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the little book
of
Spanish
Facts and Figures to Promote a Better
Understanding of the Spanish language
with British Learners.
When choosing from the range of second languages offered through your school, college or
company many factors should be carefully considered.
Amongst them, the following question is of paramount importance:
Which languages are going to be more useful and provide a broader scope of opportunities for
the upcoming generation of young British and British society in general?
In this report, we offer you substantive, up-to-date facts and statistical studies to assist you in
making the right choice. We invite you to read the following information on the Spanish
language itself and why Spanish should be seriously considered as your chosen foreign
language.
“Language skills and cultural sensitivity
will be the new currency
of this world order”
[General Peter Cosgrove, Australian
Asia Education Foundation National Summit,
26 November 2003].
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Executive Summary
Spanish is no longer the language you speak with your waiter while on holiday on the
Costas. The facts are that Spanish has become the second most important business
language in the world after English; Spanish companies now own the likes of Abbey,
BAA and O2 among other companies in the UK and many other companies around the
world; and the Spanish economy is the eighth largest economy in the world, bigger than
that of Russia, Canada or India just to name three (out of 190 countries).
Most people who choose to learn Spanish do so because of its popularity, especially in
the Western Hemisphere and in Europe. They know that learning Spanish will give them
practical knowledge - both in their daily and professional lives. The facts not only
support these feelings, they show that Spanish leads other foreign languages by a wide
margin for usage within the Western World. They also show that the Spanish-speaking
population is expanding. For example, the projections for the Spanish-speaking
population within the U.S. show that it is becoming a larger percentage of the total U.S.
population every year. Following are some facts that show just how widespread the
Spanish language is in the world and how it is projected to continue to grow in the near
future and beyond.
Spanish is the fastest growing language in today’s world. Spanish is second only to
Mandarin by number of native speakers. It is a truly international language in commerce
and trade, communication, education and many other areas. In the United States, an
estimated 40 million use Spanish as their first language, and many more use it as a
second language.
In the UK, Spanish is currently the third most popular language (8%) behind German (95)
and French (23%) but the popularity of Spanish is rapidly gaining momentum. Contrary
to general trends in foreign-language enrolments, Spanish is attracting more students at
all levels of education. New Spanish programs open every year at universities across the
nation. More and more primary and high schools are making the shift to Spanish.
Exchange programs with Spanish-speaking countries are in high demand.
For some, the sudden popularity of Spanish is difficult to understand and is sometimes
attributed to fashion or mere coincidence. The reality is that Spanish is a unique LOTE in
the UK context because it fulfills some basic needs in ways that other modern languages
simply cannot.
In this report, we have identified and documented some of the reasons why Spanish is
rapidly growing as a key second language.
“If we spoke a
different language
we would perceive a
somewhat different
world”
(Wittgenstein)
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WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SPANISH?
Today, Spanish is an official language of Spain, most Latin American countries, and Equatorial
Guinea; 21 nations speak it as their primary language. Spanish is also one of six official
languages of the United Nations. Mexico (103 million speakers) has the world's largest Spanishspeaking population. Spanish is the second most-widely spoken language in the United States
and the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities. Global internet
usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the
internet, after English and Chinese. Spanish has been described as the third most influential
language in the world (after English and French)
Naming, origin
Spaniards tend to call this language español (Spanish) when contrasting it with languages of
other states, such as French and English, but call it castellano (Castilian), that is, the language
of the Castile region, when contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician
(gallego; native name: galego), Basque (euskara) and Catalan (catalán; native name: català)
(known as Valencian in the Valencian Community). This reasoning also holds true for the
language's preferred name in some Hispanic American countries. In this manner, the Spanish
Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of the whole
Spanish State, as opposed to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. the other Spanish languages).
Article III reads as follows:
“ El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. (…) Las demás lenguas españolas
serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas…”
“Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. (…) The other Spanish languages
shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities…”
The name castellano is, however, widely used for the language as a whole in Latin America.
Some Spanish speakers consider castellano a generic term with no political or ideological links,
much as "Spanish" is in English. Often Latin Americans use it to differentiate their own variety of
Spanish as opposed to the variety of Spanish spoken in Spain, or variety of Spanish which is
considered as standard in the region.
Classification and related languages
Spanish is closely related to the other West Iberian Romance languages: Asturian (asturianu),
Galician (galego), Ladino (dzhudezmo/spanyol/kasteyano), and Portuguese (português).
Catalan, an East Iberian language which exhibits many Gallo-Romance traits, is more similar to
the neighbouring Occitan language (occitan) than to Spanish, or indeed than Spanish and
Portuguese are to each other.
Spanish and Portuguese share similar grammars and a majority of vocabulary as well as a
common history of Arabic influence while a great part of the peninsula was under Islamic rule
(both languages expanded over Islamic territories). Their lexical similarity has been estimated
as 89%.See Differences between Spanish and Portuguese for further information.
Vocabulary comparison
Spanish and Italian share a very similar phonological system and do not differ very much in
grammar. At present, the lexical similarity with Italian is estimated at 82%.As a result, Spanish
and Italian are mutually intelligible to various degrees. The lexical similarity with Portuguese is
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even greater, 89%, but the vagaries of Portuguese pronunciation make it less easily understood
by Hispanophones than Italian. Mutual intelligibility between Spanish and French or Romanian
is even lower (lexical similarity being respectively 75% and 71%): comprehension of Spanish by
French speakers who have not studied the language is as low as an estimated 45% - the same
as of English. The common features of the writing systems of the Romance languages allow for
a greater amount of interlingual reading comprehension than oral communication would.
Latin
Spanish
Galician
Portuguese
Catalan
Italian
French Romanian
nós/noso
¹
nós
utros
nosaltres
noi
²
nous
irmán
irmão
germà
fratello
martes
martes
terça-feira
dimarts
cantiō (nem,
acc.), canticum
canción
canción
canção
cançó
magis or plus
más
(archaicall
máis
y also
plus)
mais
(archaically
also chus)
més
(archaicall
più
y also
pus)
nos
nosotros
fratrem
germānum (acc.)
hermano
(lit. "true
brother", i.e. not
a cousin)
dies Martis
(Classical)
³
English
noi
we
frère
frate
brother
martedì
mardi
marți
Tuesday
canzone
chanso
cântec
n
song
plus
more
tertia feria
(Ecclesiastical)
manum
sinistram (acc.)
mano
izquierda
mão
man
esquerda
mà
esquerda (archaically esquerra
also (mano
also sẽestra)
siniestra)
nihil or nullam
rem natam (acc.)
nada
(lit. "no thing
born")
nada/ren
nada
(archaically
also rem)
res
mano
sinistra
mai
main
mâna
gauche stângă
niente/null
rien/nul nimic
a
left hand
nothing
1. also nós outros in early modern Portuguese (e.g. The Lusiads)
2. noi altri in Southern Italian dialects and languages
3. Alternatively nous autres
History
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Spanish evolved from Vulgar Latin, with minor influences from Arabic during the Andalusian
period and from Basque and Celtiberian, and some Germanic languages via the Visigoths.
Spanish developed along the remote cross road strips among the Alava, Cantabria, Burgos,
Soria and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain, as a strongly innovative and differing variant
from its nearest cousin, Leonese speech, with a higher degree of Basque influence in these
regions (see Iberian Romance languages). Typical features of Spanish diachronical phonology
include lenition (Latin vita, Spanish vida), palatalization (Latin annum, Spanish año, and Latin
anellum, Spanish anillo) and diphthongation (stem-changing) of short e and o from Vulgar Latin
(Latin terra, Spanish tierra; Latin novus, Spanish nuevo). Similar phenomena can be found in
other Romance languages as well.
During the Reconquista, this northern dialect from Cantabria was carried south, and remains a
minority language in the northern coastal Morocco.
The first Latin-to-Spanish grammar (Gramática de la Lengua Castellana) was written in
Salamanca, Spain, in 1492, by Elio Antonio de Nebrija. When it was presented to Isabel de
Castilla, she asked, "What do I want a work like this for, if I already know the language?", to
which he replied, "Your highness, the language is the instrument of the Empire."
From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Americas and the Spanish East
Indies via Spanish colonization, and in that epoch, Spanish became the principal language of
politics and Art in most of Europe; French replaced it in the 18th century.
In the 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara, the
United States, such as in Spanish Harlem, in New York City, that had not been part of the
Spanish Empire. For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish,
see Influences on the Spanish language.
Characterization
A defining characteristic of Spanish was the diphthongization of the Latin short vowels e and o
into ie and ue, respectively, when they were stressed. Similar sound changes are found in other
Romance languages, but in Spanish they were significant. Some examples:
•
•
Lat. petra > Sp. piedra, It. pietra, Fr. pierre, Port./Gal. pedra "stone".
Lat. moritur > Sp. muere, It. muore, Fr. meurt / muert, Rom. moare, Port./Gal. morre
"die".
Peculiar to early Spanish (as in the Gascon dialect of Occitan, and possibly due to a Basque
substratum) was the mutation of Latin initial f- into h- whenever it was followed by a vowel that
did not diphthongate. Compare for instance:
•
•
•
Lat. filium > It. figlio, Port. filho, Gal. fillo, Fr. fils, Occitan filh (but Gascon hilh) Sp. hijo
(but Ladino fijo);
late Lat. *fabulare > Lad. favlar, Port./Gal. falar, Sp. hablar;
but Lat. focum > It. fuoco, Port./Gal. fogo, Sp./Lad. fuego.
Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these
languages, for example:
•
•
Lat. clamare, acc. flammam, plenum > Lad. lyamar, flama, pleno; Sp. llamar, llama,
lleno. However, in Spanish there are also the forms clamar, flama, pleno; Port. chamar,
chama, cheio; Gal. chamar, chama, cheo.
Lat. acc. octo, noctem, multum > Lad. ocho, noche, muncho; Sp. ocho, noche, mucho;
Port. oito, noite, muito; Gal. oito, noite, moito.
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Geographic distribution
Spanish is one of the official languages of the European Union, the Organization of American
States, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the United Nations, and the Union of South
American Nations.
Europe
Spanish is an official language of Spain, the country for which it is named and from which it
originated. It is also spoken in Gibraltar, though English is the official language. Likewise, it is
spoken in Andorra though Catalan is the official language. It is also spoken by small
communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
Spanish is an official language of the European Union. In Switzerland, Spanish is the mother
tongue of 1.7% of the population, representing the first minority after the 4 official languages of
the country.
The Americas
Latin America
Most Spanish speakers are in Latin America; of most countries with the most Spanish speakers,
only Spain is outside of the Americas. Mexico has most of the world's native speakers.
Nationally, Spanish is the official language of Argentina, Bolivia (co-official Quechua and
Aymara), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico , Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay (co-official Guaraní), Peru (coofficial Quechua and, in some regions, Aymara), Uruguay, and Venezuela. Spanish is also the
official language (co-official language English) in the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Spanish has no official recognition in the former British colony of Belize; however, per the 2000
census, it is spoken by 43% of the population. Mainly, it is spoken by Hispanic descendants
who remained in the region since the 17th century; however, English is the official language.
Spain colonized Trinidad and Tobago first in 1498, leaving the Carib people the Spanish
language. Also the Cocoa Panyols, laborers from Venezuela, took their culture and language
with them; they are accredited with the music of "Parang" ("Parranda") on the island. Because
of Trinidad's location on the South American coast, the country is much influenced by its
Spanish-speaking neighbors. A recent census shows that more than 1,500 inhabitants speak
Spanish. In 2004, the government launched the Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL)
initiative in March 2005. Government regulations require Spanish to be taught, beginning in
primary school, while thirty percent of public employees are to be linguistically competent within
five years. The government also announced that Spanish will be the country's second official
language by 2020, beside English.
Spanish is important in Brazil because of its proximity to and increased trade with its Spanishspeaking neighbors; for example, as a member of the Mercosur trading bloc. In 2005, the
National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President, making Spanish
available as a foreign language in secondary schools. In many border towns and villages
(especially on the Uruguayan-Brazilian border), a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken.
In Jamaica, English is the official language; however, Spanish is recognized along the western
coast, where the country's neighbors reside, who are the Cubans, Costa Ricans, Panamanians
and other people from Central America and Spain.
United States
In the 2006 census, 44.3 million people of the U.S. population were Hispanic or Latino by origin;
34 million people, 12.2 percent, of the population older than 5 years speak Spanish at home.
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Spanish has a long history in the United States (many south-western states were part of Mexico
and Spain), and it recently has been revitalized by much immigration from Latin America.
Spanish is the most widely taught foreign language in the country. Although the United States
has no formally designated "official languages," Spanish is formally recognized at the state level
beside English; in the U.S. state of New Mexico, 30 per cent of the population speak it. It also
has strong influence in metropolitan areas such as Chicago and New York City. Spanish is the
dominant spoken language in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. In total, the U.S. has the world's fifthlargest Spanish-speaking population.
Philippines
Spanish was an official language of the Philippines but was never spoken by a majority of the
population. Movements for most of the masses to learn the language were started but were
stopped by the friars. Its importance fell in the first half of the 20th century following the U.S.
occupation and administration of the islands. The introduction of the English language in the
Philippine government system put an end to the use of Spanish as the official language. The
language lost its official status in 1973 during the Ferdinand Marcos administration.
Spanish is spoken mainly by small communities of Filipino-born Spaniards, Latin Americans,
and Filipino mestizos (mixed race), descendants of the early colonial Spanish settlers.
Throughout the 20th century, the Spanish language has declined in importance compared to
English and Tagalog. According to the 1990 Philippine census, there were 2,658 native
speakers of Spanish. No figures were provided during the 1995 and 2000 censuses; however,
figures for 2000 did specify there were over 600,000 native speakers of Chavacano, a Spanish
based creole language spoken in Cavite and Zamboanga. Some other sources put the number
of Spanish speakers in the Philippines around two to three million; however, these sources are
disputed. In Tagalog, there are 4,000 Spanish words and around 6,000 Spanish words in
Visayan and other Philippine languages as well. Today Spanish is offered as a foreign language
in Philippines schools and universities.
Africa
In Africa, Spanish is official in the UN-recognised but Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara (coofficial Arabic) and Equatorial Guinea (co-official French and Portuguese). Today, nearly
200,000 refugee Sahrawis are able to read and write in Spanish, and several thousands have
received university education in foreign countries as part of aid packages (mainly Cuba and
Spain). In Equatorial Guinea, Spanish is the predominant language when counting native and
non-native speakers (around 500,000 people), while Fang is the most spoken language by a
number of native speakers. It is also spoken in the Spanish cities in continental North Africa
(Ceuta and Melilla) and in the autonomous community of Canary Islands (143,000 and
1,995,833 people, respectively). Within Northern Morocco, a former Franco-Spanish
protectorate that is also geographically close to Spain, approximately 20,000 people speak
Spanish.It is spoken by some communities of Angola, because of the Cuban influence from the
Cold War, and Nigeria by Afro-Cuban ex-slaves. In Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal Spanish can be
learned as a second foreign language in the public education system. In 2008, Cervantes
Institutes centers will be opened in Lagos and Johannesburg, the first one in the Sub-Saharan
Africa
Oceania
Among the countries and territories in Oceania, Spanish is also spoken in Easter Island, a
territorial possession of Chile. According to the 2001 census, there are approximately 95,000
speakers of Spanish in Australia, 44,000 of which live in Greater Sydney, where the older
Mexican, Colombian, and Spanish populations and newer Argentine, El Salvadorian and
Uruguyan communities live.
The island nations of Guam, Palau, Northern Marianas, Marshall Islands and Federated States
of Micronesia all once had Spanish speakers, since Marianas and Caroline Islands were
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Spanish colonial possessions until late 19th century (see Spanish-American War), but Spanish
has since been forgotten. It now only exists as an influence on the local native languages and
also spoken by Hispanic American resident populations.
Variations
There are important variations among the regions of Spain and throughout Spanish-speaking
America. In countries in Hispanophone America, it is preferable to use the word castellano to
distinguish their version of the language from that of Spain, thus asserting their autonomy and
national identity. In Spain the Castilian dialect's pronunciation is commonly regarded as the
national standard, although a use of slightly different pronouns called laísmo of this dialect is
deprecated. More accurately, for nearly everyone in Spain, "standard Spanish" means
"pronouncing everything exactly as it is written," an ideal which does not correspond to any real
dialect, though the northern dialects are the closest to it. In practice, the standard way of
speaking Spanish in the media is "written Spanish" for formal speech, "Madrid dialect" (one of
the transitional variants between Castilian and Andalusian) for informal speech.
Voseo
Spanish has three second-person singular pronouns: tú, usted, and in some parts of Latin
America, vos (the use of this pronoun and/or its verb forms is called voseo). In those regions
where it is used, and generally speaking, tú and vos are informal and used with friends, in other
countries vos is considered an archaic form. Usted is universally regarded as the formal
address (derived from vuestra merced, "your grace"), and is used as a mark of respect, as when
addressing one's elders or strangers.
Vos is used extensively as the primary spoken form of the second-person singular pronoun,
although with wide differences in social consideration, in many countries of Latin America,
including Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, the central mountain region of Ecuador, the State of
Chiapas in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay, the
Paisa region of Colombia and the State of Zulia in Venezuela. There are some differences in
the verbal endings for vos in each country. In Argentina, Uruguay, and increasingly in Paraguay
and some Central American countries, it is also the standard form used in the media, but the
media in other countries with voseo generally continue to use usted or tú except in
advertisements, for instance. Vos may also be used regionally in other countries. Depending on
country or region, usage may be considered standard or (by better educated speakers) to be
unrefined. Interpersonal situations in which the use of vos is acceptable may also differ
considerably between regions.
Ustedes
Spanish forms also differ regarding second-person plural pronouns. The Spanish dialects of
Latin America have only one form of the second-person plural for daily use, ustedes (formal or
familiar, as the case may be, though vosotros non-formal usage can sometimes appear in
poetry and rhetorical or literary style). In Spain there are two forms — ustedes (formal) and
vosotros (familiar). The pronoun vosotros is the plural form of tú in most of Spain, but in the
Americas (and certain southern Spanish cities such as Cádiz or Seville, and in the Canary
Islands) it is replaced with ustedes. It is notable that the use of ustedes for the informal plural
"you" in southern Spain does not follow the usual rule for pronoun-verb agreement; e.g., while
the formal form for "you go", ustedes van, uses the third-person plural form of the verb, in Cádiz
or Seville the informal form is constructed as ustedes vais, using the second-person plural of
the verb. In the Canary Islands, though, the usual pronoun-verb agreement is preserved in most
cases.
Some words can be different, even embarrassingly so, in different Hispanophone countries.
Most Spanish speakers can recognize other Spanish forms, even in places where they are not
commonly used, but Spaniards generally do not recognise specifically American usages. For
example, Spanish mantequilla, aguacate and albaricoque (respectively, "butter", "avocado",
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"apricot") correspond to manteca, palta, and damasco, respectively, in Argentina, Chile and
Uruguay. The everyday Spanish words coger (to catch, get, or pick up), pisar (to step on) and
concha (seashell) are considered extremely rude in parts of Latin America, where the meaning
of coger and pisar is also "to have sex" and concha means "vulva". The Puerto Rican word for
"bobby pin" (pinche) is an obscenity in Mexico, and in Nicaragua simply means "stingy". Other
examples include taco, which means "swearword" in Spain but is known to the rest of the world
as a Mexican dish. Pija in many countries of Latin America is an obscene slang word for "penis",
while in Spain the word also signifies "posh girl" or "snobby". Coche, which means "car" in
Spain, for the vast majority of Spanish-speakers actually means "baby-stroller", in Guatemala is
means "pig", while carro means "car" in some Latin American countries and "cart" in others, as
well as in Spain.
The Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy), together with the 21 other national
ones (see Association of Spanish Language Academies), exercises a standardizing influence
through its publication of dictionaries and widely respected grammar and style guides. Due to
this influence and for other sociohistorical reasons, a standardized form of the language
(Standard Spanish) is widely acknowledged for use in literature, academic contexts and the
media.
Writing system
Spanish is written using the Latin alphabet, with the addition of the character ñ (eñe,
representing the phoneme /ɲ/, a letter distinct from n, although typographically composed of an
n with a tilde) and the digraphs ch (che, representing the phoneme /tʃ/) and ll (elle, representing
the phoneme /ʎ/). However, the digraph rr (erre fuerte, "strong r", erre doble, "double r", or
simply erre), which also represents a distinct phoneme /r/, is not similarly regarded as a single
letter. Since 1994, the digraphs ch and ll are to be treated as letter pairs for collation purposes,
though they remain a part of the alphabet. Words with ch are now alphabetically sorted between
those with ce and ci, instead of following cz as they used to, and similarly for ll. Thus, as from
1994 Spanish uses the 26 letters of the International Alphabet plus the Spanish letter ñ. The 2
digraphs ch and ll are currently separated from the alphabet:
•
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.
•
ch, ll, rr, qu, gu. And South America and seseante dialects; sc, xc.
With the exclusion of a very small number of regional terms such as México (see Toponymy of
Mexico), pronunciation can be entirely determined from spelling. A typical Spanish word is
stressed on the syllable before the last if it ends with a vowel (not including y) or with a vowel
followed by n or s; it is stressed on the last syllable otherwise. Exceptions to this rule are
indicated by placing an acute accent on the stressed vowel.
The acute accent is used, in addition, to distinguish between certain homophones, especially
when one of them is a stressed word and the other one is a clitic: compare el ("the", masculine
singular definite article) with él ("he" or "it"), or te ("you", object pronoun), de (preposition "of" or
"from"), and se (reflexive pronoun) with té ("tea"), dé ("give") and sé ("I know", or imperative
"be").
The interrogative pronouns (qué, cuál, dónde, quién, etc.) also receive accents in direct or
indirect questions, and some demonstratives (ése, éste, aquél, etc.) can be accented when
used as pronouns. The conjunction o ("or") is written with an accent between numerals so as
not to be confused with a zero: e.g., 10 ó 20 should be read as diez o veinte rather than diez mil
veinte ("10,020"). Accent marks are frequently omitted in capital letters (a widespread practice
in the early days of computers where only lowercase vowels were available with accents),
although the RA advises against this.
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When u is written between g and a front vowel (e or i), if it should be pronounced, it is written
with a diaeresis (ü) to indicate that it is not silent as it normally would be (e.g., cigüeña, "stork",
is pronounced /θiˈɣweɲa/; if it were written cigueña, it would be pronounced /θiˈɣeɲa/.
Interrogative and exclamatory clauses are introduced with inverted question ( ¿ ) and
exclamation marks ( ¡ ).
Sounds
The phonemic inventory listed in the following table includes phonemes that are preserved only
in some dialects, other dialects having merged them (such as yeísmo); these are marked with
an asterisk (*). Sounds in parentheses are allophones.
Table of Spanish consonants
Bilabial
LabioDental Alveolar Palatal Velar
dental
Nasal
m
n
Stop
p b
f
Fricative
Approximant
t d
( )
*θ (ð)
ɲ
tʃ (ɟʝ)
s (z)
x
ʝ
( )
Trill
r
Tap
ɾ
Lateral
l
k g
(ɣ˕)
*ʎ
By the 16th century, the consonant system of Spanish underwent the following important
changes that differentiated it from neighboring Romance languages such as Portuguese and
Catalan:
•
Initial /f/, when it had evolved into a vacillating /h/, was lost in most words (although this
etymological h- is preserved in spelling and in some Andalusian dialects is still
aspirated).
•
The bilabial approximant /β/ (which was written u or v) merged with the bilabial oclusive
/b/ (written b). There is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v
in contemporary Spanish, excepting emphatic pronunciations that cannot be considered
standard or natural.
The voiced alveolar fricative /z/ which existed as a separate phoneme in medieval
Spanish merged with its voiceless counterpart /s/. The phoneme which resulted from
this merger is currently spelled s.
•
•
•
The voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/ merged with its voiceless counterpart /ʃ/, which
evolved into the modern velar sound /x/ by the 17th century, now written with j, or g
before e, i. Nevertheless, in most parts of Argentina and in Uruguay, y and ll have both
evolved to /ʒ/ or /ʃ/.
The voiced alveolar affricate /dz/ merged with its voiceless counterpart /ts/, which then
developed into the interdental /θ/, now written z, or c before e, i. But in Andalusia, the
Canary Islands and the Americas this sound merged with /s/ as well. See Ceceo, for
further information.
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The consonant system of Medieval Spanish has been better preserved in Ladino and in
Portuguese, neither of which underwent these shifts.
Lexical stress
Spanish is a syllable-timed language, so each syllable has the same duration regardless of
stress. Stress most often occurs on any of the last three syllables of a word, with some rare
exceptions at the fourth last. The tendencies of stress assignment are as follows:
•
•
•
In words ending in vowels and /s/, stress most often falls on the penultimate syllable.
In words ending in all other consonants, the stress more often falls on the ultimate
syllable.
Preantepenultimate stress occurs rarely and only in words like guardándoselos ('saving
them for him/her') where a clitic follows certain verbal forms.
In addition to the many exceptions to these tendencies, there are numerous minimal pairs which
contrast solely on stress. For example, sabana, with penultimate stress, means 'savannah' while
sábana, with antepenultimate stress, means 'sheet'; límite ('boundary'), limite ('[that] he/she
limits') and limité ('I limited') also contrast solely on stress.
Phonological stress may be marked orthographically with an acute accent (ácido, distinción,
etc). This is done according to the mandatory stress rules of Spanish orthography which are
similar to the tendencies above (differing with words like distinción) and are defined so as to
unequivocally indicate where the stress lies in a given written word. An acute accent may also
be used to differentiate homophones (such as té for 'tea' and te).
An amusing example of the significance of intonation in Spanish is the phrase ¿Cómo "cómo
como"? ¡Como como como! ("What do you mean / 'how / do I eat'? / I eat / the way / I eat!").
Grammar
Spanish is a relatively inflected language, with a two-gender system and about fifty conjugated
forms per verb, but limited inflection of nouns, adjectives, and determiners. (For a detailed
overview of verbs, see Spanish verbs and Spanish irregular verbs.)
It is right-branching, uses prepositions, and usually, though not always, places adjectives after
nouns. Its syntax is generally Subject Verb Object, though variations are common. It is a prodrop language (allows the deletion of pronouns when pragmatically unnecessary) and verbframed.
International House Madrid - Spanish Courses for foreign speakers
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Samples
English
Spanish
(Castilian) Spanish
Spanish
español
castellano
IPA phonemic
transcription
(abstract phonemes) 1
/es.paˈɲol/
/kas.teˈʎa.no/
inglés
.päˈɲ
]
.päˈɲ
]
/kas.teˈja.no/
/kas.teˈʒa.no/
English
IPA phonetic transcription
(actual sounds) 2
ʝ
]
ʝ
]
[k
]
[k
]
ʎ
]
]
/iNˈgles/ 3
]
Yes
Sí
ˈ
/ˈsi/
]
]
No
No
/ˈno/
ˈ
Hello
Hola
/ˈo.la/
ˈ .lä]
How are you?
Good morning!
Good afternoon/evening!
¿Cómo estás (tú)?
(informal)
¿Cómo está (usted)?
(formal)
Buenos días
Buenas tardes
/ˈko.mo esˈtas/
]
ˈ
]
ˑ
]
ɛ
/ˈbue.nos ˈdi.as/
/ˈbue.nas ˈtaR.des/ 3
ˈ
]
]
ˈ
.nɔ
.ɑh]
.nä
ɾ
]
ɾ
]
.n
International House Madrid - Spanish Courses for foreign speakers
ɑˑh]
]
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Good night!
Buenas noches
/ˈbue.nas ˈno.ces/
ˈ
.n
Goodbye
Adiós
/aˈdios/
.ʨ
]
.ʧ
]
.ʃɛh]
]
[äˈ
]
ɔˑh]
Please
Por favor
/poR faˈboR/ 3
Thank you
Gracias
/ˈgRa.θias/ 3
[ˈgɾ
]
/ˈgRa.sias/ 3
[ˈgɾ
]
[ˈgɾ
ɑh]
Excuse me
I'm sorry
Perdón
Lo siento
ɾ
/peRˈdoN/ 3
ɾ]
ɾˈ
]
ɾˈ
]
]
/lo ˈsieN.to/ 3
]
¡Date prisa!
¡Apúrate!
/ˈda.te ˈpRi.sa/ 3
Because
Porque
/ˈpoR.ke/ 3
Why?
¿Por qué?
/poR ˈke/ 3
Who?
¿Quién?
/ˈkieN/ 3
Hurry! (informal)
ˈ
ˈ
ɾ
ɾ
]
ɾ
]
]
ɾ
ˑ]
ˈ
]
]
What?
¿Qué?
/ˈke/
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ˈ
]
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When?
¿Cuándo?
/ˈkuaN.do/ 3
ˈ
Where?
¿Dónde?
/ˈdoN.de/ 3
ˈ
How?
¿Cómo?
/ˈko.mo/
ˈ
How much?
¿Cuánto?
/ˈkuaN.to/ 3
ˈ
I do not understand
No entiendo
/no eNˈtieN.do/ 3
Help me (please) (formal)
Ayúdeme
Help me! (informal)
¡Ayúdame!
Where's the bathroom?
¿Dónde está el baño?
]
]
]
]
/aˈju.de.me/
[äˈʝ
/aˈʒu.de.me/
[äˈʒ
/aˈju.da.me/
[äˈʝ
/aˈʒu.de.me/
[äˈʒ
/ˈdoN.de esˈta el ˈba.ɲo] 3
]
]
]
]
.m ]
ˈ
äˑ.ɲ ]
äˑ.ɲ ]
ɛ
Do you speak English? (informal)
¿Hablas inglés?
/ˈa.blas iNˈgles/ 3
ˈ
äˑ.ɲ ]
]
]
lɑh iŋˈglɛˑh]
Cheers! (toast)
¡Salud!
/saˈlud/
]
]
1
Phonemic representation of the abstract phonological entities (phonemes), 2 phonetic representation of the actual sounds
pronounced (phones). In both cases, when several representations are given, the first one corresponds to the dialect in the recording
(Castilian with yeísmo) and the rest to several other dialects not in the recording.
3
Capital /N/ and /R/ (non-standard IPA) are used here to represent the nasal and rhotic archiphonemes that neutralize the phonemic
oppositions [m]-[n]-[ɲ] and [r]-[ɾ], respectively, in syllabe coda and intra-cluster positions.
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Discipline and Institutions
Unlike many languages, Spanish is a well established academic discipline that has been part of
educational programs of most western countries for nearly two centuries. The enormous
popularity of Spanish in the last three decades has resulted in unusually large enrolments of
students learning Spanish, particularly in English-speaking countries. As a result, the textbook
publishing business in the field has flourished and the need to standardise academic proficiency
levels has become apparent.
Today, Spanish is arguably one of the best (if not the best) resourced foreign languages in the
educational context. The two main sources of textbooks and learning materials are the United
States and Spain. The academic density of the Spanish discipline is compounded by two
important factors. Firstly, Spanish is an international language with a rich variety of local
inflections. Thus, conscientious students who want to go beyond the international koiné do need
to dive into the complexities of at least one local standard. Secondly, Spanish is the language of
a uniquely rich and plural culture – so plural in fact, that many prefer to speak of a plurality of
cultures.
Spanish is one of the best resourced foreign languages in the educational
Context Spanish works in any country, under any working condition Spanish is the third most
demanded language in OECD countries
Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy; often RAE) is the institution responsible
for regulating the Spanish language, and was created in 1713. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but
is affiliated with national language academies in 21 Spanish-speaking nations.
In 1951, in Mexico the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language emerged to work on
the defence, unity and integrity of the common language in different countries.
The RAE offers a wide range of linguistic material, including publications and diccionaries like
Diccionario de Autoridades, Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas, Diccionario Histórico,
Diccionario del Estudiante…to name a few.
th
The first European grammar was the Spanish Grammar, published the 18 August 1492,
followed by the Italian, 1552; French, 1560; German,1573; and English, 1586.
A decade ago, the Spanish government created the Instituto Cervantes, a network of Spanishteaching centers that operate in about thirty countries, which has created its own Proficiency
diplomas. The Institute’s proficiency standards are increasingly being used as the main
reference in the discipline.
The Instituto Cervantes is a worldwide non-profit organisation dedicated to the teaching of
Spanish as a second language, as well as the promotion of Spanish and Hispanic American
culture throughout non-Spanish-speaking countries. Its head offices are located in Madrid and
Alcalá de Henares.
The Instituto Cervantes is present in over twenty different countries with 42 centres in all.
• IC organises general and specialised Spanish-language courses
• IC organises exams for the Diplomas de Español como Lengua
Extranjera (DELE) (Diploma of Spanish as a Second Language) in
conjunction with the University of Salamanca
• IC promotes methods of teaching Spanish
• IC supports teachers of Spanish
• IC organises and promotes programmes aiming to spread the use of Spanish
• IC organises libraries and documentation centres at its various locations Since 1998 the
Instituto Cervantes has published the annual El español en el mundo highlighting the state of
Spanish in the world, and current trends. The Instituto has also run the Internet-based Centro
Virtual Cervantes since 1997.
The scholarships MAE-AECI granted by the government of Spain allow non graduate and
graduate students to enrol in any Spanish education centre during a whole academic year with
possibility of extension.
International House Madrid - Spanish Courses for foreign speakers
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The lectores (Spanish language assistants) are sent by the government of Spain to universities
around the world, to reinforce and assist wherever the teaching of Spanish may need during a
whole academic year, with possibility of extension up to three years. In 2005 there was one in
Australia, at La Trobe University, with two more in 2006 at University of Queensland, Brisbane,
and another at Flinders University, Adelaide.
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WHY LEARN SPANISH
1.
MULTILINGUISM
A second language is a definite advantage in a multilingual world
It is estimated that the combined total of native and non-native Spanish speakers is
approximately 500 million, making it the third most spoken language by total number of
speakers (after English and Chinese).
In the world
• Spanish is the second most studied language after English (17.8 million students)
• The third most used language on the internet (7,8%)
• By 2050 it is thought that 10% of the world’s population will be speaking Spanish.
Source: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idioma
In Europe
• Spanish is the fifth most commonly used language.
• Spanish is the most widely known language besides the mother tongue after
• English, German and French.
• 69% indicate their level of English to be ‘very good’ or ‘good’, and 65% of those
speaking Spanish respectively. Respondents speaking French or German tend to rate
their language skills slightly lower.
Source: Eurobarometer, Europeans and Languages, September 2005.
Spanish is the first Western language by number of native speakers
Mandarin: 13.69; Spanish: 5.05; English: 4.84; Hindi: 2.82; Portuguese; 2.77; Bengali: 2.77
Russian: 2.68; Japanese; 2.27; German: 1.99; Chinese Wu: 1.49
Source: CIA World Factbook, ISSN 1553-8133 the online Factbook is updated periodically
throughout the year. Last: 2 June 2005
Spanish is one of the few truly international world languages, i.e. a language spoken in and
recognised by a large number of countries, adopted by a significant number of international
organizations, and taught/learnt in virtually every country in the world.
Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union, the OSCE,
the African Union, the Organisation of American States, the World Trade Organisation, and
about 70 other international organisations. Access to work in these organisations, where 2-3
languages are usually required, is much improved by a working knowledge of Spanish
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language& http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Spanish+language
Despite the increasing use of English as a global lingua franca, the reasons for learning
languages are more compelling than ever - especially for the kind of study that goes beyond
'survival' language skills and provides a deeper knowledge and appreciation of other cultures
and societies. Language skills have become the mark of an educated, and employable, global
citizen.
Knowing Spanish opens the door for you to communicate with
1/3 of a billion speakers worldwide!
English speakers have a significant advantage: English is the language of today's sole super
power. It is spoken widely throughout the world as a lingua franca as well as a native language.
However this should not encourage complacency. As English is more widely spoken English
native speakers will lose the competitive advantage that is conferred by fluency in English.
Reliance on one language places English monolinguals at a significant disadvantage in a
multilingual world in which:
• 90% of the population live in countries where English is not the native language.
• 67% of the world economy lies in non-English speaking countries.
• 65% of the world's on-line population is non-English speaking. Learn a Foreign Language?
International House Madrid - Spanish Courses for foreign speakers
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Benefits of Learning Spanish:
Functional Values
• allow pupils to explore life style and culture of another land through its language;
• introduce learners to language awareness;
• promote social interaction in and beyond the classroom;
• listening, reading and memory skills improve, and speaking and writing become more accurate;
therefore, students who are bilingual and students who keep studying a second language achieve
better academic results;
• provide skills for adult life e.g. for work or travel;
• through the study of a foreign language pupils understand and appreciate different countries,
cultures people and communities;
• pupils begin to think of themselves as citizens of the world as well as of the UK;
• pupils learn about the basic structures of language;
• lay the foundations for future study of other languages;
• contribute effectively to society and achieve personal fulfilment;
• increase knowledge and understanding for their own sake and to foster their application to the
benefit of the economy and society;
• serve the needs of an adaptable, sustainable, knowledge-based economy at local, regional
and national levels;
• play a major role in shaping a democratic, civilised, inclusive society. majority can
communicate only internally.
Symbolic Values
• The ability to speak the language of another community provides an instrument which allows
access to their culture; conversely, if other communities can speak your language, they have a
powerful tool for accessing your community. Language therefore has both an inward- and an
outward looking functional value, and a symbolic value associated with identity.
• If the teaching of foreign languages is restricted, the minority possessed of second language
skills acquires a potential advantage over the majority of his monolingual community. This is
because the bilingual group has the power to communicate both internally and externally, and
the monolingual
• Today, English has an international, practical, value for other nations. This has had both
functional and ideological implications for the UK, affecting its citizens' need and willingness to
learn other languages. While non-English speaking nations have embraced a multilingual
model, looking outward to functional need in order to communicate with other peoples, the UK
has remained essentially monolingual. At the functional level, there has been little apparent
practical need to learn foreign languages so long as other nations have been willing to learn
English. Symbolically, the country has been able to maintain one element of its identity, its
language. But this is misguided in the present-day context of globalised English.
• Over recent decades, governments have become increasingly aware of the economic
disadvantages of monolingualism. This is not only a question of functional incompetence:
symbolically, the ability and willingness to speak the language of others alters perceptions and
relationships.
Adapted from Jenny Willis, Evolution of a national strategy for foreign language learning
http://www.lang.ltsn.ac.uk/resources/conferenceitem.aspx?resourceid=1379#ref14
Language skills have become
the mark of a global citizen.
Reliance on one language
places English monolinguals
at a significant disadvantage in
a Multilingual world
“Those who know nothing of
foreign languages, know
nothing of their own”
(Goethe)
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Multilingual policies
The British position
In Britain, the independent Nuffield Languages Inquiry was launched in 1998. It’s still
influential findings were:
1. English is not enough.
2. People are looking for leadership to improve the nation's capability in languages.
3. Young people from the UK are at a growing disadvantage in the recruitment market.
4. The UK needs competence in many languages - not just French – but the education system
is not geared to achieve this.
5. The government has no coherent approach to languages.
6. In spite of parental demand, there is still no UK-wide agenda for children to start languages
early.
7. Secondary school pupils lack motivation or direction.
8. Nine out of ten children stop learning languages at 16.
9. University language departments are closing, leaving the sector in deep crisis.
10. Adults are keen to learn languages but are badly served by an impoverished system.
11. The UK desperately needs more language teachers.
Adapted from Jenny Willis, Evolution of a national strategy for foreign language learning
http://www.lang.ltsn.ac.uk/resources/conferenceitem.aspx?resourceid=1379#ref14
English is the UK’s national language. It is also growing as an international language of
communication. But English alone is not enough for learners. In our increasingly multi-lingual
world, more people speak two languages than one, and contact with speakers of other
languages is rapidly growing. The UK must build on its diverse linguistic and cultural
environment which is a result of its history, geography and migration.
Education in a global community brings with it an increasing need to focus on
developing inter-cultural understanding. This involves the integration of language, culture and
learning. Inter-cultural language learning helps learners to know and understand the world
around them, and to understand commonality and difference, global connections and patterns.
Learners will view the world, not from a single perspective of their own first language and
culture, but from the multiple perspectives gained through the study of second and subsequent
languages and cultures. Inter-cultural language learning contributes to the overall education of
learners, developing in them the capabilities to:
● communicate, interact and negotiate within and across languages and cultures
● understand their own and others’ languages, thus extending their range of literacy skills,
including skills in English literacy
● understand themselves and others, and to understand and use diverse ways of knowing,
being and doing
● further develop their cognitive skills through thinking critically and analytically, solving
problems, and making connections in their learning.
Such capabilities assist learners to live and work successfully as linguistically and culturally
aware citizens of the world.
Language skills and cultural sensitivity will be the new world-order currency
The UK must build on its diverse linguistic and cultural environment
Spanish in Europe
In European countries other than Spain, it may be spoken by some of their Spanish-speaking
immigrant communities, primarily in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, France,
Germany and the United Kingdom where there is a strong community in London. There has
been a sharp increase in the popularity of Spanish in the UK over the last few years. It is an
important and widely-spoken language in Andorra. It is spoken by much of the population of the
British colony of Gibraltar, though English remains the only official language.
Spanish is one of the official languages of
UN, EU, WTO, OSCE and about 70
Other international organisations.
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2.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Study reveals learning languages changes brain anatomy
Being bilingual produces changes in the brain's anatomy, scientists said in a finding that could
explain why children are so much better than adults at mastering a second language.
They found that people who speak two languages have more grey matter in the language
region of the brain.
The earlier they learned the language, the larger the grey area.
3 Nuffield Foundation (2000). The Nuffield Languages Inquiry: Languages: the next
Generation. http://languages.nuffieldfoundation.org/languages/inquiry/in0000000537.asp
People who speak two languages have more grey matter English is not enough
"The grey matter in this region increases in bilinguals relative to monolinguals - this is
particularly true in early bilinguals who learned a second language early in life," said Andrea
Mechelli, a neuroscientist at University College London.
"The degree [of change] is correlated with the proficiency achieved."
Learning another language after turning 35-years-old also alters the brain but the change is not
as pronounced as in early learners.
"It reinforces the idea that it is better to learn early rather than late because the brain is more
capable of adjusting or accommodating new languages by changing structurally," Dr Mechelli
said.
"This ability of the brain decreases with time."
Dr
Mechelli and his team used structural brain imaging to compare the size of the grey matter in
the brains of 25 monolinguals, 25 early bilinguals who learned a second language before the
age of five and 33 late bilinguals.
All the volunteers in the study, which is described in the science journal Nature, were native
English speakers of comparable age and education.
In the bilinguals, the grey matter in the left inferior parietal cortex was larger than in the
monolinguals or the bilinguals who picked up the second language between the ages of 10-15.
"By looking at the size of the change [in the brain] I can tell whether someone is very proficient
or not, because the bigger the change the better the proficiency," he said.
Grey matter in the brain is made up of neurons or brain cells.
The scientists do not know whether the change in bilinguals means there is an
increase in the size of the cells, the number of cells or the connections between them.
"The next step would be to understand the change better at a small-scale level," according to Dr
Mechelli.
Dr Mechelli and his colleagues are planning further studies with people who have difficulty
learning languages to see whether their brain behaves differently.
They also plan to study speakers of several languages to determine whether the increase in
grey matter is proportional to the number of languages they have mastered.
Reuters, Thursday, October 14, 2008
"the picture that emerges is . . . a youngster whose experience with two language
systems seems to have left him or her with a mental flexibility, a superiority in concept
formation, and a more diversified set of mental abilities." The studies also
International House Madrid - Spanish Courses for foreign speakers
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demonstrated that children who have studied a foreign language perform better on
standardized tests and tests of basic skills in English, math and social studies. Data
from the College Board’s 1992 edition of College Bound Senior revealed that students
who had had four or more years or foreign language scored higher on the verbal
section of the SAT than those who had had four or more years in any other subject
area. This information corroborated Cooper’s conclusion in 1987.
Robinson, D.W (1992). The Cognitive, Academic and Attitudinal Benefits of Early LanguagesLearning.
Children who have studied a foreign language perform better in English, Mathematics
and Social Studies
Recent brain research indicates that learning a second
language is a powerful experience that helps the brain of
young children develop. The young brain will actually
grow the connections needed to learn the language. That
is no longer possible after age 12. Seven states have
instituted a second-language requirement for all children
in elementary school.
Dumas, L.S (1999). Learning a Second Language:
Exposing Your Child to a New World ofWords
Boosts Her Brainpower, Vocabulary, and Self-Esteem
International House Madrid - Spanish Courses for foreign speakers
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3.
SPANISH FOR BUSINESS AND CAREER OPPPORTUNITIES
Spanish provides access to the most important free trade zones in the world
Today’s globalised world increasingly requires a workforce with highly portable skills. A working
knowledge of a truly international language such as Spanish might become, for many, the only
indisputably portable skill – one that will work in any country, in any discipline/area, under
different working conditions.
For English speakers who frequently relocate to other English-speaking countries, Spanish is
the key foreign language to add to their portfolios. In 2008, more than 33% of the jobs
advertised in the UK which explicitly mentioned a language listed or required Spanish –
compared to French in just 22%. In the United States the figure rose to 71%, with Japanese a
poor second at 6%.
Spanish is one of the languages most in demand at schools in the developed countries.
Members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including
Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand,
Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, actively promote the teaching
and learning of Spanish.
Spanish is the language of emergent Latin American economies in the Pacific Rim. Chile, Peru,
Ecuador, Colombia, Central American countries and Mexico share economic interests with Asia
Pacific countries.
UK trade with Spanish-speaking countries is ever expanding
The jobs of many British can be attributed to foreign investment. Many people work in firms with
majority foreign ownership. Many more work in firms and communities that rely on foreignowned companies as customers and suppliers of goods and services.
Research suggests that for every 5–6 per cent increase in investment, gross domestic product
(GDP) increases by 1–2 per cent.
Spanish is a language of international trade. It provides access to the most important free trade
zones in the world: through Spain to the EEC, through Mexico to NAFTA and through Latin
America to APEC The Latin American region is the second fastest growing economy in the
world. Other significant trade agreements in the region, such as Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil,
Paraguay and Uruguay) and the Group of Three (G3), comprising Mexico, Venezuela and
Colombia alone create a market opportunity for the UK of some 350 million consumers.
Brazil, the ‘sleeping giant’ of Latin America, could lead a South American Free Trade Zone as a
counterbalance to NAFTA. Moreover, the recently proposed Americas Free Trade Area, or
AFTA, which will encompass the entire American continent, from Canada to Chile, is a clear
indication of where US trade interests may lie in the future.
Doing business in Spain
With a population of 46 million and a developed sophisticated market, Spain offers UK
companies a variety of opportunities.
Spain joined the EU in 1985 and since then has been one of the principle recipients of EU
Structural and Cohesion funding. Spain has the world’s 8th largest economy. It has grown
rapidly in the last 30 years and become a highly developed and competitive market with global
companies.
The UK and Spain are major trade and investment partners. Spain is the UK’s 7th largest export
market, and the UK is Spain’s 5th largest supplier. It enjoys a long-standing and wide-ranging
bilateral relationship with the UK . The UK is the 2nd largest foreign investor in Spain. Spain is
now one of the leading investors in the UK. Spain and the UK are major trade and investment
partners.
International House Madrid - Spanish Courses for foreign speakers
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What are the opportunities?
Spain is a highly developed, competitive market. The Spanish government is committed to
opening up the Spanish market further and has embarked on an extensive privatisation
programme. Despite the economic downturn, there are strong opportunities in the renewable
energy, automotive, aerospace, ICT and healthcare.
Source: http://w2.vu.edu.au/foa/spanish/an_introduction_to_spanish.htm/
https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/es_es/export/countries/europe/southerneurope/spain/item/108601.html
Some Spanish companies in the UK
•
•
•
•
(Telefonica) O2
(Santander) Abbey National, Alliance &
Leicester, Santander UK
Zara
(Ferrovial) UK airport operator BAA
Some UK companies in Spain
•
•
•
•
•
•
Barclays
Burberrys
British Airways
BT
LLoyds TSB
Michael Page
Doing business in Latin America
Business negotiations between the EU and Latin America have been frozen since 2004, yet
even so The EU is currently Latin America's second biggest trading partner and the biggest
investor in the region. In 2000-2009 the EU's exports to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
grew from 59bn euro (£50bn; $73bn) to 66bn, while imports grew from 54bn to 74bn, official EU
data shows. Just over 6% of all the EU's external goods trade is with the LAC.
In May 2010 The European Govt. eased sanctions on doing business with Latin America,
meaning that EU negotiations with the Mercosur trade bloc (embracing Argentina, Brazil,
Paraguay and Uruguay) will soon reopen granting vastly increased business opportunities with
these areas. Trade deals were also reached with Central America, Peru and Colombia.
A highly skilled and multilingual workforce is essential for the economic prosperity of the
UK
The Demand for Spanish in Europe
The 2005 edition of the European Commission document Key Data on Teaching Languages at
School in Europe contains a statistical snapshot and an analysis of the situation of foreign
languages teaching in the continent referred mainly to the academic year 2001-2002. The
document acknowledges that “in most countries, languages other than English, French,
German, Spanish and Russian account for a very small proportion of all languages learnt. In
other words, in the great majority of European countries, pupils learn first and foremost – indeed
almost exclusively – major languages used on a broad scale”.
Spanish is the fourth most widely taught foreign language in European schools, after English,
German and French. “Spanish is taught essentially in general upper secondary education and in
the EU-15 countries” Although the proportion of students who learn Spanish is generally around
10% or lower, in some countries it is significantly higher: Denmark (20.8 %), France (56 %),
Luxembourg (26.4 %) and Sweden (29 %).
Taking all the levels of secondary education together, the countries where Spanish is more
often studied as a foreign language are:
France, Sweden, United Kingdom, Denmark, Luxembourg, Ireland, Belgium fr, Germany
Austria, Italy & Portugal
Source: http://www.eurydice.org/Documents/KDLANG/2005/EN/FrameSet.htm
85% of all Spanish students in Europe are located in France, the United Kingdom and
Germany. Spanish enrolments are growing even in countries where enrolments in foreign
languages are in decline:
“[At undergraduate level in Britain] a serious decline can be traced in [all languages], with the
sole exception of Spanish, whose popularity has risen, perhaps because of its obvious
functional value as Spanish speaking resorts offer prime holiday destinations.”
http://www.lang.ltsn.ac.uk/resources/conferenceitem.aspx?resourceid=1379#ref14
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4.
Hispanic Culture
Spanish is the language of the Hispanic civilization, one of the greatest cultural groups in the
world. Originating in northern Spain after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Spanish or Castilian
language rapidly spread through the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Spanish imperial
expansion in the 16th and 17th centuries caused the Spanish language to spread even further;
to Northern and Western parts of Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, vast areas
of North America, and the Philippines. The first book completely written in Spanish dated from
around the year 1140, “the Cantar de Mio Cid”.
th
However, the first written text that uses Spanish language is dated on the 13 June 964, the so
called “Codex 46”.
Together with its influence in international politics and trade and commerce, the growing
prestige of Spanish in the cultural terrain makes it a highly desired language. Spain is the fifth
world book producer in titles.
Ten Spanish-language authors have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is the
language of reputed Latin American writers such as Gabriel García Márquez, the author more
quoted after Shakespeare and Descartes, Mario Vargas Llosa, Isabel Allende, Jorge Luis
Borges and Carlos Fuentes. Furthermore, it is the mother tongue of Oscar-winning Spanish
filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar; of unique painters Frida Kahlo and Pablo Picasso, the muralists of
Mexico, the Nueva Troba Cubana. Spanish is the language of Liberation Theology and Spanish
Mysticism; the language of passion and soccer; of Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazolla, of tango,
the Peruvian cajón, flamenco and the Spanish guitar.
In May 1606 Pedro Fernández de Quirós (1565-1614), leading an expedition that departed
from Peru, reached the Vanuatu archipelago and landed on a large island which he took to be
part of the southern continent. He named it La Austrialia del Espiritu
Santo (The Southern Land of the Holy Spirit). The island is still called Espiritu Santo. In the 19th
century some Australian Catholics claimed that Quirós had in fact discovered Australia, in
advance of the Protestants Abel Tasman and James Cook. The
Archbishop of Sydney from 1884 to 1911, Francis Cardinal Moran, asserted this to be a fact,
and it was taught in Catholic schools for many years.
Source: Discoverers Web
Students find Hispanic cultural icons very appealing because of their seamless integration with
popular American culture. Pop music singers such as Jennifer Lopez or Ricky Martin are
recognised worldwide. For many, Latino music and dance, Mexican food, Spanish tapas, and
soccer are good entry points to the Hispanic culture. Getting to know and experience the many
flavours of this vibrant culture is what drives many students to seek exchange opportunities and
spend a few months in a Spanish-speaking country.
Most Brits are familiar with a myriad names, event and institutions related to the cultures of
Spain and Latin America:
Painters: Goya, Velázquez, Picasso, Dalí, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Michelena, Botero,
Guayasamín…
Writers: Lorca, Cervantes, Gabriel García Márquez, Pablo Neruda, Mario Vargas Llosa, Jorge
Luis Borges, Isabel Allende, Laura Esquivel, José Enrique Rodó, Juan Zorrilla,
Onetti, Benedetti, César Vallejo, Andrés Bello…
Singers and Musicians: Jennifer López, Ricky Martin, Gloria Stefan, Julio y Enrique Iglesias,
Carlos Gardel, Cristina Aguilera, Jorge Drexler. Joaquín Rodrigo, Isaac
Albéniz Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Juan Diego Florez, Miguel Fleta…
Public buildings: Sagrada Familia Barcelona cathedral, Pre-Columbian Inca and Azteca
religious buildings, Macchu Pichu, Teotihuacan, Bilbao Guggenheim Museum…
The movies: Buñuel, Almodóvar, Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz, Pilar Miró, Amenábar,
Gael García Bernal, Salma Hayek,…
Popular culture: Bullfighting, Mexican mariachis, Spanish flamenco, Catalan human
towers,Rioplatense tango, Colombian salsa, San Fermines, Tomatina, carnaval, Mexican
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Hat Dance, La Bamba, Candombe uruguayo, Señor de los Milagros procesión, …
Sports: Maradona, Rafael Nadal, Raúl, Sergio García, Severiano Ballesteros, Daniel
Pedrosa,Distéfano, Guillermo Vilas, Alex Crivillé, Fernando Alonso…
Food: Paella, tortilla, tacos, ron, tequila, chile con carne, frijoles, sangría, tapas, guacamole,
Cebiche…
Fashion Designers: Balenciaga, Adolfo Domínguez, Roberto Verino, Vittorio y Lucchino,
Amaya Arzuaga, Carolina Herrera.
Others: Chupa-chups, Lladró, …
World Heritage sites Spain
Here is a list of the properties as recorded on the World Heritage Spain:
Cultural
• Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín, Granada (1984)
• Altamira Cave (1985)
• Aranjuez Cultural Landscape (2001)
• Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida (1993)
• Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco (2000)
• Archaeological Site of Atapuerca (2000)
• Burgos Cathedral (1984)
• Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí (2000)
• Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville (1987)
• Historic Centre of Cordoba (1984)
• Historic City of Toledo (1986)
• Historic Walled Town of Cuenca (1996)
• La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia (1996)
• Las Médulas, León (1997)
• Monastery and Site of the Escorial, Madrid (1984)
• Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias (1985)
• Mudejar Architecture of Aragon (1986)
• Old City of Salamanca (1988)
• Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches (1985)
• Old Town of Cáceres (1986)
• Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct (1985)
• Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona (1997)
• Palmeral of Elche (2000)
• Poblet Monastery (1991)
• Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda and Baeza (2003)
• Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula (1998)
• Roman Walls of Lugo (2000)
• Route of Santiago de Compostela (1993)
• Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe (1993)
• San Cristóbal de La Laguna (1999)
• San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries (1997)
• Santiago de Compostela (Old Town) (1985)
• University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares (1998)
• Works of Antoni Gaudí (1984)
Mixed
• Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture (1999)
• Pyrénées - Mont Perdu (1997)
Natural
• Doñana National Park (1994)
• Garajonay National Park (1986)
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Nobel Prize Laureates from Spanish-language countries
Argentina
• Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Peace, 1980
• Bernardo Houssay, Physiology or Medicine, 1947
• Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Peace, 1936
• Luis Federico Leloir, Chemistry, 1970
• César Milstein, Physiology or Medicine, 1984
Chile
• Gabriela Mistral, Literature, 1945
• Pablo Neruda, Literature, 1971
Colombia
• Gabriel García Márquez, Literature, 1982
Costa Rica
• Oscar Arias Sánchez, Peace, 1987
Guatemala
• Miguel Ángel Asturias, Literature, 1967
• Rigoberta Menchú, Peace, 1992
Mexico
• Mario J. Molina, Chemistry, 1995
• Octavio Paz, Literature, 1990
• Alfonso García Robles, Peace, 1982
Spain
• Vicente Aleixandre, Literature, 1977
• Jacinto Benavente, Literature, 1922
• Camilo José Cela, Literature, 1989
• José Echegaray, Literature, 1904
• Severo Ochoa, Physiology or Medicine, 1959
• Juan Ramón Jiménez, Literature, 1956
• Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Physiology or Medicine, 1906
Venezuela
• Baruj Benacerraf, Physiology or Medicine, 1980
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5.
Spanish is the language for travel and hospitality
Spanish is an important language for world travelers. It is the language of some of the world’s
favorite tourist and business destinations.
According to statistics from World Tourism Organisation WTO 2008, two Spanish speaking
countries are in the top ten destinations. Spain after France & USA, and Mexico placed tenth.
In dollars revenue, Spain is second with 45.2 billion USD taking a 7.3% of the world percentage,
while the Caribbean countries, Central America and South America are recipients of 5.3% of the
world tourism. More exactly, the American-Hispanic countries get 40% of the tourist in the
American country, with a forecast annual growth of 4%.
The World's Top Tourism Destinations (international tourist arrivals)
The following table shows the top ten tourism destinations according to the number and percent
of tourist arrivals in each country during 2008.
2008
rank Country
Arrivals (millions) Percent
Percent
change
change
2007
2008
2007/2006 2008/2007
1.
France
81.9
79.3
3.9%
–3.2%
2.
United States
56.0
58.0
9.8
3.6
3.
Spain
58.7
57.3
1.1
–2.3
4.
China
54.7
57.3
1.1
–3.1
5.
Italy
43.7
42.7
6.3
–2.1
6.
United Kingdom
30.9
30.2
0.7
–2.2
7.
Ukraine
23.1
25.4
22.1
9.8
8.
Turkey
22.2
25.0
17.6
12.3
9.
Germany
24.4
24.9
3.6
1.9
10.
Mexico
21.4
22.6
0.1
5.9
Source: World Tourism Organization (WTO). Web: www.world-tourism.org .
Read more: The World's Top Tourism Destinations — Infoplease.com
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0198352.html#ixzz10R1hhQoL
The Tourism and Hospitality industries are very important and fast growing in the UK. The
Spanish language is a definite conduct and advantage for all the students at university or who
are, looking into Travel and Hospitality as a future career.
British nationals make around 13 million visits to Spain each year, making it one of the mostvisited countries by Britons anywhere in the world.
source: Instituto de Estudios Turisticos)
Spain: 2nd World in meetings, incentives, congresses and exhibitions
- Spain has invested enormously in this sector during the last few years to enhance the
competitive edge, both in hotels, conference centres and unique venues, with 44 conference
centres well distributed over the peninsula characterized by the quality of the services they
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provide. There are 47 civil airports (11 international). Madrid enjoys one of the largest airports in
Europe, with capacity to handle 70 million passengers a year.
Spain: The best destination for Golf
Spain has 245 golf courses and it is becoming a European leader for the quality of the courses
and the achievements of international Spanish golf players such as Sergio García, Severiano
Ballesteros and José María Olazábal
Some other Tourism Facts
• Spain has 11 international airports; 341 sportive ports; 28 ski resorts; 1242 camping
sites; more than 58,000 restaurants; 1,4 million available rooms, including the
Paradores Nacionales (hotel network of castles, palaces and historical buildings).
• Sporting activities and adventures including rock-climbing, hiking, horse trekking,
cycling, white water rafting and canyoning. Tarifa is reputed for being the best place in
Europe for doing windsurfing and kite-surfing
Madrid
•
•
•
•
Madrid receives more than 5 million tourists every year which rapidly integrate into
this multicultural city.
Madrid is a city full of culture combining a singular artistic tradition side by side with
a open spirit and acceptance of new ideas. All of this is highlighted by the biggest
concentration of grand mmasters found on the planet in Madrid’s cultural triangle a
series of galleries and museums all within 10 minutes walk of each other; from
Goya, Valezquez, Tizaino or el Greco in the “Museo Nacional del Proado up to Dali,
Picaso, Miro etc,.. in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. All of this
alongside Duerero, Caneleto, Bruegal, Gaugin or Kandinski which are found in the
Museo Thyssen Borenemisza.
Madrid has 1962 monuments such as the Puerta del Alcala, Cibles Fountain, La
puerta del Sol or the palacio de Correos all also lend an air of walking in an outdoor
gallery.
Madrid is surrounded by a diversity of rich historical and cultural towns including
many listed as worl heritage centres: Toledo, Avila, Segovia, Aranjuez, Alacala de
Henares and Cuenca are just some of the beautiful places that can be discovered
on a day trip from Spains capital city.
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How difficult is Spanish to Learn?
Spanish is easy to learn for English speakers. Because of their Latin origin, English and
Spanish share many common words; there are dozens of English words in the Spanish
language and vice-versa (vista, patio, mosquito, fiesta are all Spanish words). No other major
language has sounds that are as easy to learn as those of Spanish. Spanish is a very flexible,
expressive and freely spoken language. It is estimated that an English speaker can learn
Spanish in a fraction of the time it would take to learn an Asian language.
As a result, the average student is able to maintain a simple conversation in Spanish after a few
months of study, and a long conversation on everyday topics after just a couple of years.
Once the basics of the language are solidly planted, it is possible to develop a reading
competence in any area of expertise or specialization in a few months. Typically, students of
technical and scientific disciplines with a reading ability in Spanish will merge it with their studies
as a matter of course.
The high learnability rate of Spanish for English-speakers depends primarily on the relative
closeness of both languages, and secondarily on the relative inner complexity of the target
language. Thus, Spanish is easier and quicker to learn, due to its simple grammar and
phonetics, compared with Asian or other European languages.
For many English speakers, Spanish is a good gateway into other languages of the Romance
family, such as French, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan and Romanian.
Spanish words in the English language
Spanish words have come to us from three primary sources:
• many of them entered American English in the days of Mexican and/or Spanish
cowboys working in what is now the US Southwest;
• words of Caribbean origin entered English by way of trade;
• the third major source is food, as many Spanish words have no English equivalent.
Following is a small sample of words loaned from Spanish that have assimilated themselves
into the English vocabulary. As noted, some of these words were adopted into the Spanish
language from elsewhere before being passed on to English. Although most words retain the
spelling and pronunciation close to the Spanish original, all are recognised as English words by
at least one reference source.
• adios (from adiós)
• adobe (originally Coptic tobe, "brick")
• aficionado
• albino
• alcove (from Spanish alcoba, originally Arabic al-qubba)
• alfalfa (originally Arabic al-fasfasah.
Many other English words beginning with "al" were originally Arabic, and many may have had
a Spanish language connection in becoming English.)
• alligator (from el lagarto, "the lizard")
• alpaca (animal similar to a llama, from Aymara allpaca)
• armadillo (literally, "the little armed one")
• armada
• avocado (originally a Nahuatl word, ahuacatl)
• banana (word, originally of African origin, entered English via either Spanish or Portuguese)
• barracuda
• barbecue (from barbacoa, a word of Caribbean origin)
• bonanza (although the Spanish bonanza can be used synonymously with the English
cognate, it more often means "calm seas" or "fair weather")
• booby (from bobo, meaning "silly" or "selfish")
• bravo (from either Italian or Old Spanish)
• bronco (means "wild" or "rough" in Spanish)
• buckaroo (possibly from vaquero, "cowboy")
• burrito (literally "little donkey")
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• cafeteria (from cafetería)
• canary (Old Spanish canario entered English by way of French canarie)
• canasta (the Spanish word means "basket")
• cannibal (originally of Caribbean origin)
• canoe (the word was originally Caribbean)
• canyon (from cañon)
• cargo (from cargar, "to load")
• chaps (from Mexican Spanish chaparreras)
• chili (from chile, derived from Nahuatl chilli)
• chocolate (originally xocolatl, from Nahuatl, an indigenous Mexican language)
• cigar, cigarette (from cigarro)
• cilantro
• cinch (from cincho, "belt")
• cocaine (from coca, from Quechua kúka)
• coco (type of tree, from icaco, originally Arawak ikaku from the Caribbean)
• comrade (from camarada, "roommate")
• conquistador
• condor (originally from Quechua, an indigenous South American language)
• corral
• coyote (from the Nahuatl coyotl)
• creole (from criollo)
• criollo (English term refers to someone indigenous to South America; Spanish term originally
referred toanyone from a particular locality) • dengue (Spanish imported the word from
Swahili)
• desperado
• El Niño (weather pattern, means "The Child" due to its appearance around Christmas)
• embargo (from embargar, to bar)
• enchilada (participle of enchilar, "to season with chili")
• fajita (diminutive of faja, a belt or sash, probably so named due to strips of meat)
• fiesta (in Spanish, it can mean a party, a celebration, a feast — or a fiesta)
• filibuster (from filibustero, derived from Dutch vrijbuiter, "pirate")
• flan (a type of custard)
• flotilla
• galleon (from Spanish galeón)
• garbanzo (type of bean)
• guacamole (originally from Nahuatl ahuacam, "avocado," and molli, "sauce")
• guerrilla (In Spanish, the word refers to a small fighting force. A guerrilla fighter is a
guerrillero.)
• hammock (from jamaca, a Caribbean Spanish word)
• habanero (a type of pepper; in Spanish, the word refers to something from Havana)
• hacienda (in Spanish, the initial h is silent)
• hurricane (from huracán, originally an indigenous Caribbean word)
• iguana (originally from Arawak and Carib iwana)
• jaguar (from Spanish and Portuguese, originally from Guarani yaguar)
• jalapeño
• jerky (the word for dried meet comes from charqui, which in turn came from the Quechua
ch'arki)
• key (the word for a small island comes from the Spanish cayo, possibly of Caribbean origin)
• lariat (from la reata, "the lasso")
• lasso (from lazo)
• liberal ( from Cadiz Courts)
• llama (originally from Quechua)
• machete
• machismo,
• macho (macho usually means simply "male" in Spanish)
• maize (from maíz, originally from Arawak mahíz)
• manatee (from manatí, originally from Carib)
• mano a mano (literally, "hand to hand")
• matador (literally, "killer")
• marijuana (usually mariguana or marihuana in Spanish)
• mesa (In Spanish it means "table," but it also can mean "tableland," the English meaning.)
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• margarita (a woman's name meaning "daisy")
• mariachi
• menudo (Mexican food)
• mesquite (tree name originally from Nahuatl mizquitl
• mestizo
• mole (Unfortunately, the name for this delightful chocolate-chili dish is sometimes misspelled
as "molé" in English in an attempt to prevent mispronunciation.)
• mosquito
• mulatto (from mulato)
• mustang (from mestengo, "stray")
• nacho
• nada
• negro (comes from either the Spanish or Portuguese word for the color black)
• nopal (type of cactus, from Nahuatl nohpalli)
• olé (in Spanish, the exclamation can be used in places other than bullfights)
• oregano (from orégano)
• paella (a savory Spanish rice dish)
• palomino (originally meant a white dove in Spanish)
• papaya (originally Arawak)
• patio (In Spanish, the word most often refers to a courtyard.)
• peccadillo (from pecadillo, diminutive of pecado, "sin")
• peso (Although in Spanish a peso is also a monetary unit, it more generally means a weight.)
• picaresque (from picaresco)
• pinole (a meal made of grain and beans; originally Nahuatl pinolli)
• pinta (tropical skin disease)
• pinto (Spanish for "spotted" or "painted")
• piñata
• piña colada (literally meaning "strained pineapple")
• piñon (type of pine tree, sometimes spelled "pinyon")
• plantain (from plátano or plántano)
• plaza
• poncho (Spanish adopted the word from Araucanian, an indigenous South American
language)
• potato (from batata, a word of Caribbean origin)
• pronto (from an adjective or adverb meaning "quick" or "quickly" • pueblo (in Spanish, the
word can mean simply "people")
• puma (originally from Quechua)
• quadroon (from cuaterón)
• quesadilla
• quirt (type of riding whip, comes from Spanish cuarta)
• quixotesc (from Don Quixote book)
• ranch (Rancho often means "ranch" in Mexican Spanish, but it can also mean a settlement,
camp or meal rations.)
• reefer (drug slang, possibly from Mexican Spanish grifa, "marijuana")
• remuda (regionalism for a relay of horses)
• renegade (from renegado)
• rodeo
• rumba (from rumbo, originally referring to the course of a ship and, by extension, the revelry
aboard)
• salsa (In Spanish, almost any kind of a sauce or gravy can be referred to as salsa.)
• sarsaparilla (from zarza, "bramble," and parilla, "small vine")
• sassafras (from sasafrás)
• savanna (from obsolete Spanish çavana, originally Taino zabana, "grassland")
• savvy (from sabe, a form of the verb saber, "to know")
• serape (Mexican blanket)
• serrano (type of pepper)
• shack (possibly from Mexican Spanish jacal, from the Nahuatl xcalli, "adobe hut")
• siesta
• silo
• sombrero (In Spanish, the word, which is derived from sombra, "shade," can mean almost
any kind of hat, not just the traditional broad-rimmed Mexican hat.)
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• spaniel (ultimately from hispania, the same root that gave us the words "Spain" and español)
• stampede (from estampida)
• stevedore (from estibador, one who stows or packs things)
• stockade (from a French derivation of the Spanish estacada, "fence" or "stockade")
• tobacco (from tabaco, a word possibly of Caribbean origin)
• taco (In Spanish, a taco can refer to a stopper, plug or wad. In other words, a taco originally
meant a wad of food. Indeed, in Mexico, the variety of tacos is almost endless, far more varied
than the beef, lettuce and cheese combination of U.S.-style fast food.)
• tamale (The Spanish singular for this Mexican dish is tamal. The English comes from an
erroneous backformation of the Spanish plural, tamales.)
• tamarillo (type of tree, derived from tomatillo, a small tomato)
• tango
• tapa (small meal)
• tequila (named after a Mexican town of the same name)
• tejano (type of music)
• tomatillo
• tomato (from tomate, derived from Nahuatl tomatl)
• toreador
• tornado (from tronada, thunderstorm)
• tortilla (in Spanish, an omelet often is a tortilla)
• tuna (from atún)
• vamoose (from vamos, a form of "to go")
• vanilla (from vainilla)
• vaquero (English regionalism for a cowboy)
• vicuña (animal similar to a llama, from Quechua wikuña)
• vigilante (from adjective for "vigilant")
• vinegarroon (from vinagrón)
• wrangler (some sources say word is derived from Mexican Spanish caballerango, one who
grooms horses, while other sources say the word comes from German)
• yucca (from yuca, originally a Caribbean word)
• zapateado (a type of dance emphasizing movement of the heels)
Source: http://spanish.about.com/cs/historyofspanish/a/spanishloanword_4.htm
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Appendix
The Spanish Education Office in the UK
THE SPANISH EDUCATION OFFICES NETWORK
It is a major initiative of the Spanish Government to promote Spanish Language and Culture
throughout the world. Each Education Office offers useful information and resources for the
teaching and learning of Spanish: posters for the classroom, magazines, downloadable
activities, etc. These resources are aimed for primary and secondary schools and offer several
levels of proficiency.
Resources from the Spanish Education Office in the UK and Ireland.
•
http://www.mepsyd.es/exterior/uk/es/tecla/pruebatecla.shtml
Tecla is a monthly text magazine written for learners and teachers of Spanish. It provides
cultural and linguistic activities organised in three levels (elementary, intermediate and
superior).
http://www.mepsyd.es/exterior/uk/es/consej/es/publicaciones/primaria.shtml
Materiales de apoyo para la enseñanza del español en primaria (Resources for
primary teachers) offers a a booklet, Spanish Traditional Songs and a set of activity
books ¡Hola, Amigos! in .pdf format for primary students of Spanish. Each book is
accompanied by songs in .mp3 format.
http://www.mepsyd.es/exterior/uk/es/consej/es/publicaciones/actiespania.shtml
Acti/España provides teachers with activities and resources for primary and secondary
levels. It is published every three months.
http://www.mepsyd.es/exterior/uk/es/consej/es/publicaciones/resources.shtml
“Recursos Didácticos” (Teaching Resources) offers power point presentations on cultural
and social issues (Las mujeres en España, Fiestas en España…) as well as posters for
the classroom, of special interest for primary teachers.
http://www.mepsyd.es/exterior/uk/es/consej/es/publicaciones/pptauxi.shtml
Offers several power point presentations of great interest for teachers and students
working on cultural projects about Spain and Latin American Countries
http://www.mepsyd.es/exterior/uk/es/consej/es/publicaciones/elpais.shtml
“Artículos de prensa para el estudio del español” is a selection of news items from the
Spanish newspaper “El País”. Each piece of news is accompanied by a set of activities.
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Otheruseful Websites:
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Royal Spanish Academy, www.rae.es
Instituto Cervantes, www.cervantes.org
Centro Virtual Cervantes: http://www.cervantes.es/default.htm
Embassy of Spain in the UK: http://spain.embassyhomepage.com
Journal RedELE, http://www.sgci.mec.es/redele
ELENZA, http://redgeomatica.rediris.es/elenza
International House Madrid - Spanish Courses for foreign speakers
www.ihmadrid.com / www.ihspanishinmadrid.com