Spanish is a quaint language and somehow makes us feel like we are being taken back in time whenever we hear it. A lot of old and famous literature have been written in Spanish, which is probably why it takes us back to another era. But that’s not all there is to the language. There are so many interesting things about it that aren’t well-known. So if you haven’t considered getting Spanish lessons, here are some facts about the language that might get you interested.
1. Spanish is the second most spoken language
Over 400 million people speak Spanish as a native language which makes it second most spoken language next to - nope, not English - Mandarin Chinese. Mandarin Chinese is spoken by about 1.2 billion people which makes it the top spoken language far outranking others. English only comes in third place with 335 million native speakers worldwide.
2. Spanish is considered a romance language
Thinking only French when it comes to romance language? Belonging to Indo-European languages with French, English, German, Slavic and Scandinavian languages, Spanish is also classified further as a romance language alongside Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, and Portuguese.
3. Spanish is a phonetic language
If learning a new language intimidates you, Spanish ought to be one of the first you should try to learn. Being a phonetic language, if you can spell it, you can say it. You won’t get any pronunciation or spelling surprises because you say it as it's spelled.
4. Spanish has been in existence for over a thousand years
One of the oldest manuscript found that was written in Spanish is Las Glosas Emilianenses and it was written in 964. In 2010, it was announced by the Real Academia Espanola that the first examples of written Spanish was found in Cartularies of Valpuesta which exists in the 9th-century medieval documents.
5. Spanish is one of the fastest growing languages
Despite it’s old age, the language is far from becoming obsolete. In fact, it’s one of the fastest growing languages as it’s one of the most taught languages today. Many countries are implementing a Spanish subject within their curriculum and it’s even predicted that there will be 600 million speakers of the Spanish language by 2050.
The demand for learning Spanish is still increasing. Learning it will open doors of opportunities in business, career, education, travel, and many others. Not only that, it will also give you a glimpse of the culture of the Western Hemisphere since you will be learning their dominant language. So what are you waiting for? Sign up for Spanish classes now! If you happen to be the shy-type and would rather learn outside the classroom, you can always get a private Spanish tutor to help you out