People from around the world speak the Spanish language widely. Therefore, it is a dominant language in the world. The Spanish language is native to 400 million speakers worldwide. The dialects and pronunciation of Spanish in different areas of the world vary because of cultural and regional intricacies.

But these differences are not great so people from different areas can understand each other’s dialect. Some people are of the view that there is a single spoken Spanish. This notion is not true because the Spanish came into existence from different regions. To understand the different dialects of the Spanish language, many people hire Spanish translation services.

The Significance of Spanish Language

The Spanish community is one of the fast-growing communities of the world. Also, it is growing immensely in the United States. The Spanish community in Latin America offers products and services. Moreover, Spanish organizations and businesses offer people great growth opportunities. Let’s have a look at some facts about the Spanish Language.

  • Spanish is the official language of 21 countries.
  • It is ranked as the third most widely spoken language in the world after English and Mandarin.
  • According to the linguist experts, Spanish speakers will reach 530 million. Out of these 100 million will reside in the United States.

By these facts, you can easily imagine the demand for Spanish communication in the US. The Spanish community living in the USA is called Hispanic. It is the largest minority community in the USA.

U.S. Hispanic Market

As the largest group in the United States, the Hispanic community possesses a higher buying power. Moreover, they also take part in local, state, and national politics. The U.S Hispanic community is so powerful that they can change the results of a presidential election. Florida is one of the important states.

It contains 20% Hispanics that have changed the results in three presidential elections. As the Hispanic community has high purchasing power, thus the commercial and retail side in the United States should use translation services to reach potential Hispanic customers.

For this, you need to hire a translation company that can work with your communication department to determine the target audience. They can provide you with seamless Spanish translation services according to your requirement.

The History and Origin of Spanish Language

The origin and history of the Spanish language started when Vulgar Latin came into existence. The history of the Spanish language in America started with the settlement of the Americans back in the fifteen centuries. During that time, the Spanish language was mutually used in the Iberian Peninsula.

Apart from Spain, Spanish is also the official language of the six republics of Central America, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Cuba. Moreover, Spanish is also spoken in many parts of Morocco, the west coast of Africa, and Equatorial Guinea. People of Texas, Arizona, Southern Florida, New Mexico, and New York City also speak the Spanish language.

Latin Roots of the Spanish Language

Approximately 600 years ago, Spanish was only a native dialect. People from the Castilian region of Spain speak it widely. When people migrated from one place to the other. They bring with them the local dialects. Therefore, with the year of exploration, the Spanish language has become an important language of the global world. It is from the family of Indo-European family of languages.

Spanish has originated 5000 years ago in the black Sea region. It spread in Europe and Central Asia due to farming and a sedentary lifestyle. Although speakers of the Indo-European language migrated to the two continents they lost contact with each other. Therefore, it resulted in the formation of different dialects. One of the dialects is Latin which is the language of the Roman Empire.

The Main Language of the Roman Empire

In the fourth century BC, when the roman empire gained power, the Latin Spanish dialect started spreading in the Mediterranean region and the Italian peninsula. As the Latin dialect was developed from different regions so it is known as a romance language. People in Spanish Peninsula in the third century BC speak the Latin dialect.

It was the time when the Roman invaded the region and settled there. However, the use of Latin was not forced on the native people but the native people used it for gaining prestige and convenience. It was spreading like a second language. Therefore, bilingualism prevailed throughout the region.

Moreover, Spanish Peninsula and Latin dialects result in the formation of other local dialects. So, people living in the Peninsula start speaking different dialects. Collectively these dialects are called Hispanic Latin.

Castilian Dialect

Roman power in Spanish Peninsula came to an end at the end of the fourth century A.D. Moreover, in the fifth century, the entire region was ruled by the invading Visigoths. Visigoths spoke the German language but the primary source of communication in Latin. It didn’t impact the other languages that people speak in that territory. Nevertheless, in 711 A.D. when Islam prevailed in Spain, it influences Hispanic Latin. Moreover, it resulted in the rise of Castilian in the peninsula.

When the Islamic Moors invaded the Southern coast of Spain, they brought with them a rich civilization and Arabic language. They were considered more important than Christian Europe. People that came from different territories had borrowed many loanwords from Arabic. Therefore, they altered the Hispanic Latin lexicon.

On the other hand, the Moorish defeat has not had much impact on Spain. Therefore, the Christian minority continued to live in the Northwestern Peninsula. This region is Castile. It is not impacted by Islamic culture. However, people who speak this language keep the people intact.

In the eleventh century A.D, the Castile came into power and it declared itself a separate kingdom. After that, they began invading the Spanish peninsula for ruling Christians. At last, the Castilians invaded Toledo in 1085. Therefore, their culture and language gained great popularity.

After this, in the next four centuries, the Castilians kept on invading the south and east of the Peninsula to drive out the Arabic and Islamic presence. When the Castilians moved southward through the Peninsula, the people living in the territory and around the territory spoke their language. People give importance to Castilian languages even before it was not considered a kingdom.

At the end of the fifteenth century, the Islamic influence prevailed in the Southeastern region of Granada. Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand invaded this area. The Christians reconquered Spain in 1492. The people who speak Castile are ruling the area from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, Castilian is the important dialect of the Spanish language family. People still speak it today with the same zeal.

Latin American Spanish

Latin American Spanish has different dialects that are categorized because of geographical locations. The different regions of Latin America like Argentine, Puerto Rican, Peruvian, Northern Mexican, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Chilean, Andean, Central America, Caribbean, Bolivian and Amazonian widely use these dialects.

The Spanish Language History in Latin America

To understand the origin of the Spanish language, it is important to know the dialects of the Spanish language that people speak in different regions. Back in the 15th century, Christopher Columbus navigated America. He also brought the Castilian Spanish dialect with him. Consequently, the scholars name it a hispanizacion that depicts that Spanish is the primary language in the region.

At the start of hispanizacion, people face great difficulty in communication. This is because the local languages which people speak are entirely different. Then the Catholic Church stepped in. There was uncertainty about whether the Spanish language would survive in the region or not.

But the Catholic Church played a vital role in the spread of Spanish language in the region. Moreover, the Franciscans and Jesuits made learning institutions in the region. These institutions teach Catholicism to children in the Spanish language. Therefore, when these children grew, they spread the Spanish language.

Many Spaniards try to involve natives in the communication but a large number of Spanish speakers result in the formation of many local dialects. Two local natives like Peruvian and Mexican natives impact the language that people speak today in Latin America. People that came from Andalusia influence the Spanish language pronunciation.

Therefore, it becomes easy to differentiate between Castilian and American Spanish. Moreover, there are certain words in Latin American Spanish and Castilian Spanish that have identical spellings but people pronounce them differently. These sociological events and historical events caused the spread of Spanish language in Latin America.

People use Spanish, Latin, and native languages simultaneously in South and Central America. The blend of these languages gave a new form to the Spanish language. This new form is unique to Americans.

Wrapping Up

No doubt, history shows us that over the years, invasions, conquering the territories has spread the Spanish language from Europe to Latin America. The Spanish language which was once a language of the Iberian Peninsula has become the most spoken language of the world. Moreover, if you are unable to understand this most spoken language, you can easily hire a professional translation company. Professional translation can provide you with seamless Spanish translation services as per regional and cultural differences.

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