanish as both their primary and official language, more than any other language on Earth. | |
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| Spanish originated as a [[Latin]] dialect along the remote cross road strips among the [[Cantabria]], [[Burgos]] and [[La Rioja (autonomous community)|La Rioja]] provinces of Northern Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of [[Castile]], where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later brought to the [[Americas]] and other parts of the world in the last five centuries by Spanish explorers and colonists.
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| The language was spoken by roughly 364 million people worldwide in the year [[2000]], making Spanish the most popular [[Romance languages|Romance language]] and the second to fifth most spoken language by number of native speakers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cvc.cervantes.es/obref/anuario/anuario_99/otero/p03.htm|title=
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| Fuentes y criterios demográficos|publisher=Centro virtual Cervantes}}</ref><ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/media_701500404/Languages_Spoken_by_More_Than_10_Million_People.html Languages Spoken By More Than 10 Million People], MSN Encarta, Summer Institute of Linguistics (see the [[list of languages by number of native speakers|ranking]]).</ref><ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com Ethnologue], 2005 Edition.</ref> With a population of 103,263,388 in 2005, [[Mexico]] is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.<ref>international.tamu.edu/ssp/InfoSheets/Mexico.pdf</ref>
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| It is estimated that the combined total of native and non-native Spanish speakers is 400-480 million, probably making it the third most spoken language by total number of speakers.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.rae.es/rae/gestores/gespub000001.nsf/voTodosporId/1D0D95666B904E8BC1257140002A0840?OpenDocument|title= Presentación del IV Congreso Internacional de la Lengua Española|publisher=RAE}}</ref><ref>[http://www.universpain.com/Spain/Spanish.php ¿Por qué español?] (Spanish). Universpain.</ref>
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| Spanish is also one of six official working languages of the [[United Nations]] and one of the most used global languages. It is spoken most extensively in [[North America|North]] and [[South America]], certain parts of [[Europe]], [[Asia]], [[Africa]] and [[Oceania]]. It is also the second most widely spoken language in the [[United States]] and arguably the most popular foreign language for study in US schools and Universities.<ref>{{PDFlink|[http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/06statab/pop.pdf United States Census Bureau]|1.86 [[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 1956553 bytes -->}}, Statistical Abstract of the United States: page 47: Table 47: Languages Spoken at Home by Language: 2003</ref><ref>{{PDFlink|[http://www.adfl.org/resources/enrollments.pdf Foreign Language Enrollments in United States Institutions of Higher Learning]|129 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 132628 bytes -->}}, MLA Fall 2002.</ref> Within the [[Globalization|globalized market]], there is currently an international expansion and recognition of the Spanish language in [[spanish literature|literature]], the [[spanish cinema|film industry]], [[television]] (notably [[telenovela]]s) and [[music]].
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| ==Naming==
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| {{main|Names given to the Spanish language}}
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| [[Spanish people]] tend to call this language '''español''' ({{lang|es|''español''}}) when contrasting it with languages of foreign states(e.g., in a list with [[French language|French]] and English), but call it '''Castilian''' ({{lang|es|''castellano''}}), (i.e. from the [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]] region) when contrasting it with other [[languages of Spain]] (such as [[Galician]], [[Basque language|Basque]], and [[Catalan language|Catalan]]). In this manner, the [[Spanish Constitution of 1978]] uses the term {{lang|es|''castellano''}} to define the official language of the whole State, opposed to {{lang|es|''las demás lenguas españolas''}} (lit. ''the other Spanish languages''). Article III reads as follows:
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| :{{lang|es|''El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. (…) Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas…''}}
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| :Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. (…) The other Spanish languages shall also be official in the respective Autonomous Communities…
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| 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 [[Politics of Spain|political]] views. People from bilingual areas might consider it offensive to call the language {{lang|es|''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 {{lang|es|''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.
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| Some philologists use "[[Names given to the Spanish language|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 [[dialect|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]] for example); the Castilian dialect is almost exactly the same as [[standard Spanish]].
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| Some Spanish speakers consider ''[[lang|castellano]]'' a generic term with no political or ideological links, much as "Spanish" is in English.
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| ==Classification and related languages==
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| Spanish/Castilian's closest affinity is to the other [[West Iberian languages|West Iberian]] Romance languages. Most are mutually intelligible among speakers without too much difficulty. It has different common features with [[Catalan language|Catalan]], an East-Iberian language which exhibits many [[Gallo-Romance]] traits. Catalan is more similar to Occitan than Spanish and Portuguese are to each other.
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| | Spanish is closely related to the following Romance languages: |
| | *[[Asturian-Leonese language|Asturian-Leonese]] (''asturllionés'') |
| | *[[Galician-Portuguese language|Galician-Portuguese]] (''galegoportuguês'') |
| *[[Aragonese language|Aragonese]] (''aragonés, fabla'') | | *[[Aragonese language|Aragonese]] (''aragonés, fabla'') |
| *[[Asturian language|Asturian]] (''asturianu'')
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| *[[Catalan language|Catalan]] (''català'') | | *[[Catalan language|Catalan]] (''català'') |
| *[[Galician language|Galician]] (''galego'')
| | *[[Occitan language|Occitan]] (''occitan'') |
| *[[Ladino language|Ladino]] (''Djudeo-espanyol'', ''sefardí'')
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| *[[Occitan language|Occitan]] (''occitan'', more locally ''aranés'') | |
| *[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] (''português'')
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| ===Vocabulary comparison===
| | [[Ladino]] (''djudeo-espanyol'', ''sefardí'') is a Spanish dialect. |
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| {| class="wikitable" style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS, Lucida Sans Unicode"
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| |-
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| ! Latin
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| ! Spanish
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| ! Portuguese
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| ! Catalan
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| ! Italian
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| ! French
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| ! Romanian
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| ! Meaning and notes
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| |-
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| | ''nos''
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| | ''nos'''otros'''''
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| | ''nós''
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| | ''nos'''altres'''''
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| | ''noi'' <small>(''noi '''altri''''' in Southern [[Italy|Italian]] dialects and languages)</small>
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| | ''nous'' <small>(''nous '''autres''''' in [[Quebec French]])</small>
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| | ''noi''
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| | we(-'''others''')
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| |-
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| | ''fratrem germānum'' (lit. true brother)
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| | ''hermano''
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| | ''irmão''
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| | ''germà''
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| | ''fratello''
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| | ''frère''
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| | ''frate''
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| | brother
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| |-
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| | ''dies Martis'' <br/> ([[Classical Latin|Classical]])
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| | ''martes''
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| | ''terça-feira'' <br /> ([[Ecclesiastical Latin|Ecclesiastical]] ''tertia feria'')
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| | ''dimarts''
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| | ''martedì''
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| | ''mardi''
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| | ''marţi''
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| | Tuesday
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| |-
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| | ''cantiōnem''
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| | ''canción''
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| | ''canção''
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| | ''cançó''
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| | ''canzone''
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| | ''chanson''
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| | ''cântec''
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| | song
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| |-
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| | ''magis'' or ''plus''
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| | ''más'' <br/> (rarely: ''plus'')
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| | ''mais'' <br /> (archaically also ''chus'')
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| | ''més''
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| | ''più''
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| | ''plus''
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| | ''mai''
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| | more
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| |-
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| | ''manūm sinistram''
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| | ''mano izquierda''
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| (archaically also ''siniestra'')
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| | ''mão esquerda'' <br /> (archaically also ''sẽestra'')
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| | ''mà esquerra''
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| | ''mano sinistra''
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| | ''main gauche''
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| | ''mâna stângă''
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| | left hand <br> ([[Basque language|Basque]]: ''esku ezkerra'')
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| |-
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| | ''nihil'' or ''nullam rem natam'' <br /> (lit. no thing born)
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| | ''nada''
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| | ''nada'' <br /> (archaically also ''rem'')
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| | ''res''
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| | ''niente/nulla''
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| | ''rien''
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| | ''nimic''
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| | nothing
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| |}
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| ===Characterization===
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| Spanish and [[Italian language|Italian]] share a very similar phonological system and do not differ very much in grammar, vocabulary and above all morphology. Speakers of both languages can communicate relatively well: at present, the [[lexical similarity]] with Italian is estimated at 82%.<ref name="ethnologue">{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=spa|title=Spanish|publisher=ethnologue}}</ref> As a result, Spanish and Italian are mutually intelligible to various degrees. Spanish is mutually intelligible with [[French language|French]] and with [[Romanian language|Romanian]] to a lesser degree (lexical similarity is respectively 75% and 71%<ref name="ethnologue"/>). The writing systems of the four languages allow for a greater amount of interlingual reading comprehension than oral communication would.
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| One defining characteristic of Spanish was the [[diphthong|diphthongization]] of the Latin short vowels ''e'' and ''o'' into ''ie'' and ''ue'', respectively, when they were stressed. Although similar [[sound law|sound changes]] can be found in other Romance languages, they were particularly significant in this one. Some examples:
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| * Lat. ''petra'' > Sp. ''piedra'', It. ''pietra'', Fr. ''pierre'', Port./Gal. ''pedra'' "stone".
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| * Lat. ''moritur'' > Sp. ''muere'', It. ''muore'', Fr. ''meurt'' / ''muert'', Rom. ''moare'', Port./Gal. ''morre'' "he dies".
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| More peculiar to early Spanish was the mutation of Latin initial ''f-'' into ''h-'' whenever it was followed by a vowel which did not diphthongise (this is due to a Basque [[substratum]], which can also occur in the [[Gascon]] dialect of Occitan but in all positions). Compare for instance:
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| | ==Phonology== |
| | Due to a Basque [[substratum]] (which can also occur in the [[Gascon]] dialect of Occitan), but in all positions, Latin initial ''f-'' mutated into ''h-'' before a non-diphthongised vowel. |
| | <!-- |
| | #Wikipedia material see http://en.citizendium.org/wiki?title=Spanish_language&diff=100274606&oldid=100269316 - replace or rewrite: |
| | # |
| * Lat. ''filium'' > It. ''figlio'', Port. ''filho'', Fr. ''fils'', Occitan ''filh'' (Gascon Occitan ''hilh''), Sp. ''hijo'' and Ladino ''fijo''; | | * Lat. ''filium'' > It. ''figlio'', Port. ''filho'', Fr. ''fils'', Occitan ''filh'' (Gascon Occitan ''hilh''), Sp. ''hijo'' and Ladino ''fijo''; |
| * late Lat. ''*fabulare'' > Lad. ''favlar'', Port. ''falar'', Sp. ''hablar''; | | * late Lat. ''*fabulare'' > Lad. ''favlar'', Port. ''falar'', Sp. ''hablar''; |
| * but Lat. ''focum'' > It. ''fuoco'', Port. ''fogo'', Occitan ''fuòc'' (Gascon Occitan ''huec''), Sp./Lad. ''fuego''. | | * but Lat. ''focum'' > It. ''fuoco'', Port. ''fogo'',--> |
| | <!--original CZ material |
| | Occitan ''fuòc'' (Gascon Occitan ''huec''),--> |
| | <!--Wikipedia# |
| | Sp./Lad. ''fuego''.--> |
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| Some [[consonant cluster]]s of Latin also produced characteristicaly different results in these languages, for example:
| | ==Writing system== |
| | ===Letters=== |
| | Spanish uses a variant of the [[Roman alphabet]] containing twenty-seven letters, that is, the typical twenty-six letters plus ''Ñ'': |
| | :[[A]] [[B]] [[C]] [[D]] [[E]] [[F]] [[G]] [[H]] [[I]] [[J]] [[K]] [[L]] [[M]] [[N]] [[Ñ]] [[O]] [[P]] [[Q]] [[R]] [[S]] [[T]] [[U]] [[V]] [[W]] [[X]] [[Y]] [[Z]] |
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| * Lat. ''clamare'', acc. ''flammam'', ''plenum'' > Lad. ''lyamar'', ''flama'', ''pleno''; Sp. ''llamar'', ''llama'', ''lleno''; Port. ''chamar'', ''chama'', ''cheio''.
| | Between 1754 and 2010, the graphemes ''CH'' and ''LL'' were considered as letters of the alphabet, ''CH'' being located after ''C'' and ''LL'' after ''L''. For instance, ''cuyo'' with ''c'' (“whose”) was followed by ''chacal'' with ''ch'' (“jackal”). In 1994, ''CH'' and ''LL'' were still considered as letters but had to respect the typical, international, alphabetical order, that is, ''chacal'' was set before ''cuyo''. In 2010, ''CH'' and ''LL'' were no longer considered as letters.<ref>See the explanations of the [http://www.rae.es/rae/gestores/gespub000018.nsf/(voAnexos)/arch8100821B76809110C12571B80038BA4A/$File/CuestionesparaelFAQdeconsultas.htm#ap0 Royal Spanish Academy].</ref> |
| * Lat. acc. ''octo'', ''noctem'', ''multum'' > Lad. ''ocho'', ''noche'', ''muncho''; Sp. ''ocho'', ''noche'', ''mucho''; Port. ''oito'', ''noite'', ''muito''.
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| ===Ladino===
| | The letters bear the following names: |
| {{further|[[Ladino language]]}}
| | :A (''a''), B (''be''), C (''ce''), D (''de''), E (''e''), F (''efe''), G (''ge''), H (''hache''), I (''i''), J (''jota''), K (''ka''), L (''ele''), M (''eme''), N (''ene''), Ñ (''eñe''), O (''o''), P (''pe''), Q (''cu''), R (''erre''), S (''ese''), T (''te''), U (''u''), V (''uve,<ref>''Uve'' is preferred by the [http://www.rae.es/rae/gestores/gespub000018.nsf/(voAnexos)/arch8100821B76809110C12571B80038BA4A/$File/CuestionesparaelFAQdeconsultas.htm#novOrto1 Royal Spanish Academy (2010)].</ref> ve''), W (''uve doble,<ref>''Uve doble'' is preferred by the [http://www.rae.es/rae/gestores/gespub000018.nsf/(voAnexos)/arch8100821B76809110C12571B80038BA4A/$File/CuestionesparaelFAQdeconsultas.htm#novOrto1 Royal Spanish Academy (2010)].</ref> doble ve''), X (''equis''), Y (''ye,<ref>''Ye'' is preferred by the [http://www.rae.es/rae/gestores/gespub000018.nsf/(voAnexos)/arch8100821B76809110C12571B80038BA4A/$File/CuestionesparaelFAQdeconsultas.htm#novOrto1 Royal Spanish Academy (2010)].</ref> i griega''), Z (''zeta''). |
| 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. In many ways it is not a separate language but a dialect of Castilian. Ladino lacks native American vocabulary which was influential during colonial times. It does contain other vocabulary from Turkish, Hebrew and from other languages spoken wherever the [[Sephardic Jews]] settled.
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| ===Portuguese===
| | The two graphemes which are no longer letters still bear letter names: CH (''che''), LL (''elle''). |
| {{further|[[Differences between Spanish and Portuguese]]}}
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| The two major Romance languages originated in the [[Iberian Peninsula]], Spanish and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], have generally a moderate degree of [[mutual intelligibility]] in their standard spoken forms. Spanish and Portuguese share similar grammars and a majority of vocabulary as well as a common history of [[Arabic language|Arabic]] influence while a great part of the peninsula was under Islamic rule (both languages expanded over Islamic territories). Their lexical similarity is estimated at 89%.<ref name="ethnologue"/> | |
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| ==History== | | ===Diacritics=== |
| {{main|History of the Spanish language}}
| | The Spanish [[diacritic mark]]s are: |
| [[Image:Page of Lay of the Cid.jpg|thumb|A page of {{lang|es|''[[Cantar de Mio Cid]]''}}, in medieval Castilian.]] | | *The [[acute accent]] on '''á, é, í, ó, ú'''. It indicates the place of the [[stress]]. |
| | *The [[tilde]] on '''ñ'''. It distinguishes ''ñ'' (which resembles English ''ny'' in ''canyon'') from ''n''. |
| | *The [[dieresis]] on '''ü''', but only used in the groups ''güe, güi''. It indicates that ''ü'' is pronounced [w]. Without the dieresis, ''u'' would be silent in such a position. |
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| The Spanish language developed from [[Vulgar Latin]], with influence from [[Celtiberian language|Celtiberian]], [[Basque language|Basque]] and [[Arabic language|Arabic]], in the north of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] (see [[Iberian Romance languages]]). Typical features of Spanish diachronical [[phonology]] include [[lenition]] (Latin {{lang|la|''vita''}}, Spanish {{lang|es|''vida''}}), [[palatalization]] (Latin {{lang|la|''annum''}}, Spanish {{lang|es|''año''}}) and [[diphthong]]ation ([[stem (linguistics)|stem]]-changing) of short ''e'' and ''o'' from Vulgar Latin (Latin {{lang|la|''terra''}}, Spanish {{lang|es|''tierra''}}; Latin {{lang|la|''novus''}}, Spanish {{lang|es|''nuevo''}}). Similar phenomena can be found in other Romance languages as well.
| | ===Pronunciation rules=== |
| | Spanish spelling is quite simple and easy to learn, since each grapheme has to be read in a precise way and most phonemes can be represented by only one grapheme. Exceptions exist but are few. |
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| During the {{lang|es|''[[Reconquista]]''}}, this northern dialect from [[Cantabria]] was carried south, and indeed is still a [[minority language]] in the northern coastal regions of [[Morocco]].
| | ====Graphemes==== |
| | | Here are the main, standard pronunciation rules. |
| The first Latin to Spanish grammar ({{lang|es|''Gramática de la Lengua Castellana''}}) was written in [[Salamanca]], Spain, in 1492 by [[Antonio de Nebrija|Elio Antonio de Nebrija]]. When [[Isabella of Castile]] was presented with the book, she asked, ''What do I want a work like this for, if I already know the language?'', to which he replied, ''Your highness, the language is the instrument of the Empire.''
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| From the 16th century onwards, the language was brought to the [[Americas]], [[Federated States of Micronesia]], [[Guam]], [[Marianas]], [[Palau]], and the [[Philippines]] by [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|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 language|French]] took its place.
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| 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.
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| ''For details on borrowed words and other external influences in Spanish, see [[Influences on the Spanish language]].''
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| ==Geographic distribution==
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| {{Spanish}}
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| Spanish is one of the official languages of the [[Organization of American States]], the [[United Nations]], the [[South American Community of Nations]], and the [[European Union]].
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| With approximately 106 million first-language and second-language speakers, [[Mexico]] boasts the largest population of Spanish-speakers in the world. The three next largest Spanish-speaking populations reside in [[Colombia]], [[Spain]] and [[Argentina]].
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| Spanish is the official language in 21 countries: [[Argentina]], [[Bolivia]] (co-official [[Quechua]] and [[Aymara language|Aymara]]), [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Cuba]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Ecuador]], [[El Salvador]], [[Equatorial Guinea]] (co-official [[French language|French]]), [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]], [[Mexico]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Panama]] , [[Paraguay]] (co-official [[Guarani language|Guaraní]]), [[Peru]] (co-official [[Quechua]] and [[Aymara language|Aymara]]), [[Puerto Rico]] (co-official [[English language|English]]), [[Spain]] (co-official in some regions with [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[Galician language|Galician]] and [[Basque language|Basque]]), [[Uruguay]], and [[Venezuela]].
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| The vast majority of its speakers are located in Spain and the [[Western Hemisphere]].
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| ===The non-Spanish speaking Americas===
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| Spanish holds no official recognition in the former [[British overseas territories|British colony]] of [[Belize]]. However, it is the native tongue of about 40% of the population, and is spoken as a second language by another 15%.<ref>[http://censos.ccp.ucr.ac.cr/ Belize Population and Housing Census 2000]</ref> It is mainly spoken by Hispanic descendants who have remained in the region since the 17th century. However, English remains the sole official language.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bh.html CIA World Factbook - Belize]</ref>
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| Spanish has become increasingly important in [[Brazil]] due to proximity and increased trade with its Spanish-speaking neighbors (for example, as a member of the [[Mercosur]] trading bloc).<ref>[http://www.mercosur.int/msweb/portal%20intermediario/pt/index.htm MERCOSUL, Portal Oficial] (Portuguese)</ref> In 2005, the [[National Congress of Brazil]] approved a bill, signed into law by the [[President of Brazil|President]], that makes Spanish available as a foreign language in the country's secondary schools.<ref>[http://www.brazzilmag.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=3488 BrazilMag.com], August 08 2005.</ref> In many border towns and villages (especially along the Uruguayan-Brazilian border) a [[mixed language]] commonly known as [[Portunhol]] is also spoken.<ref>{{cite paper | author=Lipski, John M. | title=Too close for comfort? the genesis of “portuñol/portunhol” | publisher=ed. Timothy L. Face and Carol A. Klee, 1-22. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project | date=2006 | version=Selected Proceedings of the 8th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium | url=http://www.personal.psu.edu/jml34/portunol.pdf}}
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| </ref>
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| In the [[United States]], 42.7 Million people are Hispanics according to the 2005 census. Some 32 million people (12% of the whole population) aged 5 years or older speak Spanish at home.<ref name="US Spanish">[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-_box_head_nbr=R1602&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-format=US-30 U.S. Census Bureau.] Percent of People 5 Years and Over Who Speak Spanish at Home: 2005</ref> While this may be due to immigration, Spanish is also the most widely taught foreign language.<ref>{{PDFlink|[http://www.adfl.org/resources/enrollments.pdf Foreign Language Enrollments in United States Institutions of Higher Learning]|129 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 132628 bytes -->}}, MLA Fall 2002.</ref> In total, the U.S. contains the world's fifth-largest Spanish speaking population.<ref>[http://spanish.about.com/library/weekly/aa070300a.htm Facts, Figures, and Statistics About Spanish], American Demographics, 1998.</ref>
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| ===Europe===
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| Spanish is an official language of the [[European Union]]. In [[Europe|European]] countries other than Spain, it is spoken in communities in the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], and [[Germany]], and an important language of business communication for those countries as well.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/spanish.shtml BBC Education - Languages], Languages Across Europe - Spanish.</ref><ref>[http://www.interactint.com/elucidate/english.htm Elucidate - Business Communication Across Borders: A Study of Language Use and Practice in European Companies] Edited by Professor S Hagen © InterAct International, 1997 ]</ref> It is also spoken widely in [[Gibraltar]], although [[English language|English]] is used for official purposes.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gi.html CIA World Factbook - Gibraltar]</ref> Spanish also shares a strong lexical similarity with its sister [[Romance languages]] of [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], and may be mutually intelligible on a small scale with those languages within [[Italy]] and [[Portugal]].<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=spa Ethnologue] Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/.</ref>
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| ===Asia===
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| ====Japanese Peruvians in Japan====
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| Spanish is spoken by about 50,000 [[Japanese Peruvian]] expatriates living in [[Japan]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Asia Times | work=Home; is where the heartbreak is for Japanese-Peruvians by Abraham Lama | url=http://www.atimes.com/japan-econ/AJ16Dh01.html}}</ref> Spanish is also spoken by small percentages of Hispanic expatriates living in the [[Middle East]].
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| ====The Philippines====
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| <!--BEFORE YOU EDIT THIS SECTION, SEE THE DISCUSSION AT THE TALK PAGE. Thanks.-->
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| {{more|Spanish language in the Philippines}}
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| Although Spanish was the official language of the [[Philippines]] for over four centuries, its importance fell in the first half of the 20th century following the US occupation and administration of the islands. The introduction of the English language in the Filipino government system put an end to use of Spanish as the official language. The language lost its status in [[1987]], during the [[Corazon Aquino]] administration.
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| According to the 1990 census, there were 2,658 native speakers of Spanish <ref>{{cite web| title=Ethnologue| work=Ethnologue Report for the Philippines | url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Philippines}}</ref>. The number of Spanish speakers, however, are not available in the ensuing 1995 and 2000 censuses.
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| Additionally, according to the 2000 census, there are over 600,000 native speakers of [[Chavacano language|Chavacano]], a Spanish based [[creole]] spoken in [[Cavite]] and [[Zamboanga]].
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| Many [[languages of the Philippines|Philippine languages]] have numerous Spanish loanwords.
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| ===Africa===
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| In [[Africa]], Spanish is spoken in [[Canary Islands]], [[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]] which are part of [[Spain]]. It is co-official with [[French language|French]] in [[Equatorial Guinea]], a small country of 500 000 people where it is the prevalent language.
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| ===Oceania===
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| {{Unreferenced|date=February 2007}}
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| Among the countries and territories in [[Oceania]], Spanish is also spoken by 3,000 inhabitants of [[Easter Island]], a territorial possession of Chile. The language is also spoken in [[Australia]] mainly by expatriate Hispanic communities living mainly in [[Sydney]].
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| 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. It now only exists as an influence on the local native languages.
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| ===Antarctica===
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| In [[Antarctica]], the territorial claims and permanent bases made by Argentina and Chile also place Spanish as the official and working language of these exclaves.
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| == Total numbers of Spanish speakers ==
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| *The following is a list of the numbers of estimated Spanish speakers in different regions of the Hispanic world.
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|
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|
| | {| |
| | | |
| {| class="wikitable" | | {| class="wikitable" |
| | ! Grapheme !! Pronunciation<br>([[IPA]]) !! Pronunciation<br>(rough English equivalent) |
| | |- |
| | | '''[[a]], [[á]]''' || [a] || Resembles English ''a'' in ''car''. |
| | |- |
| | | '''[[b]]''' ||[β~b]<br>(variation depending on the nearby phonemes) || [β] is between English ''b'' and ''v''.<br>[b] is like English ''b''. |
| | |- |
| | | '''[[c]]''' in general|| [k] ||''k'' |
| |- | | |- |
| !
| | | '''[[c]]''' before ''e, i''||[θ] ||English ''th'' in ''think''.<br>''NOTE'' — In some Spanish-speaking territories, [θ] has evolved to [s]: this is also accepted in standard speech. |
| ! Country
| |
| ! Speakers
| |
| |- | | |- |
| |1||[[Mexico]]||106,255,000 | | | '''[[ch]]'''|| [tʃ]||''ch'' |
| |- | | |- |
| |2||[[Colombia]]||46,500,000 | | | '''[[d]]'''|| [ð~d]<br>(variation depending on the nearby phonemes)||[ð] resembles English ''th'' in ''mother''.<br>[d] is like English ''d'' in ''dad''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |3||[[Spain]]||44,000,000 | | | '''[[e]], [[é]]'''|| [e]||Resembles English ''e'' in ''get''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |4||[[Argentina]]||41,248,000 | | | '''[[f]]'''|| [f]||''f'' |
| |- | | |- |
| |5||[[United States|United States of America]]||32,200,000<sup>(a)</sup> | | | '''[[g]]''' in general ||[ɣ~g]<br>(variation depending on the nearby phonemes) ||[ɣ] is between English ''g'' and ''h''.<br>[g] is like English ''g'' in ''get''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |6||[[Venezuela]]||26,021,000 | | | '''[[g]]''' before ''e, i''||[x] ||Scottish English ''ch'' in ''loch''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |7||[[Peru]]||23,191,000 | | | '''[[gu]]''' before ''e, i'' ||[ɣ~g]<br>(variation depending on the previous phoneme) ||[ɣ] is between English ''g'' and ''h''.<br>[g] is like English ''g'' in ''get''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |8||[[Chile]]||15,795,000 | | | '''[[gu]]''' before ''a, o''|| [ɣw~gw]<br>(variation depending on the previous phoneme)||[ɣw] is between English ''gw'' and ''wh''.<br>[gw] is like English ''gw'' in ''penguin''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |9||[[Cuba]]||11,285,000 | | | '''[[gu]]''' at syllable ending ||[ɣu~gu]<br>(variation depending on the previous phoneme) ||[ɣu] is between English ''goo'' and ''hoo''.<br>[gu] is like English ''goo''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |10||[[Ecuador]]||10,946,000 | | | '''[[gü]]''' (always before ''e'' or ''i'')||[ɣw~gw]<br>(variation depending on the previous phoneme) ||[ɣw] is between English ''gw'' and ''wh''.<br>[gw] is like English ''gw'' in ''penguin''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |11||[[Dominican Republic]]||8,850,000 | | | '''[[h]]'''|| silent|| |
| |- | | |- |
| |12||[[Guatemala]]||8,163,000 | | | '''[[i]]'''|| [i]||Resembles English ''i'' in ''kick''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |13||[[Honduras]]||7,267,000 | | | '''[[i]]''' after or before another vowel||[j] ||Resembles English ''y'' in ''yet, boy''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |14||[[Bolivia]]||7,010,000 | | | '''[[í]]'''||[i] ||Resembles English ''i'' in ''kick''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |15||[[El Salvador]]||6,859,000 | | | '''[[j]]'''||[x] ||Scottish English ''ch'' in ''loch''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |16||[[Nicaragua]]||5,503,000 | | | '''[[k]]'''||[k] ||''k'' |
| |- | | |- |
| |17||[[Paraguay]]||4,737,000 | | | '''[[l]]'''||[l] ||''l'' |
| |- | | |- |
| |18||[[Costa Rica]]||4,220,000 | | | '''[[ll]]'''||[ʎ] ||Resembles English ''li'' in ''million''.<br>''NOTE'' — In some Spanish-speaking territories, [ʎ] has evolved to [j] (sounding like English ''y'' in ''yes, boy''): this is also accepted in standard speech. |
| |- | | |- |
| |19||[[Puerto Rico]]||4,017,000 | | | '''[[m]]'''||[m] ||''m'' |
| |- | | |- |
| |20||[[Uruguay]]||3,442,000 | | | '''[[n]]'''||[n] ||''n'' |
| |- | | |- |
| |21||[[Panama]]||3,108,000 | | | '''[[ñ]]'''||[ɲ] ||Resembles English ''ny'' in ''canyon''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |22||[[Equatorial Guinea]]||447,000 | | | '''[[o]], [[ó]]'''||[o] ||Resembles English ''o'' in ''more''. |
| |- | | |- |
| |23||[[Canada]]||245,000<ref>{{cite web| title=Population by mother tongue | work= Statistics Canada | url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo11a.htm}}</ref> | | | '''[[p]]'''||[p] ||''p'' |
| |- | | |- |
| |24||[[Belize]]||130,000 | | | '''[[qu]]''' (always before ''e'' or ''i'')||[k] ||''k'' |
| |- | | |- |
| |25||[[Philippines]]|| < 3,000 | | |'''[[r]]''' in general ||short [r]<br>(also transcribed [ɾ] by certain phoneticians) ||Resembles Scottish English ''r''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[r]]''' at word beginning and after ''n'' ||long [rr]<br>(also transcribed [r] by certain phoneticians) ||Resembles Scottish English ''r'', but long. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[rr]]''' (always between two vowels) ||long [rr]<br>(also transcribed [r] by certain phoneticians) ||Resembles Scottish English ''r'', but long. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[s]]''' ||[s] (never [z]) ||Resembles English ''ss'' in ''kiss''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[t]]''' ||[t] ||''t'' |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[u]]''' ||[u] ||Resembles English ''oo'' in ''look''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[u]]''' after or before another vowel||[w] ||Resembles English ''w'' in ''wet, how''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[ú]]''' ||[u] ||Resembles English ''oo'' in ''look''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[v]]''' ||[β~b]<br>(variation depending on the nearby phonemes) ||[β] is between English ''b'' and ''v''.<br>[b] is like English ''b''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[w]]''' in certain words || [β~b]<br>(variation depending on the nearby phonemes) ||[β] is between English ''b'' and ''v''.<br>[b] is like English ''b''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[w]]''' in certain words || [w] ||Resembles English ''w'' in ''wet, how''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[x]]''' in general ||[ks] ||Resembles English ''x'' in ''box''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[x]]''' in some proper names such as ''México, Oaxaca'' ||[x] ||Scottish English ''ch'' in ''loch''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[y]]''' in general ||[j] ||Resembles English ''y'' in ''yet, boy''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[y]]''' in the single-letter word ''y'' “and”. ||[i] ||English ''i'' in ''kick''. |
| | |- |
| | |'''[[z]]''' ||[θ] ||English ''th'' in ''think''.<br>''NOTE'' — In some Spanish-speaking territories, [θ] has evolved to [s]: this is also accepted in standard speech. |
| | |} |
| |} | | |} |
| (a) Only includes people 5 years of age and older<ref name="US Spanish"/>
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|
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| ==Variations==
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| {{main|Spanish dialects and varieties}}
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|
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| [[Image:Dialectos del castellano en España.png|right|thumb|Dialectal map of Castilian Spanish in Spain.]]
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|
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| 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 [[Loísmo|{{lang|es|''laísmo''}}]] of this dialect is deprecated). One has to be aware that for most people, nearly for everyone in Spain, "standard Spanish" means "pronouncing everything exactly as it is written", which of course doesn't correspond to any real dialect. In practice, the standard way of speaking Spanish in the media is "written Spanish" for formal speech, "Madrilenian dialect" (basically a southern dialect) for informal speech.
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| Spanish has three [[grammatical person|second-person]] [[grammatical number|singular]] [[pronoun]]s: {{lang|es|''tú''}}, {{lang|es|''usted''}}, and in some parts of Latin America, {{lang|es|''vos''}} (the use of this form is called ''voseo''). Generally speaking, {{lang|es|''tú''}} and {{lang|es|''vos''}} are informal and used with friends (though in Spain {{lang|es|''vos''}} is considered an archaic form for address of exalted personages, its use now mainly confined to the liturgy). {{lang|es|''Usted''}} is universally regarded as the formal form (derived from {{lang|es|''vuestra merced''}}, "your mercy") , and is used as a mark of respect, as when addressing one's elders or strangers. The pronoun {{lang|es|''vosotros''}} is the plural form of {{lang|es|''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 {{lang|es|''ustedes''}}. It is remarkable that the use of {{lang|es|''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", {{lang|es|''ustedes van''}}, uses the third-person plural form of the verb, in Cádiz the informal form is constructed as {{lang|es|''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.
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| [[Image:Mapa - Paises voseantes.png|thumb|right|300px|Countries that feature [[voseo]]. In blue, countries that use ''vos'' as the primary spoken form. In green countries that feature voseo as a regionalism or non-mainstream practice.]]
| | ====Grapheme alternations==== |
| {{lang|es|''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]] and Valle del Cauca [[states]] 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 [[mass media|media]], but media in other {{lang|es|''voseante''}} countries generally continue to use {{lang|es|''usted''}} or {{lang|es|''tú''}} except in advertisements, for instance. {{lang|es|''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.
| | One can notice that, sometimes, a same sound (or a same sound sequence) is written in different ways, depending on its environment: |
| | * [θ] is written '''[[z]]''' in general, but often '''[[c]]''' before ''e, i''. Hence the written alternation for the same [θ]-sound: '''''z''', '''z'''a, '''z'''o, '''z'''u ~ '''c'''e, '''c'''i''. |
| | * [x] is written '''[[j]]''' in general, but often '''[[g]]''' before ''e, i''. Hence the written alternation for the same [x]-sound: '''''j''', '''j'''a, '''j'''o, '''j'''u ~ '''g'''e, '''g'''i''. |
| | * [k] is written '''[[c]]''' in general, but '''[[qu]]''' before ''e, i''. Hence the written alternation for the same [k]-sound: '''''c''', '''c'''a, '''c'''o, '''c'''u ~ '''qu'''e, '''qu'''i''. |
| | * [ɣ~g] is written '''[[g]]''' in general, but '''[[gu]]''' before ''e, i''. Hence the written alternation for the same [ɣ~g]-sounds: '''''g''', '''g'''a, '''g'''o, '''g'''u ~ '''gu'''e, '''gu'''i''. |
| | * [ɣw~gw] is written '''[[gu]]''' before ''a, o'', but '''[[gü]]''' before ''e, i''. Hence the written alternation for the same [ɣw~gw]-sounds: '''''gu'''a, '''gu'''o ~ '''gü'''e, '''gü'''i''. |
| | * Long [rr] is written '''[[rr]]''' between two vowels but '''[[r]]''' at word beginning and after ''n''. |
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| Spanish forms also differ regarding second-person plural pronouns. The Spanish dialects of Latin America have only one form of the second-person plural, {{lang|es|''ustedes''}} (formal or familiar, as the case may be). In Spain there are two forms — {{lang|es|''ustedes''}} (formal) and {{lang|es|''vosotros''}} (familiar).
| | ====Stress==== |
| | The [[stress]] may fall on the last syllable, on the last but one syllable or on the antepenult. The way a word is spelled permits to predict where the stress is. |
| | *The stress falls on the last but one syllable in words ended by ''-a -e -i -o -u'', by ''-as -es -is -os -us'' and by ''-an -en -in -on -un'': ''b'''<big>ue</big>'''no'' “good (singular)”, ''b<big>'''ue</big>'''nos'' “good (plural)”, ''h'''<big>a</big>'''bla'' “he/she talks”, ''h'''<big>a</big>'''blan'' “they talk”. |
| | *The stress falls on the last syllable in words that have other endings: ''añad'''<big>i</big>'''r'' “to add”, ''españ'''<big>o</big>'''l'' “Spanish”, ''Urugu'''<big>a</big>'''y'' “Uruguay”. |
| | *The stress falls on any vowel that bears a written, acute accent (this written accent often indicates that the stress is not located in a regular place): ''caf'''<big>é</big>''''' “coffee”, ''ingl'''<big>é</big>'''s'' “English”, ''com'''<big>ú</big>'''n'' “common”, ''naci'''<big>ó</big>'''n'' “nation”, ''cat'''<big>á</big>'''logo'' “catalog”, ''pol'''<big>í</big>'''tica'' “politics”. |
| | *Words ended by ''-io, -ia, -ie'' are stressed on the previous syllable (''neces'''<big>a</big>'''rio, neces'''<big>a</big>'''ria'' “necessary”, ''just'''<big>i</big>'''cia'' “justice”, ''n'''<big>a</big>'''die'' “nobody”), unless an acute accent indicates another place (''t'''<big>í</big>'''o'' “uncle”, ''roc'''<big>í</big>'''o'' “dew”, ''polic'''<big>í</big>'''a'' “police”, ''d'''<big>í</big>'''a'' “day”). |
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| The ''{{lang|es|[[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 standardized form of the language ([[Standard Spanish]]) is widely acknowledged for use in literature, academic contexts and the media.
| | ===Punctuation=== |
| | A typical feature of Spanish [[punctuation]] is the visible limits of questions and exclamations. They are framed between double [[questions mark]]s ('''<big>¿</big>'''...'''<big>?</big>''') and double [[exclamation mark]]s ('''<big>¡</big>'''...'''<big>!</big>'''), the first mark being inverted: |
| | :''Y ahora, ¿donde están los niños?'' |
| | ::(And now, where are the children?) |
| | :''¿Qué tal?'' |
| | ::(What's up?) |
| | :''¡Bueno!'' |
| | ::(Well!) |
| | [[Quotation mark]]s have the following shapes: '''<big>«</big>'''...'''<big>»</big>''' or '''<big>“</big>'''...'''<big>”</big>''' (more rarely: '''<big>‘</big>'''...'''<big>’</big>'''). |
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| Some words can be 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'' and ''albaricoque'' (respectively, "butter", "avocado", "apricot") correspond to ''manteca'', ''palta'', and ''damasco'', respectively, in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. The everyday Spanish words ''coger'' (to catch, get, or pick up), ''pisar'' (to step on) and ''concha'' (seashell) are considered extremely rude in parts of Latin America, where the meaning of ''coger'' and ''pisar'' is also "to have sex" and ''concha'' means "vagina". The Puerto Rican word for "bobby pin" (''pinche'') is an obscenity in Mexico, and in [[Nicaragua]] simply means stingy. Other examples include ''[[taco]]'', which means "swearword" in Spain but is known to the rest of the world as the Mexican foodstuff. ''Pija'' in many countries of Latin America is a slang and informal word for penis, while in [[Spain]] the word signifies "posh girl" or "snobby". ''Coche'', which means [[car]] in Spain, means pig in Guatemala while ''carro'' means "car" in some Latin American countries and "cart" in others as well as in Spain.
| | ==Spanish around the world== |
| | The term 'Castilian' (''castellano'') may be used to refer to the pronunciation, typical of Spain, that uses the unvoiced, lisping, ''th'' sound instead of the ''s'' sound for the letter ''c'' before vowels ''i'' and ''e''. |
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|
| ==Writing system== | | ===The Philippines=== |
| {{main|Writing system of Spanish}}
| | In 2007, the [[Instituto Cervantes]] in Manila requested of the Philippine government to reinstate the status of Spanish as an official language, prior to current president's [[Gloria Arroyo]]'s state visit to Spain in December 2007. |
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| Spanish is written using the [[Latin alphabet]], with the addition of the letters "ñ" (''eñe'', an "n" with [[tilde]]), "ch" ({{lang|es|''che''}}, a digraph representing the phoneme {{IPA|/tʃ/}}) and "ll" ({{lang|es|''elle''}}, a digraph representing the phoneme {{IPA|/ʎ/}}). Historically, words with the [[digraph]]s "ch" ({{lang|es|''che''}}) and "ll" ({{lang|es|''elle''}}) were alphabetized according to the alphabetic positions of "ch" and "ll" (''a, b, c, '''ch''', d…, l, '''ll''', m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s…''). In 1994, the Spanish [[collation]] rules were changed so that words containing these letters are now alphabetized as if they are letter pairs. The official alphabet and spelling remain unchanged, but words with "ch" are now alphabetically sorted between those with "ce" and "ci", instead of following "cz", and similarly for "ll". The digraph "rr" ({{lang|es|''erre fuerte''}}, "strong r", or colloquially {{lang|es|''erre doble''}}, "double r") has never officially been considered a distinct letter.
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| Excluding a very small number of regional terms such as ''México'', pronunciation can be entirely determined from spelling (see [[México#Origin and history of the name|Mexico: Origin and history of the name]]). A typical Spanish word is stressed on the [[syllable]] before the last if it ends with a vowel (not including "y") or with a vowel followed by "n" or "s", and stressed on the last syllable otherwise. Exceptions to this rule are indicated by placing an [[acute accent]] on the [[stress (linguistics)|stressed vowel]].
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| The acute accent is additionally used to distinguish certain [[homophone]]s, especially when one of them is a stressed word and the other one is a [[clitic]]: compare {{lang|es|''el''}} ("the" before a masculine singular noun) with {{lang|es|''él''}} ("he" or "it"), or {{lang|es|''té''}} ("tea"), {{lang|es|''dé''}} ("give") and {{lang|es|''sé''}} ("I know", or imperative "be") with {{lang|es|''te''}} ("you", object pronoun), {{lang|es|''de''}} (preposition "of" or "from"), and {{lang|es|''se''}} (reflexive pronoun). Interrogative pronouns ({{lang|es|''que''}}, {{lang|es|''cual''}}, {{lang|es|''donde''}}, {{lang|es|''quien''}}, etc.) receive accents in direct or indirect questions, and some demonstratives ({{lang|es|''ese''}}, {{lang|es|''este''}}, {{lang|es|''aquel''}}, etc.) are accented when used as pronouns. The conjunction {{lang|es|''o''}} ("or") is written with an accent between numerals so as not to be confused with a zero: e.g., {{lang|es|''10 ó 20''}} should be read as {{lang|es|''diez o veinte''}} rather than {{lang|es|''diez mil veinte''}} ("10, 020"). Accent marks are frequently omitted in capital letters, though this is not standard.
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| Interrogative and exclamatory clauses are introduced with [[Inverted question mark and exclamation point in Spanish|inverted question ( ¿ )
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| and exclamation marks ( ¡ )]].
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| ==Sounds== | |
| {{main|Spanish phonology}}
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| The phonemic inventory listed in the following table includes historical [[phoneme]]s that have merged with others in the process of the language's evolution (in most dialects), marked with an asterisk (*). Sounds in parentheses are [[allophone]]s or dialectal variants.
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| {| class="wikitable" style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS, Lucida Sans Unicode"
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| |+ Consonants of Spanish
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| |-
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| !
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| ! colspan="2" | [[Bilabial]]
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| ! [[Labiodental|Labio-<br/>Dental]]
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| ! colspan="2" | [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
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| ! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
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| ! [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>Alveolar]]
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| ! [[Palatal]]
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| ! colspan="2" | [[Velar]]
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| ! [[Glottal]]
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| |- align=center
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| | [[Nasal consonant|Nasals]]
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|m}}
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| | {{IPA|(ɱ)}}
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|n}}
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | {{IPA|ɲ}}
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|(ŋ)}}
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| |- align=center
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| | [[Plosive]]s
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| | {{IPA|p}}
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| | {{IPA|b}}
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| | {{IPA|t}}
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| | {{IPA|d}}
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | {{IPA|k}}
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| | {{IPA|g}}
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| |- align=center
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| | [[Fricative consonant|Fricatives]]
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | {{IPA|f}}
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|θ*}}
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| | {{IPA|ṣ}}
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| | {{IPA|(z)}}
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| | {{IPA|ʝ}}
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|x}}
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| | {{IPA|(h)}}
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| |- align=center
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| | [[Affricate]]
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | {{IPA|tʃ}}
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| | colspan="2" |
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| |- align=center
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| | [[Approximant consonant|Approximants]]
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|(β̞)}}
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|(ð̞)}}
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|(ɰ)}}
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| |- align=center
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| | [[Lateral consonant|Laterals]]
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|l}}
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | {{IPA|ʎ*}}
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| | colspan="2" |
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| |- align=center
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| | [[Flap consonant|Flaps]]
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|ɾ}}
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| | colspan="2" |
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| |- align=center
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| | [[Trill consonant|Trills]]
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | colspan="2" |
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| | colspan="2" | {{IPA|r}}
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| | colspan="2" |
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| |}<span style="font-variant:small">
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| By the 16th century, the consonant system of Spanish underwent the following important changes that differentiated it from [[Iberian Romance languages|neighboring Romance languages]] such as [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Catalan language|Catalan]]:
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| *The initial {{IPA|/f/}}, that had evolved into a vacillating {{IPA|/h/}}, was lost in most words (although this etymological ''h-'' has been preserved in spelling and in some Andalusian dialects is still aspirated).
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| *The [[bilabial approximant]] {{IPA|/β̞/}} (which was written ''u'' or ''v'') merged with the bilabial oclusive {{IPA|/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]].
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| *The [[voiced alveolar fricative]] {{IPA|/z/}} (written as ''s'' between vowels) merged with voiceless {{IPA|/s/}} (written ''s'', or ''ss'' between vowels).
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| *The [[voiced alveolar affricate]] {{IPA|/dz/}} (written ''z'') merged with voiceless {{IPA|/ts/}} (written ''ç'', or ''c'' before ''e, i''), and then {{IPA|/ts/}} developed into the interdental {{IPA|/θ/}}, now written ''z'', or ''c'' before ''e, i''. But in [[Andalusia]], the [[Canary Islands]] and the Americas this sound merged with {{IPA|/s/}} as well. (Notice that the ''ç'' or ''c'' with [[cedilla]] was in its origin a Spanish letter, although it is no longer used.)
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| *The [[voiced postalveolar fricative]] {{IPA|/ʒ/}} (written ''j'', or ''g'' before ''e, i'') merged with voiceless {{IPA|/ʃ/}} (written ''x'', as in ''[[Quixote]]''), and then {{IPA|/ʃ/}} evolved into the modern velar sound {{IPA|/x/}} by the 17th century, now written with ''j'', or ''g'' before ''e, i''. Nevertheless, in most parts of Argentina and in Uruguay, ''y'' and ''ll'' have both evolved to {{IPA|/ʒ/}} or {{IPA|/ʃ/}}.
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| The consonant system of Medieval Spanish has been better preserved in [[Ladino language|Ladino]] and in Portuguese, neither of which underwent these shifts.
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| ===Lexical stress===
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| Spanish has a [[phoneme|phonemic]] [[stress (phonology)|stress]] system — stress is not fixed, and different stress patterns can result in separate meanings for one and the same word. Spanish makes abundant use of this feature, especially in distinguishing verb conjugation forms. For example, the word {{lang|es|''camino''}} (with penultimate stress) means "road" or "I walk" whereas {{lang|es|''caminó''}} (with final stress) means "you (formal)/he/she/it walked". Another example is the word {{lang|es|''práctico''}} (first-syllable stress) "practical", which is different from {{lang|es|''practico''}} (second-syllable stress) "I practice," and {{lang|es|''practicó''}} (last-syllable stress) "you (formal)/he/she/it practiced." Also, since Spanish syllables are all pronounced at a more or less constant tempo, the language is said to be ''[[Timing (linguistics)|syllable-timed]]''.
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| As mentioned above, stress can always be predicted from the written form of a word. An amusing example of the significance of stress and intonation in Spanish is the riddle ''como como como como como como'', to be punctuated and accented 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!").
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| ==Grammar==
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| {{main|Spanish grammar}}
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| Spanish is a relatively [[inflected]] language, with a two-[[Grammatical gender|gender]] system and about fifty [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugated]] forms per [[verb]], but small [[noun]] [[declension]] and limited [[pronoun|pronominal]] declension. (For a detailed overview of verbs, see [[Spanish verbs]] and [[Spanish irregular verbs]].)
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| Spanish [[syntax]] is generally [[Subject Verb Object]], though variations are common. Spanish is [[Branching (linguistics)|right-branching]], uses [[preposition]]s, and usually places [[adjective]]s after [[noun]]s.
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| Spanish is also [[pro-drop language|pro-drop]] (allows the deletion of pronouns when pragmatically unnecessary) and [[verb framing|verb-framed]].
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| ==See also==
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| *[[Romance languages]]
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| *[[Real Academia Española]]
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| *[[Common phrases in different languages#Spanish (Romance)|Common phrases in Spanish]]
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| *[[Hispanophone]]
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| *[[List of English words of Spanish origin]]
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| *[[Names given to the Spanish language]]
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| *[[Spanish proverbs]]
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| *[[Spanish language poets]]
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| *[[Spanish-based creole languages]]
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| *[[Spanish profanity]]
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| *[[Portuguese Language]]
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| *[[Portuñol]]
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| *[[Papiamento]], [[Chavacano language]], [[Palenquero]]
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| *[[Llanito]]
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| *[[Spanish language rock and roll|Rock en español]] (Spanish language rock and roll)
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| *[[Latin Union]]
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| *[[Isleños]]
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| *[[Spanish Empire]]
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| *[[Frespañol]]
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| *[[Spanglish]]
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| ===Local varieties===
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| {{col-begin}}
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| {{col-break|width=50%}}
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| *[[Andalusian Spanish]]
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| *[[Argentine Spanish]]
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| *[[Bolivian Spanish]]
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| *[[Caliche (linguistics)|Caliche]]
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| *[[Central American Spanish]]
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| *[[Chilean Spanish]]
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| *[[Colombian Spanish]]
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| *[[Cuban Spanish]]
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| *[[Dominican Spanish]]
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| {{col-break|width=50%}}
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| *[[Mexican Spanish]]
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| *[[Peruvian Coast Spanish]]
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| *[[Puerto Rican Spanish]]
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| *[[Rioplatense Spanish]]
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| *[[Spanish in the Philippines]]
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| *[[Spanish in the United States]]
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| *[[Venezuelan Spanish]]
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| {{col-end}}
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| {{reflist|2}} | | {{reflist|2}} |
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| ==External links==
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|
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| *[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=spa Ethnologue report for Spanish]
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| *[http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/2444/splatin.html Spanish evolution from Latin]
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| *[http://www.onlinespanishhelp.com/listCategories.php Audio examples of Spanish]
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| *{{es icon}} [http://buscon.rae.es/diccionario/drae.htm Dictionary of the RAE] [[Real Academia Española]]'s official Spanish language dictionary
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| *[[WikiTravel:Spanish phrasebook|Spanish phrasebook]] on [[WikiTravel]]
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| *[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15353/15353-h/15353-h.htm#e1 The Project Gutenberg EBook of A First Spanish Reader] by [[Erwin W. Roessler]] and [[Alfred Remy]].
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