Where they speak Spanish. Which countries speak Spanish? Spanish speaking countries

Spain impresses not only with the bright sun, magnificent beaches, delicious food, passionate dances, incredible architecture and emotional beautiful people. Spain also surprises with the number of languages ​​​​and dialects.

Just imagine, there are four official languages ​​in Spain (!), not to mention dialects. The languages, of course, have some similarities, but the differences are so great that each of them has acquired the status of an independent language.

Castilian

Castilian is the same official Spanish, which got its name from the kingdom of Castile, where it, in fact, was formed. The culture of the country was so multinational that a language that everyone could understand was simply necessary. Therefore, Castilian became the official language. The Spaniards call it castellano, and if the conversation turns to other countries, then - español. Castilian is spoken mainly in the north and in the center of Spain. Castilian is spoken by over 40 million people throughout the country and is the most widely spoken of the Spanish languages. Dialects of Castilian can be found in areas near the borders where the two languages ​​intermingle. Among them are: Madrid, Aragonese, Galician, Rioja, Murcia and Churro.

Catalan

Catalan (catala) is spoken in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. In these areas, like Spanish, it is the official language. In addition, Catalan is used in Andorra, where it was recognized as an official language, in the south of France and in Sardinia. In terms of the number of people speaking it in Spain, it occupies an honorable second place - 10 million people. There is also the Valencian version of the Catalan language, which differs in phonetics, but so far it has not been singled out as a separate language or dialect. On the other hand, Mallorquin, which is spoken in the Balearic Islands, was fully recognized as a dialect of Catalan.

Galician

Galician (galego) is spoken in the Spanish province of Galicia, which borders Portugal. Along with Spanish, Galician was recognized as an official language in this territory. As you might guess, in terms of the number of users in Spain, it belongs to the third place: it is native to 3 million people. Due to territorial factors, Galician is considered close to both Spanish and Portuguese. Three dialects are distinguished in it: the western one, which is common in the Rías Bahas, up to about Santiago de Compostela; eastern, which is spoken in the eastern part of Galicia and in the border areas of Zamora and Leon, and central, which occupies most of the province.

Basque

Basque (euskara) is the fourth most spoken language in Spain with approximately 800,000 users. It is spoken in a very limited area. This is the north of Spain: Navarra, Gipuzkoa and part of Biscay. Historically, this territory is called the Basque Country. Along with Spanish in this area, Basque is the official language, but it does not have the features of Spanish, like the same Galician. The mysterious Basque language cannot be attributed to any language family, it is the so-called isolated language. Its complexity and limited territory meant that during the Second World War it was used as a cipher.

Asturian dialect

The Asturian language (asturianu), which is spoken in the northern Spanish province of Asturias, despite its audience of 500,000 people, has not yet received the status of an official language and continues to be considered a dialect of Spanish, but the authorities are required by law to support its study in order to preserve it. Other dialects that are not similar to Asturian, or even its variants, are Lena, Cantabrian and Extremadura.

Spanish language belongs to the group Romance languages and is the most common of them. By the beginning of the 21st century, according to experts, the number of inhabitants of our planet who speak Spanish exceeded 420 million people. Spanish is the native language of the inhabitants Spain and 18 Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, El Salvador, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador. It is spoken by over 25 million people living in the United States, as well as residents of the Philippines and parts of North Africa.

The Spanish language, like other Romance languages ​​(French, Portuguese, Italian, etc.), was formed from colloquial Latin, folk Latin, which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Roman conquerors at the beginning of the 3rd century BC. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Germanic tribes penetrated the peninsula, which had little effect on the Spanish language. At the beginning of the VIII century, the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Arabs began, who captured most of the territory. But already in 718, the population rose to an armed struggle for liberation and independence - began Reconquista: the return of the occupied lands, the creation of Christian states in the liberated territories. Played an important role in the Reconquista Castile, which is why the Castilian dialect became the basis of the Spanish literary language. In 1492, at the end of the Reconquista, the Spanish court equipped the first expedition to India.

October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered America, began colonial conquest of the New World Spanish conquistadors. The Spaniards discover vast territories from Mexico to Cape Horn in the south of Argentina and conquer numerous Indian tribes - the Aztecs, Mayans, Incas, Quechua, Patagonians and others. By the 17th century, Spain had created a vast colonial empire in which, in the words of King Charles V, "the sun never sets." The Spanish language is spreading in the conquered lands, and its development under new conditions is influenced by the languages ​​of the indigenous population, which led to the creation of national variants of the Spanish language in the states of Latin America. Over time, this powerful empire, enriched by new overseas possessions, collapsed, like all early and late empires in history - the former colonies became independent, retaining Spanish as the state language, and already on its basis creating their own original literature and poetry.

Modern spoken Spanish in Latin American countries it is very different from one another both in phonetics and in lexical composition: a Mexican from the outback will not always understand an Argentinean, a Peruvian Cuban, and a Chilean - a Guatemalan, etc. This is natural, because Each country has its own way of life, its own characteristics, its own history and culture. And this is not surprising: even in Spain itself, in different provinces, for example, in Valencia and Leon, Andalusia and Castile, they speak differently, but all Spanish speakers around the world are united by a common literary language and standard Castilian pronunciation(so-called "castellano"), which all educated people adhere to.

Currently, Spanish, along with English, is actively used in international communication, and Russia does not remain aloof from this process. Russian citizens are well acquainted with Spain, its culture and traditions, largely thanks to the world famous figures of Spanish culture, such as Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Federico Garcia Lorca, Miguel de Unamuno, Velazquez, Goya, Picasso. Spanish is becoming more and more popular in Russia every day, it is the language of tourism and travel.

The increased interest in the Spanish language is also evidenced by the opening of the Cervantes Institute in Moscow in 2001, where everyone can enroll in courses, sit in the library, subscribe to a book, music CD or film, visit an exhibition, watch a Spanish movie or just chat. Cervantes Institute  is a Spanish state organization that arose in 1991 and proclaimed its mission to unite and disseminate the cultural heritage of Spanish-speaking countries in a world where the English language has firmly taken the main place. Cervantes institutes are open in many countries of the world - Moscow became the thirty-eighth. The Moscow Cervantes Institute is located in a reconstructed three-story mansion in the center of Moscow. The Institute has classrooms equipped with the latest technology, halls for exhibitions, and a library. The language at the Instituto Cervantes is taught by Spaniards. The Institute's library contains about 5,000 volumes, and the Spanish side promises to allocate about 12,000 euros annually to replenish its funds. Readers can order books through the interlibrary catalog from any library in Spain. In addition, the Cervantes Institute hosts conferences, exhibitions, film screenings, concerts and other artistic events. Thus, the activities of the Institute are an important support for the wider study of the Spanish language. The importance attached to this by the leadership of the two countries is evidenced by the fact that the Cervantes Institute in Moscow was opened personally by the Prince of Asturias.

As for the study of the Russian language in Spain, according to the Ministry of Education and Culture of Spain, more than 3,000 people study the language in the country, of which about 700 in universities, over 1600 in public schools of foreign languages ​​and the rest in private educational institutions and Russian language courses at public organizations. On the Russian side, the Roszarubezhtsentr, the Institute of the Russian Language. A.S. Pushkin, St. Petersburg publishing house "Zlatoust". A common disadvantage of teaching Russian in Spanish educational institutions is the lack of modern educational materials, limited access to the developments of Russian specialists in the methodology of teaching Russian as a foreign language, and insufficient opportunities for advanced training. One of the leading public organizations involved in the dissemination of the Russian language in Spain is the A. S. Pushkin Foundation in Madrid. Every year 200-300 people study at the Russian language courses at the Foundation. Education is conducted according to the programs developed by the Institute of the Russian Language. A.S. Pushkin in Moscow and according to manuals published in Russia. The courses are attended by students, journalists, teachers, diplomats, engineers, doctors, businessmen and people who want to learn more about the language, culture and literature of Russia. The A.S. Pushkin Foundation organizes internships in Russian educational institutions, holds events dedicated to the promotion of Russian culture, literature and art.

Julia Baltacheva

Spanish will definitely come in handy in life, especially if you are going to travel to Latin America and other countries where it is spoken.

Of course, it is not as popular for learning as English, but it also boasts a multimillion-dollar army of speakers. In addition, it is the second largest in the world in terms of the number of speakers, after Chinese. At last count, more than half a billion people speak it fluently!

Named after Spain, it actually originated in the medieval kingdom of Castile. It is also called Castilian, both names are common among the Hispanic population. Researchers have not come to a consensus on which option is correct.

Spanish dialects

Differences in dialects are observed both in grammar and vocabulary, and in phonetics. This difference is especially visible when comparing the dialect with the "classical" Castilian variant. For example, some grammatical aspects are greatly simplified in dialects, and many synonyms are used in vocabulary. Many dialects are common in Latin America: Argentine, Cuban, Mexican and others.

As for Basque, Galician and Catalan, these are separate languages ​​with their own history. The study of Spanish is usually based on the national version of Castilian Spanish, and textbooks are published in it.

Mexico

The place where it is most common, surprisingly, is Mexico. The number of Spanish speakers here exceeds 100 million people. However, this is not surprising if we recall the history - after the discovery of America, Mexico was settled by the Spanish conquistadors.

At the end of the 15th century, the language was standardized and spread throughout the world. In Mexico, it is also divided into dialects, for example, there is North American and Peruvian. Although Mexico positions itself as a multinational state and recognizes 68 more languages ​​along with Spanish. After all, the population of this country consists of indigenous peoples who lived here even before the arrival of the conquerors from the Old World.

It took several centuries for the number of Spanish speakers in Mexico to exceed 90% of the population. Now the government of the country intends to preserve those indigenous dialects that still remain. Interestingly, any resident of Mexico can apply to government agencies in their native language, and not in Spanish.

Spain

The second country where they speak Spanish, of course, is Spain. Over 47 million people speak it here. By the way, there is still debate about how to call it correctly - Spanish or Castilian. In addition, in Spain you can meet others - for example, Catalan and Baksky.

And the official language of the country itself originated in Castile, and earlier it was called Castilian. However, the name Castilian is more suitable for the variant spoken in this region in the Middle Ages. But Spanish also sounds incorrect, because there are other dialects in Spain. As a result, the Spaniards agreed in unanimous opinion and call it Castilian when it is spoken about inside the country, and abroad they say "Spanish".

In general, the Spaniards are very reverent for their languages ​​and try to revive even the rarest dialects. For example, Aragonese is practically on the verge of extinction, but the authorities are conducting special programs to preserve it.

Colombia

In the Republic of Colombia, which neighbors Brazil, Spanish is spoken by more than 45 million people - almost the population of Spain. In this country, there is an active mixture of many cultures, primarily Europeans, indigenous peoples and Africans. Colombia is on the list of states where Spanish is official - almost 99% of the population speaks it.

On the territory of Colombia, you can find dialects of indigenous peoples, even rare ones such as Creole or Gypsy. And the classical version itself in this country is divided into various dialects that differ in morphology, syntax and semantics. However, they all have characteristic Spanish features that unite them.

Argentina

It is home to 41 million Hispanic residents. As in other South American lands, he came here along with the colonists. Almost the entire indigenous population of these lands was destroyed with the arrival of Europeans, in particular, the Spaniards. More than 85% of the population of Argentina are descendants of Spanish settlers, and only 1.5% are the remaining indigenous peoples.

However, here Spanish also has its own dialects that cannot be found elsewhere. Dominant throughout the country is the Rioplat dialect - an dialect formed from the first European colonists. Each region has its own dialect, distinct from others, derived from the Rioplat dialect.

USA

There are 35 million Hispanics in the United States of America. This is approximately 12% of the total population. This also happened historically - the territory, which is now called, several centuries ago attracted several influential states at once.

Spain, England, France and others fought for the right to live here. Of course, the Spanish navigators were the first, but soon their influence weakened. The British and French arrived on the continent, and the division of territories began. In the course of land development and the war between the US and Mexico, mostly English-speaking states were formed, but there are also Spanish ones.

Jewish influence

A huge influence on the spread of Spanish around the world was not only the Spaniards who went to the New World. Queen Isabella of Castile, under whom the era of the exploration of America began, is famous for the Spanish Inquisition. Starting in the 1480s, she, along with her husband Ferdinand, expelled 10,000 Jews from Spain.

They had a choice - to change their faith or leave the country. Those who refused were tortured and placed in closed quarters called ghettos. Most of the Jews still went abroad and spread the Spanish culture in different parts of the world.

In addition, Spanish is spoken in Peru, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Chile, Venezuela, Honduras and other countries. There is even a special term, Hispanidad, which refers to a group of countries where Spanish is recognized as official. In total, this group includes 23 states.

Spanish is a fairly common language, ranking third among other languages. More than 20 countries in the world speak this language. Spanish is spoken in more than 58 countries.

Spanish is one of the top three most popular languages ​​in the world. More than twenty countries around the world speak Spanish. There are countries where the language is the official language. The most Hispanic countries are Argentina and Mexico. Next come the following countries:

Colombia

Venezuela

Guatemala

Honduras

Salvador

Paraguay

Costa Rica

Philippines

Portugal

United Kingdom

Spanish is the third most widely spoken language in the world, after Chinese and English of course, and is the second most spoken language. (this is approximately 700 million).

In South America:

In Central America:

In the Caribbean and North America:

In Europe:

In Africa:

Spanish is the second most widely spoken language after Chinese. According to various estimates, it is spoken by about 500 million people, including those for whom Spanish is a second language.

Spanish is spoken in

Mexico (Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world),

Argentina,

Colombia,

Venezuela

Ecuador

Dominican Republic,

Guatemala,

Honduras,

Nicaragua,

Salvador,

Paraguay

Equatorial Guinea,

Puerto Rico.

Spanish is spoken in the USA. And in the state of New Mexico, Spanish has a de facto official status, since it is possible to use Spanish along with English in official documents.

Spanish is spoken by 450,500 million people worldwide. It has official status: in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, El Salvador, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea.

It is considered regional in the Philippines, in the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic and in some US states.

Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, USA, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Portugal, Philippines, Morocco, Guatemala, Honduras, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Belize, Dominican Republic.

List of Spanish speaking countries in 2015:

Spanish is the second most spoken mother tongue in the world (right after Chinese) with 470 million speakers. According to various estimates of experts, in the world today up to 548 million people can speak Spanish fluently.

Spanish is the most widely spoken language in the world after English. It is spoken by more than 500 million people from the Americas, Europe and Africa. In many countries, Spanish is the official language.



Number of Hispanics



Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages. It is spoken in twenty countries around the world. Mexico and Spain speak Spanish and this is not the whole list. Here is a list of countries where you will hear Spanish spoken.

Spanish is the official (state) language in the following countries:

• Spain
• Mexico
• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Venezuela
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Dominican Republic
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Salvador
• Uruguay
• Ecuador
• Equatorial Guinea

As a regional or local language, Spanish is used in the following countries:

• Philippines
• Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (partially recognized state)
• US states of New Mexico and Puerto Rico

Spanish is the native language of about 400 million people in the world and another 50-100 million people speak it as a second language.

Thanks to Spain's active colonial past, Spanish is now the official language in many countries. Therefore, having studied it, you can safely pack and go to travel to Mexico, Spain, Panama, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia, Honduras, Paraguay, Ecuador, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Chile, El Salvador and Equatorial Guinea. Spanish is also used locally in the United States and the Philippines.

20 countries around the world speak Spanish. This is Spain and all of South America, with the exception of Brazil. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese. It is a former colony of Portugal.

Spain itself has four official languages: Spanish, Catalan Basque and Galician.

As for the countries of Latin America that speak Spanish, these are:

Argentina

Paraguay

Venezuela

Colombia

Salvador

Dominican Republic

Honduras

Nicaragua

Costa Rica

Puerto Rico

And part of the United States of America.

Spanish is also partially spoken in the Philippines, Western Sahara and Equatorial Guinea.

Learn Spanish. Helped me.

The community of Spanish-speaking countries is called Espanidad, which can literally be translated as Spanish Studiesquot ;.

Naturally, each region has its own dialect. However, Spanish speakers and Spanish linguists understand each other well despite some phonetic and lexical differences.