| Study languages

 

Facts about the Spanish language – why you should learn it!

Spanish is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain. More than 400 million people speak Spanish as a native language. It is the third language by total speakers behind English and Mandarin. Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations, and it is used as an official language by the European Union, the Organization of American States, and the Union of South American Nations, among many other international organisations.

From its beginnings, Spanish vocabulary was influenced by its contact with Basque, as well as by other Ibero-Romance languages, and later it absorbed many Arabic words during the Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula. It also adopted words from non-Iberian languages, particularly the Romance languages Occitan, French, Italian and Sardinian, as well as from Nahuatl and other Indigenous languages of the Americas. In modern times, it has continued to add its own new words, and has increasingly borrowed from English.

Spanish is the official or national language of 19 countries in the Americas, totalling at least 418 million native speakers in the Hemisphere. In the European Union, Spanish is the mother tongue of 8% of the population, with an additional 7% speaking it as a second language. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States.

Spainish Flamenco

 

10 Reasons to Learn Spanish

  1. It’s the second most popular language in the world, and supposedly by 2050, it’ll be running neck-and-neck with English. You may as well get ahead of the curve now.
  2. It’ll increase your career prospects. Adding the ability to speak a second language to your resume will send you right to the top of the candidates list.
  3. Comfortably conversing in a second language automatically enhances your critical thinking skills.
  4. Studying Spanish increases your appreciation of other people and their cultures.
  5. Spanish opens up an entire world of sporting events to enthusiasts.
  6. Proficiency in Spanish will significantly improve your chances of being accepted to a university and to graduate school.
  7. Using Spanish will unlock a world of travel destinations.
  8. Spanish is easy to learn. Written Spanish is almost completely phonetic — look at any Spanish word, and you can tell how it is pronounced.
  9. It is the third most commonly used language on the Internet (after English and Chinese).
  10. Learn Spanish to improve your knowledge of your own language.

 

— Source: Wikipedia, Languagestars.com, businessinsider.com, American Association of Teachers of French