Facts about Spanish Language
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Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world and has important significance in history and literature. Do you want to know more about Spanish?

Spanish can be classified as a Romance language, a group that includes French, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan and Romanian. 70% of Spanish words are of Latin origin, it is also a phonetic language which means that words in Spanish are nearly written exactly as they are pronounced.

With 329 million native speakers, Spanish ranks as the World's No.2 language in terms of how many people speak it as their first language. Meanwhile, Spanish is also the third most used language on the Internet.

These native speakers are from 44 countries, making Spanish the fourth most widely spoken language.

The Spanish language dates to at least the 13th century. The language of the Castile region became a distinct language in part because of efforts by King Alfonso in the 13the century to standardize the language for official use.

Spanish has a pertinent Arabic influence due to the Moorish period that lasted for around nine whole centuries. After Latin, Arabic is the language with the most influence on the Spanish language with around 4,000 words of Arabic origin which makes up around 8% of the language as a whole. 

Some Spanish words are widely used by non-native speakers, let us take a look:

Siesta, which means afternoon nap, is one of the most famous aspects of Spanish life. Taking a siesta can avoid the mid-day heat, reduce stress and improve memory.

Another famous Spanish word is fiesta, a party when a group of friends gets together to celebrate. People love to say the word, and like siesta, it has become inextricably linked to Spain, thanks in large part to fiestas such as San Fermín and the Tomatina in Buñol.

Tapas. Leaving siestas and fiestas aside, this word identifies Spain for the foreigners. Tapas means small snack size portions of food that are served in most bars through Spain. Tapas have become part of the Spanish culture and fine cuisine, going out for tapas is one of the most popular and traditional activities. 

So, how do you think? Are you interested in learning some Spanish?

 

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