Why and how did Spanish spread around the world

Why? Spanish is present all over the world!
But how is a language passed on to other people over time?
This is a central question that has interested both linguists and historians for centuries.
First of all, word of mouth could be mentioned (to put it simply).

A language and its vocabulary or syntax are first spread through oral transmission, in conversation, and exchange with other people.

It is a kind of oral tradition.
If you want to go into the phenomenon more concretely, you can see that a language spreads in two main ways: through conquests and in written form. war and culture. Territorial Extension and Books.

In these two matters, the Spaniards have never done badly.
This explains why today there are so many speakers of the Cervantes language all over the world and why learning Spanish gives access to many cultures!

But first, let's take a look at the past...
The Spanish language, which has its roots in Latin, emerged between the 8th and 9th centuries.

We skip all the steps through which the language is formed a year after year until it could establish its own grammar, conjugation system, and vocabulary.

So we make a big leap in history to cover the period of time from the "Reconquista" (reconquest of areas in the Iberian Peninsula that were under the Muslim sphere of influence by Ferdinand II (Aragon), Isabella I of Castile, and the Catholic kings) to the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus and the Spanish seafarers from the year 1492.

During this period, the Spanish colonial empire spreads all over the world, especially in the 16th century in:

• Peru ( Vizekönigreich Peru )
• Mexico and large parts of Central America (which was also called New Spain),
• the Viceroyalty of New Granada: Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Guyana and Trinidad, and Tobago,
• the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata: Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and part of Chile and Brazil,
• the Philippines
• and the following islands: Guam, the Marianas, and the Caroline Islands (islands of the Pacific Ocean).

This is all part of Spain's Golden Age.
In 1714, the bourbons made Spanish the official language. Spanish dictionaries were published between 1726 and 1739 and were then distributed in Spanish-speaking countries.
The Creole and Amerindian peoples also spread the language, even after the wars of independence that took place in the Americas during the 19th century.

The Cervantes language also spread to Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries, namely in Equatorial Guinea and in Western Sahara.

The fact that Spanish culture also contributes to the importance of this language should not be swept under the carpet.

About personalities such as: El Greco , Francisco Goya, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Antoni Gaudi...
Of course, we are also familiar with Spanish music (flamenco, salsa, reggae, bachata) and cinema (Almodóvar, Bunuel…) or sport (soccer with the famous teams FC Barcelona and Real Madrid) if we confine ourselves to contemporary culture.

The Cervantes language is the 2nd most spoken language in the world
You probably already know that the Spanish we learn as a foreign language is also called “Castilian” or “castellano” in Spain.

It is the official language there. Galician is also spoken on the Spanish peninsula.

Castilian has its own vocabulary (words, phrases, vocabulary, expressions...), its own rules of speaking, its own conjugation system (verbs, tenses), its own pronunciation (alphabet, consonants, vowels, stress), its own phonetics and of course own grammar...

All of this has evolved throughout the history of Spain.
And this language is relatively easy to learn. Especially if you already speak another Romance language, such as French.
Both languages show similarities.

But the language is also easily accessible because there are numerous courses on offer (" Learn Spanish Online ", "Spanish Online", "Spanish for Beginners", "Learn Spanish for Free"), language courses, degree courses, intensive courses, Language stays in Spain or Latin America offered to perfect your knowledge.

Adults can enroll in evening courses or summer courses and students have the opportunity to take courses at the university.

In summary, it can be said that nowadays you can quickly acquire language skills in the Cervantes language in many countries around the world.

It works so well that Spanish is now the second most spoken language in the world!

Mandarin is in first place with about 900 million speakers, the number of speakers for Spanish is about 560 million: 405 million people speak Spanish as their mother tongue.
That's remarkable.

It is interesting that Spanish is spoken in about 20 countries and Mandarin only in 4 countries. Only French, English and Arabic are spoken in as many countries.
Spanish: the spread of a language using the example of the USA

As already mentioned, a language can spread through its culture and through territorial expansion. Those are probably the two most important factors.
So, it's interesting to note that the very country whose culture influences the world the most, we're talking about the United States, is undergoing a unique language (and demographic) shift.

And that in the country of Abraham Lincoln!
According to the latest statistics, there are approximately 41 million Spanish speakers in the United States today, plus almost 12 million bilingual Americans. This Latin American population is mainly found in the southern states, in Florida, Texas, and California, where Spanish has almost become the official second language and where everyone should be able to speak Spanish.

Therefore, it can be said that the USA has now become the country with the second-largest Spanish-speaking population. The US is just behind Mexico but ahead of Spain (population 46 million).

Linguists and demographers estimate that by 2050 there will be 102 to 138 million Spanish speakers living in the United States. Which would put the US in the first place...
An extraordinary “express language spread” is thus taking place in America!

Spanish around the world: Spanish is becoming more and more popular with German students
Of course, you can also learn Spanish at school. German students usually choose English as their first foreign language and French as their second.

However, Spanish is becoming more and more popular as an alternative to French and has become a real “trend language” in some cases.

In the meantime, twelve of the 16 federal states generally allow Spanish as a second foreign language in school lessons in addition to French and Latin. Only Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Saarland, and Rhineland-Palatinate are still standing in the way, with relaxation insight.

In high school, you can now learn the basics of the Spanish language as well as Spanish literature and regional studies almost anywhere. Is that enough to be fluent in Spanish?
In most cases not. You should also aim for a language stay of several months either in Spain or in Latin America in order to consolidate or perfect your language skills.
A high school diploma in Spanish is therefore not enough to master the language perfectly. Business Spanish skills for working life are also rarely taught at school.

Outside of school, the language is taught in a number of ways:
• Language school,
• Spanish Private Lessons,
• Spanish intensive course in Spain,
• Online Spanish course...

Regarding the last point, it can be said that thanks to the Internet, Spanish can continue its “Conquista del mundo” (conquest of the world). Spanish and Spanish-speaking culture (cinema, art, music) is spread and developed via the Internet: Youtube and many other websites are therefore helping to spread the language!

With so many websites offering online Spanish courses, it's easy to hire a private Spanish teacher or practice Spanish and make rapid progress.