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{{Redirect|Español}}
{{redirect|Castellano|the surname|Castellano (surname)}}
{{Infobox Language
| name = Spanish, Castilian*
| nativename = {{lang|es|Español}}, {{lang|es|Castellano}}
|pronunciation=/espaˈɲol/, /kasteˈʎano/ or /kasteˈʝano/
| familycolor = Indo-European
| script = [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] ([[Spanish alphabet|Spanish variant]])
| region = [[Argentina]], [[Bolivia]], [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Cuba]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Ecuador]], [[Equatorial Guinea]], [[El Salvador]], [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]], [[Mexico]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Panama]], [[Paraguay]], [[Peru]], <!--

Before adding [[Philippines]], read this first. President Arroyo's recent announcement did not mention the official language reinstatement of Spanish; it was to have been taught in school beginning January 2008; it has yet to occur, and goes unreported in the local press.

-->[[Puerto Rico]], [[Spain]], [[Uruguay]], [[Venezuela]], and a significant numbers of the populations of [[Andorra]], [[Belize]], [[Gibraltar]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Jamaica]], and the [[United States]].
|speakers = First language<sup>a</sup>: 322<ref name="ethnologue">{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=spa|title=Spanish|publisher=ethnologue}}</ref><ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/media_701500404/Languages_Spoken_by_More_Than_10_Million_People.html Encarta-Most Spoken languages]</ref>&ndash; c. 400 million<ref>[http://www.ciberamerica.org/Ciberamerica/Castellano/General/Noticias/detalle?id=8832 Ciberamerica-Castellano]</ref><ref>[http://archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2004/febrero/15-febrero-2004/especiales/especiales2.html El Nuevo Diario]</ref><ref>[http://www.terra.com/noticias/articulo/html/act821930.htm Terra Noticias]</ref> <br/>Total<sup>a</sup>: 400&ndash;500 million<ref name = "universidad de mexico">[http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:v5IUdEETu40J:www.lllf.uam.es/~fmarcos/coloquio/Ponencias/MMelgar.doc+%22En+el+mundo+lo+hablan+aproximadamente+400+millones+de+personas%22+%22Adicionalmente+100+millones+de+personas+hablan+espa%C3%B1ol+como+segunda+lengua%22&hl=es&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=es Universidad de México]{{Verify credibility|date=March 2008}}{{sup|(cached URL)}}</ref><ref name="instituto cervantes">Instituto Cervantes ([http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:0i7Y43lUanEJ:www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/04/26/cultura/1177610767.html+%22Instituto+Cervantes%22%22los+actuales+500+millones+de+hispanohablantes+en+Latinoam%C3%A9rica+y+Espa%C3%B1a%22&hl=es&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=es "El Mundo" news])</ref><ref>[http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=173481 Yahoo Press Room]</ref> <br><sup>a</sup><small>All numbers are approximate.</small>
| rank = 2-4 (native)<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/ Languages of the world by Ethnologue]</ref><ref>[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/most_spoken_languages.htm Most widely spoken languages by Nations Online]</ref><ref>[http://www.askmen.com/toys/top_10/45b_top_10_list.html Most spoken languages by Ask Men]</ref><ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/media_701500404/Languages_Spoken_by_More_Than_10_Million_People.html Encarta Languages Spoken by More Than 10 Million People]</ref><br>Total: 3
| fam2 = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3 = [[Romance languages|Romance]]
| fam4 = [[Italo-Western languages|Italo-Western]]
| fam5 = [[Gallo-Iberian]]
| fam6 = [[Ibero-Romance languages|Ibero-Romance]]
| fam7 = [[West Iberian languages|West Iberian]]
| script = [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] ([[Spanish alphabet|Spanish variant]])
| script = [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] ([[Spanish alphabet|Spanish variant]])
| nation = [[List of countries where Spanish is an official language|21 countries]]
| agency = [[Association of Spanish Language Academies|{{lang|es|Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española}}]] ({{lang|es|[[Real Academia Española]]}} and 21 other national Spanish language academies)
| iso1 = es
| iso2 = spa
| iso3 = spa
}}

'''Spanish''' ({{Audio|español.ogg|''español''}}) or '''Castilian''' (''Castellano'') is a [[Latin]]-derived [[Romance languages|Romance language]] that originated in northern [[Spain]], from whence it gradually spread in the Kingdom of [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]], and subsequently evolved into the principal language of government and trade. It was taken to [[Spanish Empire#Territories in Africa (1898–1975)|Africa]], the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Americas]] and [[Spanish East Indies|Asia Pacific]] when the Spanish Empire was established between the 15th and 19th centuries.

Today, Spanish is an official language of Spain, most [[Latin American]] countries, and [[Equatorial Guinea]]; 21 nations speak it as their primary language. Spanish also is one of [[United Nations#Languages|six official languages]] of the [[United Nations]].

Between 322 and 400 million people natively speak Spanish,<ref name = "universidad de Mexico">[http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:v5IUdEETu40J:www.lllf.uam.es/~fmarcos/coloquio/Ponencias/MMelgar.doc+%22En+el+mundo+lo+hablan+aproximadamente+400+millones+de+personas%22+%22Adicionalmente+100+millones+de+personas+hablan+espa%C3%B1ol+como+segunda+lengua%22&hl=es&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=es Universidad de México]{{Verify credibility|date=March 2008}}{{sup|(cached URL)}}<</ref><ref name="instituto cervantes">Instituto Cervantes ([http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:0i7Y43lUanEJ:www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/04/26/cultura/1177610767.html+%22Instituto+Cervantes%22%22los+actuales+500+millones+de+hispanohablantes+en+Latinoam%C3%A9rica+y+Espa%C3%B1a%22&hl=es&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=es "El Mundo" news])</ref> making it the most spoken Romance language, and the second most-spoken language by native speakers.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/19990429232804/www.sil.org/ethnologue/top100.html Ethnologue, 1999]</ref><ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2098.html CIA World Factbook], Field Listing - Languages (World).</ref>

[[Mexico]] has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population, and Spanish is the second most-widely spoken language in the [[United States]], <ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html CIA The World Factbook United States]</ref> and the most popular studied foreign language in [[United States|U.S.]] schools and universities.<ref>{{PDFlink|[http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/06statab/pop.pdf United States Census Bureau]|1.86&nbsp;[[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 1956553 bytes -->}}, Statistical Abstract of the United States: page 47: Table 47: Languages Spoken at Home by Language: 2003</ref><ref>{{PDFlink|[http://www.adfl.org/resources/enrollments.pdf Foreign Language Enrollments in United States Institutions of Higher Learning]|129 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 132628 bytes -->}}, MLA Fall 2002.</ref> Spanish is among the most popular foreign languages for study in the rest of the nations of the [[Anglosphere]] besides the global use of [[English language|English]]. The many exotic, Spanish-speaking locales attract many people to the language. Smaller numbers also learn it for potential business and employment ventures, although this is largely confined to the United States. Due to proximity, linguistic similarities, and trade reasons it is also a very popular second language in France, Italy, Portugal, and particularly the southern states of Brazil. It is estimated that the combined total of native and non-native Spanish speakers is approximately 500 million, likely making it the third most spoken language by total number of speakers.<ref name = "universidad de Mexico">[http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:v5IUdEETu40J:www.lllf.uam.es/~fmarcos/coloquio/Ponencias/MMelgar.doc+%22En+el+mundo+lo+hablan+aproximadamente+400+millones+de+personas%22+%22Adicionalmente+100+millones+de+personas+hablan+espa%C3%B1ol+como+segunda+lengua%22&hl=es&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=es Universidad de México]{{Verify credibility|date=March 2008}}{{sup|(cached URL)}}<</ref><ref name="instituto cervantes">Instituto Cervantes ([http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:0i7Y43lUanEJ:www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/04/26/cultura/1177610767.html+%22Instituto+Cervantes%22%22los+actuales+500+millones+de+hispanohablantes+en+Latinoam%C3%A9rica+y+Espa%C3%B1a%22&hl=es&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=es "El Mundo" news]).</ref> [[Global internet usage]] statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the internet, after English and Chinese.<ref>[http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm World Internet Usage Statistics]</ref>

According to George Weber's point system, Spanish is the third most influential language in the world (after [[English Language|English]] and [[French Language|French]]).<ref name="TOP LANGUAGES: The world's 10 most influential languages">{{Citation
|url=http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/weber/rep-weber.htm
|title=TOP LANGUAGES: The World's 10 most influential Languages
|author=George Weber
|publisher=andaman.org
|accessdate=[[2007-12-29]]}} {{verify credibility|date=December 2007}}</ref>

==Naming and origin==

{{main|Names given to the Spanish language}}
Spaniards tend to call this language {{lang|es|'''''español'''''}} (Spanish) when contrasting it with languages of other states, such as [[French language|French]] and [[English language|English]], but call it {{lang|es|'''''castellano'''''}} (Castilian), that is, the language of the [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]] region, when contrasting it with other [[languages of Spain|languages spoken in Spain]] such as [[Galician language|Galician]] (''gallego''), [[Basque language|Basque]] (''euskara''), and [[Catalan language|Catalan]] (''catalán''). This reasoning also holds true for the language's preferred name in some [[Hispanic America]]n countries. In this manner, the [[Spanish Constitution of 1978]] uses the term {{lang|es|''castellano''}} to define the [[official language]] of the whole Spanish State, as opposed to {{lang|es|''las demás lenguas españolas''}} (lit. ''the other Spanish languages''). Article III reads as follows:

:{{lang|es|''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 ''{{lang|es|castellano}}'' a generic term with no political or ideological links, much as "Spanish" is in English. Often Americans use it to differentiate their own variety of Spanish as opposed to the variety of Spanish spoken in Spain, or vice-versa, to refer to that variety of Spanish which is considered as standard in the region.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}

==Classification and related languages==

Castilian Spanish has closest affinity to the other [[West Iberian languages|West Iberian]] Romance languages: [[Asturian language|Asturian]] ({{lang|ast|''asturianu''}}), [[Galician language|Galician]] ({{lang|gl|''galego''}}), [[Ladino language|Ladino]] ({{lang|lad|''dzhudezmo/spanyol/kasteyano''}}), and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ({{lang|pt|''português''}}), as well as to [[Aragonese language|Aragonese]] ({{lang|an|''aragonés''}}) and [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ({{lang|ca|''català''}}).{{Fact|date=October 2007}}

Catalan, an [[Iberian Romance languages|East Iberian language]] which exhibits many [[Gallo-Romance]] traits, is more similar to the neighbouring [[Occitan language]] ({{lang|oc|''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 [[Influence of Arabic on other languages|Arabic influence]] while a great part of the peninsula was under [[Timeline of the Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula|Islamic rule]] (both languages expanded over [[Islamic empire|Islamic territories]]). Their [[lexical similarity]] has been estimated as 89%.<ref name="ethnologue"/> See [[Differences between Spanish and Portuguese]] for further information.

===Ladino===
{{further|[[Ladino language]]}}

Ladino, which is essentially medieval Castilian and closer to modern Spanish than any other language, is spoken by many descendants of the [[Sephardi Jews]] who were [[Alhambra decree|expelled from Spain in the 15th century]]. Ladino speakers are currently almost exclusively [[Sephardim|Sephardi]] Jews, with family roots in Turkey, Greece or the Balkans: current speakers mostly live in Israel and Turkey, with a few pockets in Latin America. In many ways it is not a separate language but a parallel dialect of Castilian. It lacks the [[Amerindian languages|Native American vocabulary]] which was influential during the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish colonial period]], and it retains many archaic features which have since been lost in standard Castilian. It contains, however, other vocabulary which is not found in standard Castilian, including vocabulary from [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], some French, Greek and [[Turkish language|Turkish]], and other languages spoken where the Sephardim settled.

Ladino is in serious danger of extinction because many native speakers today are elderly as well as elderly ''olim'' (immigrants to [[Israel]]) who have not transmitted the language to their children or grandchildren. However, it is experiencing a minor revival among Sephardi communities, especially in music. In the case of the Latin American communities, the danger of extinction is also due to the risk of assimilation by modern Castilian.

A related dialect is [[Haketia]], the Judaeo-Spanish of northern Morocco. This too tended to assimilate to modern Castilian, during the Spanish occupation of the region.

===Vocabulary comparison===

Spanish and [[Italian language|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%.<ref name="ethnologue"/> As a result, Spanish and Italian are mutually intelligible to various degrees. The lexical similarity with [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] is even greater, 89%, but the vagaries of Portuguese pronunciation make it less easily understood by Hispanophones than Italian. [[Mutual intelligibility]] between Spanish and [[French language|French]] or [[Romanian language|Romanian]] is even lower (lexical similarity being respectively 75% and 71%<ref name="ethnologue"/>): 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.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! [[Latin]]
! [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
! [[Galician language|Galician]]
! [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
! [[Catalan language|Catalan]]
! [[Italian language|Italian]]
! [[French language|French]]
! [[Romanian language|Romanian]]
! [[English language|English]] Meaning and notes
|-
| {{lang|la|''nos''}}
| {{lang|es|''nos'''otros'''''}}
| {{lang|gl|''nós''}}/{{lang|gl|''nosoutros''}}
| {{lang|pt|''nós''}}<sup>¹</sup>
| {{lang|ca|''nos'''altres'''''}}
| {{lang|it|''noi''}}<sup>²</sup>
| {{lang|fr|''nous''}}<sup>³</sup>
| {{lang|ro|''noi''}}
| we[-'''others''']
|-
| {{lang|la|''fratrem germānum'' (acc.)}} (lit. "true brother", i.e. not a cousin)
| {{lang|es|''hermano''}}
| {{lang|gl|''irmán''}}
| {{lang|pt|''irmão''}}
| {{lang|ca|''germà''}}
| {{lang|it|''fratello''}}
| {{lang|fr|''frère''}}
| {{lang|ro|''frate''}}
| brother
|-
| {{lang|la|''dies Martis''}} <br/> ([[Classical Latin|Classical]])
{{lang|la|''tertia feria''}} <br /> ([[Ecclesiastical Latin|Ecclesiastical]])
| {{lang|es|''martes''}}
| {{lang|gl|''martes''}}
| {{lang|pt|''terça-feira''}}
| {{lang|ca|''dimarts''}}
| {{lang|it|''martedì''}}
| {{lang|fr|''mardi''}}
| {{lang|ro|''marți''}}
| Tuesday
|-
| {{lang|la|''cantiō'' (''nem'', acc.), ''canticum''}}
| {{lang|es|''canción''}}
| {{lang|gl|''canción''}}
| {{lang|pt|''canção''}}
| {{lang|ca|''cançó''}}
| {{lang|it|''canzone''}}
| {{lang|fr|''chanson''}}
| {{lang|ro|''cântec''}}
| song

|-
| {{lang|la|''magis''}} or {{lang|la|''plus''}}
| {{lang|es|''más''}} <br /> (archaically also {{lang|es|''plus''}})
| {{lang|gl|''máis''}}
| {{lang|pt|''mais''}} <br /> (archaically also {{lang|pt|''chus''}})
| {{lang|ca|''més''}} <br /> (archaically also {{lang|ca|''pus''}})
| {{lang|it|''più''}}
| {{lang|fr|''plus''}}
| {{lang|ro|''mai''}}
| more
|-
| {{lang|la|''manum sinistram'' (acc.)}}
| {{lang|es|''mano izquierda''}}
also ({{lang|es|''mano siniestra''}})
| {{lang|gl|''man esquerda''}}
| {{lang|pt|''mão esquerda''}} <br /> (archaically also {{lang|pt|''sẽestra''}})
| {{lang|ca|''mà esquerra''}}
| {{lang|it|''mano sinistra''}}
| {{lang|fr|''main gauche''}}
| {{lang|ro|''mâna stângă''}}
| left hand
|-
| {{lang|la|''nihil''}} or {{lang|la|''nullam rem natam'' (acc.)}} <br /> (lit. "no thing born")
| {{lang|es|''nada''}}
| {{lang|gl|''nada''}}/{{lang|gl|''ren''}}
| {{lang|pt|''nada''}} <br /> (archaically also {{lang|pt|''rem''}})
| {{lang|ca|''res''}}
| {{lang|it|''niente''}}/{{lang|it|''nulla''}}
| {{lang|fr|''rien''}}/{{lang|fr|''nul''}}
| {{lang|ro|''nimic''}}
| none
|}

<small>
1. also {{lang|pt|''nós outros''}} in early modern Portuguese (e.g. ''[[The Lusiads]]'')<br>
2. {{lang|it|''noi '''altri'''''}} in Southern [[List of languages of Italy|Italian dialects and languages]]<br>
3. {{lang|fr|''nous '''autres'''''}} in [[Quebec French]]
</small>

==History==
{{main|History of the Spanish language}}
[[Image:Page of Lay of the Cid.jpg|thumb|A page of {{lang|es|''[[Cantar de Mio Cid]]''}}, in medieval Castilian.]]

Spanish evolved from [[Vulgar Latin]], with minor [[Arabic influence on the Spanish language|influences from Arabic]] during the [[Al-Andalus|Andalusian]] period and from [[Basque language|Basque]] and [[Celtiberian language|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 (autonomous community)|La Rioja]] provinces of Northern Spain, as a strongly innovative and differing variant from its nearest cousin, [[Asturian|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 {{lang|la|''vita''}}, Spanish {{lang|es|''vida''}}), [[palatalization]] (Latin {{lang|la|''annum''}}, Spanish {{lang|es|''año''}}, and Latin {{lang|la|''anellum''}}, Spanish {{lang|es|''anillo''}}) and [[diphthong]]ation ([[stem (linguistics)|stem]]-changing) of short ''e'' and ''o'' from Vulgar Latin (Latin {{lang|la|''terra''}}, Spanish {{lang|es|''tierra''}}; Latin {{lang|la|''novus''}}, Spanish {{lang|es|''nuevo''}}). Similar phenomena can be found in other Romance languages as well.

During the {{lang|es|''[[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 ({{lang|es|''Gramática de la Lengua Castellana''}}) was written in [[Salamanca]], Spain, in 1492, by [[Antonio de Nebrija|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." {{Fact|date=August 2007}}

From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the [[Americas]] and the [[Spanish East Indies]] via [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish colonization]], and in that epoch, Spanish became the principal language of politics and Art in most of Europe{{Fact|date=December 2007}}; 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 [[diphthong]]ization of the Latin short vowels ''e'' and ''o'' into ''ie'' and ''ue'', respectively, when they were stressed. Similar [[sound law|sound changes]] are found in other Romance languages, but in Spanish they were significant. Some examples:

* Lat. {{lang|la|''petra''}} > Sp. {{lang|es|''piedra''}}, It. {{lang|it|''pietra''}}, Fr. {{lang|fr|''pierre''}}, Port./Gal. {{lang|pt|''pedra''}} "stone".
* Lat. {{lang|la|''moritur''}} > Sp. {{lang|es|''muere''}}, It. {{lang|it|''muore''}}, Fr. {{lang|fr|''meurt''}} / {{lang|fr|''muert''}}, Rom. {{lang|ro|''moare''}}, Port./Gal. {{lang|pt|''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. {{lang|la|''filium''}} > It. {{lang|it|''figlio''}}, Port. {{lang|pt|''filho''}}, Gal. {{lang|gl|''fillo''}}, Fr. {{lang|fr|''fils''}}, Occitan {{lang|oc|''filh''}} (but Gascon {{lang|gsc|''hilh''}}) Sp. {{lang|es|''hijo''}} (but Ladino {{lang|lad|''fijo''}});
* late Lat. {{lang|la|''*fabulare''}} > Lad. {{lang|lad|''favlar''}}, Port./Gal. {{lang|pt|''falar''}}, Sp. {{lang|es|''hablar''}};
* but Lat. {{lang|la|''focum''}} > It. {{lang|it|''fuoco''}}, Port./Gal. {{lang|pt|''fogo''}}, Sp./Lad. {{lang|es|''fuego''}}.

Some [[consonant cluster]]s of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, for example:

* Lat. {{lang|la|''clamare''}}, acc. {{lang|la|''flammam''}}, {{lang|la|''plenum''}} > Lad. {{lang|lad|''lyamar''}}, {{lang|lad|''flama''}}, {{lang|lad|''pleno''}}; Sp. {{lang|es|''llamar''}}, {{lang|es|''llama''}}, {{lang|es|''lleno''}}. However, in Spanish there are also the forms {{lang|la|''clamar''}}, {{lang|lad|''flama''}}, {{lang|lad|''pleno''}}; Port. {{lang|pt|''chamar''}}, {{lang|pt|''chama''}}, {{lang|pt|''cheio''}}; Gal. {{lang|gl|''chamar''}}, {{lang|gl|''chama''}}, {{lang|gl|''cheo''}}.
* Lat. acc. {{lang|la|''octo''}}, {{lang|la|''noctem''}}, {{lang|la|''multum''}} > Lad. {{lang|lad|''ocho''}}, {{lang|lad|''noche''}}, {{lang|lad|''muncho''}}; Sp. {{lang|es|''ocho''}}, {{lang|es|''noche''}}, {{lang|es|''mucho''}}; Port. {{lang|pt|''oito''}}, {{lang|pt|''noite''}}, {{lang|pt|''muito''}}; Gal. {{lang|gl|''oito''}}, {{lang|gl|''noite''}}, {{lang|gl|''moito''}}.

==Geographic distribution==
{{main|Spanish-speaking world}}
{{Spanish}}

[[Image:Map-Hispanophone World.png|thumb|right|500px|The Hispanophone world; light blue indicates where it is a second language. Note that Morocco and Western Sahara are not actually Hispanophone.]]

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.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gi.html CIA World Factbook &mdash; Gibraltar]</ref> Likewise, it is spoken in [[Andorra]] though [[Catalan language|Catalan]] is the official language.<ref name="encartaand">{{cite web
|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761554662/Andorra.html#s3
|title=Andorra &mdash; People
|publisher=MSN Encarta
|accessdate=2007-08-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3164.htm
|title=Background Note: Andorra
|publisher=U.S. Department of State: Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
|month=January
|year=2007
|accessdate=2007-08-20}}</ref> It is also spoken by small communities in other European countries, such as the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], and [[Germany]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/languages/spanish.shtml BBC Education &mdash; Languages], Languages Across Europe &mdash; Spanish.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.all-about-switzerland.info/swiss-population-languages.html
|title=Switzerland's Four National Languages
|publisher=all-about-switzerland.info
|accessdate=2007-09-19}}</ref>

===The Americas ===
==== Latin America ====

Most Spanish speakers are in [[Latin America]]; of most countries with the most Spanish speakers, only Spain is outside of America. Mexico has most of the world's native speakers. Nationally, Spanish is the official language of [[Argentina]], [[Bolivia]] (co-official [[Quechua]] and [[Aymara language|Aymara]]), [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Cuba]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Ecuador]], [[El Salvador]], [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]], [[Mexico]] (co-official 62 mexican dialects primary [[náhuatl]]), [[Nicaragua]], [[Panama]], [[Paraguay]] (co-official [[Guarani language|Guaraní]]<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=PY Ethnologue - Paraguay(2000)]. Guaraní is also the most-spoken language in Paraguay by its native speakers.</ref>), [[Peru]] (co-official [[Quechua]] and, in some regions, [[Aymara language|Aymara]]), [[Uruguay]], and [[Venezuela]]. Spanish is also the official language (co-official language [[English language|English]]) in the U.S. commonwealth of [[Puerto Rico]].<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1D8163AF93AA15752C0A965958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fE%2fEnglish%20Language
|title= Puerto Rico Elevates English
|date=[[January 29]], [[1993]]
|publisher=the New York Times
|accessdate=2007-10-06}}</ref>

====The non-Spanish speaking America====

Spanish has no official recognition in the former [[British overseas territories|British colony]] of [[Belize]], however, per the 2000 census, 52.1 per cent of the population speaks the language "very well."<ref name="Belizecen">{{cite web
|url=http://www.cso.gov.bz/publications/MF2000.pdf
|publisher=Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Budget Management, Belize
|title=Population Census 2000, Major Findings
|year=2000
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070621080522/http://www.cso.gov.bz/publications/MF2000.pdf
|archivedate=2007-06-21
|accessdate=2007-12-20}}</ref><ref>[http://censos.ccp.ucr.ac.cr/ Belize Population and Housing Census 2000]</ref> Mainly, it is spoken by Hispanic descendants who remained in the region since the 17th century, however, English is the official language.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bh.html CIA World Factbook &mdash; Belize]</ref>

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 spoke 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 Spanish-speaking neighbours, for example, as a member of the [[Mercosur]] trading bloc.<ref>[http://www.mercosur.int/msweb/portal%20intermediario/pt/index.htm MERCOSUL, Portal Oficial] (Portuguese)</ref> In 2005, the [[National Congress of Brazil]] approved a bill, signed to law by the [[President of Brazil|President]], making Spanish available as a foreign language in secondary schools.<ref>[http://www.brazzilmag.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=3488 BrazilMag.com], [[August 08]], [[2005]].</ref> In many border towns and villages (especially on the Uruguayan-Brazilian border) a [[mixed language]], known as [[Riverense Portuñol|Portuñol]], is spoken.<ref>{{cite paper | author=Lipski, John M. | title=Too close for comfort? the genesis of “portuñol/portunhol” | publisher=ed. Timothy L. Face and Carol A. Klee, 1&ndash;22. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project | date=2006 | version=Selected Proceedings of the 8th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium | url=http://www.lingref.com/cpp/hls/8/paper1251.pdf}}
</ref>

In [[Haiti]], [[French language|French]] is one of two official languages, but is spoken by only about 10 per cent of the population{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. All Haitians speak [[Haitian Creole language|Creole]], the country's other official language. The latter, is a [[creole]] based on the French and African languages, with some [[English language|English]], [[Taíno]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], and Spanish influences. Spanish, though unofficial, is spoken by a growing portion of the population{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. It is spoken near the border with the [[Dominican Republic]], however, Spanish is being spoken in westward areas, as [[Venezuela]]n, [[Cuba]]n, and [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]] trade influence Haitian society, and Haiti becomes involved in Latin American affairs.

In [[Jamaica]], [[English language|English]] is the official language, however Spanish is begin 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 of [[Hispanic]] heritage; 34 million people, 12.2 per cent, of the population older than 5 years speak Spanish at home.<ref name="US Spanish">[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-_box_head_nbr=R1602&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-format=US-30 U.S. Census Bureau 1.] Percent of People 5 Years and Over Who Speak Spanish at Home: 2006, [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S1601&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false U.S. Census Bureau 2.] 34,044,945 People 5 Years and Over Who Speak Spanish at Home: 2006</ref> In the U.S., Spanish has a [[Spanish in the United States|long history in the United States]] (many southern 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. <ref>{{PDFlink|[http://www.adfl.org/resources/enrollments.pdf Foreign language class enrollments in U.S. schools of higher learning]|129&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 132628 bytes -->}}, MLA Fall 2002.</ref> Although the U.S. 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. Spanish is the dominant spoken language in [[Puerto Rico]]. In total, the U.S. has the world's fifth-largest Spanish-speaking population.<ref>[http://spanish.about.com/library/weekly/aa070300a.htm Facts, Figures, and Statistics About Spanish], American Demographics, 1998.</ref>

===Asia===
====Philippines====
<!-- Before you edit this section, see the discussion at the talk page. Thanks -->

Spanish was an official language of the [[Philippines]]; however it was never spoken by a majority of the population. 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 status in 1987, during the [[Corazón Aquino]] administration.

Spanish is spoken mainly by a minor communities of Filipino born Spaniards, Latin Americans; and Filipino mestizos (mixed race) descendance of the early colonial Spanish settlers who have settled in the country for several centuries. Throughout the late 20th century, the Spanish language has achieved less important status than English and [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] which became the most dominant spoken languages of the country, particularly in the capital city of Manila. According to the 1990 Philippine census, there were 2,658 native speakers of Spanish.<ref>{{cite web| title=Ethnologue| work=Ethnologue Report for the Philippines | url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Philippines}}</ref> However, the official number of Spanish speakers are not available in the 1995 and 2000 censuses. According to the 2000 Philippine census, there are over 600,000 native speakers of [[Chavacano language|Chavacano]], a Spanish based [[creole]] langauge spoken in [[Cavite]] and [[Zamboanga]]. Today Spanish is used and spoken for educational purposes in schools and universities.

===Africa===

In Africa, Spanish is official in the UN-recognised but Moroccan-occupied [[Western Sahara]] {{Fact|date=December 2007}} (co-official [[Arabic language|Arabic]]) and [[Equatorial Guinea]] (co-official [[French language|French]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]) {{Fact|date=December 2007}}. Today, nearly 200,000 refugee Sahrawis are able to read and write in Spanish,<ref>[http://www.aprendemas.com/Noticias/html/N1960_F17012007.HTML El refuerzo del español llega a los saharauis con una escuela en los campos de Tinduf]</ref> 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 language|Fang]] is the most spoken language by a number of native speakers.<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Equatorial+Guinea Ethnologue -Equatorial Guinea ((2000)]</ref><ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ek.html CIA World Factbook - Equatorial Guinea (Last updated 20 September, 2007)]</ref> It is also spoken in the Spanish cities in [[Plazas de soberanía|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 [[History of Morocco#European influence|Franco-Spanish protectorate]] that is also geographically close to Spain, approximately 20,000 people speak Spanish.<ref name="MRCL">[http://www.morocco.com/culture/language/ Morocco.com], The Languages of Morocco.</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/analisis/580.asp El idioma español en África subsahariana]</ref> In 2008, [[Cervantes Institute]]s centers will be opened in [[Lagos]] and [[Johannesburg]], the first one in the [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]<ref>[http://actualidad.terra.es/cultura/articulo/cervantes_espera_duplicar_matriculas_gran_1921112.htm El Cervantes espera duplicar las matrículas para el 2012 dentro de la 'gran operación de comunicación' del español]</ref>

===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 {{Fact|date=February 2008}}, where the older [[:Category: Mexican Australians|Mexican]], [[:Category: Colombian Australians|Colombian]], and [[:Category: Spanish Australians|Spanish]] populations and newer [[:Category: Argentine-Australians|Argentine]] and [[:Category: Uruguayan Australians|Uruguyan]] communities live.{{Fact|date=August 2007}}

The island nations of [[Guam]], [[Palau]], [[Northern Marianas]], [[Marshall Islands]] and [[Federated States of Micronesia]] all once had Spanish speakers, since [[Marianas Islands|Marianas]] and [[Caroline Islands]] were 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 [[Hispanics in the United States|Hispanic American]] resident populations.

==Variations==
{{main|Spanish dialects and varieties}}

[[Image:castillian_dialects_in_spain.png|thumb|right|300px|Map of languages and dialects in spain.]]
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 [[Loísmo|{{lang|es|''laísmo''}}]] of this dialect is deprecated. More accurately, for nearly everyone in Spain, "standard Spanish" means "pronouncing everything exactly as it is written",{{Fact|date=March 2007}} an ideal which does not correspond to any real dialect, though the northern dialects get 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.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}

===Voseo===

Spanish has three [[grammatical person|second-person]] [[grammatical number|singular]] [[pronoun]]s: {{lang|es|''tú''}}, {{lang|es|''usted''}}, and in some parts of Latin America, {{lang|es|''vos''}} (the use of this pronoun and/or its verb forms is called ''voseo''). Generally speaking, {{lang|es|''tú''}} and {{lang|es|''vos''}} are informal and used with friends (though in Spain {{lang|es|''vos''}} is considered an archaic form for address of exalted personages, its use now mainly confined to the [[liturgy]]). {{lang|es|''Usted''}} is universally regarded as the formal address (derived from {{lang|es|''vuestra merced''}}, "your grace"), and is used as a mark of respect, as when addressing one's elders or strangers.

[[Image:Mapa - Paises voseantes.png|thumb|right|300px|Countries that feature [[voseo]]. In blue, countries that use ''vos'' as the primary spoken form. In green countries that feature voseo as a regionalism or non-mainstream practice.]]
{{lang|es|''Vos''}} is used extensively as the primary spoken form of the second-person singular pronoun in many countries of [[Latin America]], including [[Argentina]], [[Costa Rica]], the central mountain region of [[Ecuador]]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, 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]]. In Argentina, Uruguay, Nicaragua, and increasingly in Paraguay and most Central American countries, it is also the standard form used in the [[mass media|media]], but the media in other countries with {{lang|es|''voseo''}} generally continue to use {{lang|es|''usted''}} or {{lang|es|''tú''}} except in advertisements, for instance. {{lang|es|''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. For further information, see ''[[Voseo]]''.

===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, {{lang|es|''ustedes''}} (formal or familiar, as the case may be, though {{lang|es|''vosotros''}} non-formal usage can sometimes appear in poetry and rhetorical or literary style). In Spain there are two forms &mdash; {{lang|es|''ustedes''}} (formal) and {{lang|es|''vosotros''}} (familiar). The pronoun {{lang|es|''vosotros''}} is the plural form of {{lang|es|''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 {{lang|es|''ustedes''}}. It is remarkable that the use of {{lang|es|''ustedes''}} for the informal plural "you" in southern Spain does not follow the usual rule for pronoun-verb [[agreement (linguistics)|agreement]]; e.g., while the formal form for "you go", {{lang|es|''ustedes van''}}, uses the third-person plural form of the verb, in Cádiz or Seville the informal form is constructed as {{lang|es|''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", "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, means "pig" in Guatemala{{Fact|date=February 2007}} while ''carro'' means "car" in some Latin American countries and "cart" in others, as well as in Spain.

The {{lang|es|[[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==
{{main|Spanish orthography}}
Spanish is written using the [[Latin alphabet]], with the addition of the character ''[[ñ]]'' (''eñe'', representing the phoneme {{IPA|/ɲ/}}, a letter distinct from ''n'', although typographically composed of an ''n'' with a [[tilde]]) and the [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s ''ch'' ({{lang|es|''che''}}, representing the phoneme {{IPA|/tʃ/}}) and ''ll'' ({{lang|es|''elle''}}, representing the phoneme {{IPA|/ʎ/}}). However, the digraph ''rr'' ({{lang|es|''erre fuerte''}}, "strong ''r''", {{lang|es|''erre doble''}}, "double ''r''", or simply {{lang|es|''erre''}}), which also represents a distinct phoneme {{IPA|/r/}}, is not similarly regarded as a single letter. Thus, the traditional Spanish alphabet has 28 letters (29 if one counts ''w'', which is only used in foreign names and loanwords):

:a, b, c, ch, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ll, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.

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''.<ref>[http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltConsulta?lema=ch Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas], 1st ed.: "[...] en el X Congreso de la Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, celebrado en 1994, se acordó adoptar el orden alfabético latino universal, en el que la ''ch'' y la ''ll'' no se consideran letras independientes. En consecuencia, las palabras que comienzan por estas dos letras, o que las contienen, pasan a alfabetizarse en los lugares que les corresponden dentro de la ''c'' y de la ''l'', respectivamente. Esta reforma afecta únicamente al proceso de ordenación alfabética de las palabras, no a la composición del abecedario, del que los dígrafos ''ch'' y ''ll'' siguen formando parte."</ref><ref>"No obstante, en el X Congreso de la Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, celebrado en 1994, se acordó adoptar para los diccionarios académicos, a petición de varios organismos internacionales, el orden alfabético latino universal, en el que la ''ch'' y la ''ll'' no se consideran letras independientes. En consecuencia, estas dos letras pasan a alfabetizarse en los lugares que les corresponden dentro de la ''C'' (entre ''-cg-'' y ''-ci-'') y dentro de la ''L'' (entre ''-lk-'' y ''-lm-''), respectivamente." [http://www.rae.es/ Real Academia Española], [http://www.spanishpronto.com/spanishpronto/spanishalphabet.html Explanation] at http://www.spanishpronto.com/ (in Spanish and English)</ref>

With the exclusion of a very small number of regional terms such as ''México'' (see [[Mexico#Toponymy|Mexico: Toponymy]]), 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 [[stress (linguistics)|stressed vowel]].

The acute accent is used, in addition, to distinguish between certain [[homophone]]s, especially when one of them is a stressed word and the other one is a [[clitic]]: compare {{lang|es|''el''}} ("the", masculine singular definite article) with {{lang|es|''él''}} ("he" or "it"), or {{lang|es|''te''}} ("you", object pronoun), {{lang|es|''de''}} (preposition "of" or "from"), and {{lang|es|''se''}} (reflexive pronoun) with {{lang|es|''té''}} ("tea"), {{lang|es|''dé''}} ("give") and {{lang|es|''sé''}} ("I know", or imperative "be").

The interrogative pronouns ({{lang|es|''qué''}}, {{lang|es|''cuál''}}, {{lang|es|''dónde''}}, {{lang|es|''quién''}}, etc.) also receive accents in direct or indirect questions, and some demonstratives ({{lang|es|''ése''}}, {{lang|es|''éste''}}, {{lang|es|''aquél''}}, etc.) can be accented when used as pronouns. The conjunction {{lang|es|''o''}} ("or") is written with an accent between numerals so as not to be confused with a zero: e.g., {{lang|es|''10 ó 20''}} should be read as {{lang|es|''diez o veinte''}} rather than {{lang|es|''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 [[Real Academia Española|RAE]] advises against this.

When ''u'' is written between ''g'' and a front vowel (''e'' or ''i''), if it should be pronounced, it is written with a [[diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis]] (''ü'') to indicate that it is not silent as it normally would be (e.g., ''cigüeña'', "stork", is pronounced {{IPA|/θiˈɣweɲa/}}; if it were written ''cigueña'', it would be pronounced {{IPA|/θiˈɣeɲa/}}.

Interrogative and exclamatory clauses are introduced with [[Inverted question mark and exclamation point in Spanish|inverted question ( ¿ ) and exclamation marks ( ¡ )]].

==Sounds==
{{main|Spanish phonology}}

The phonemic inventory listed in the following table includes [[phoneme]]s 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 [[allophone]]s.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto:" align="center"
|+caption | '''Table of Spanish consonants'''<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Martínez-Celdrán et al|2003|p=255}}</ref>
|-
!
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Labiodental|Labio-<br>dental]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|- align=center
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA|m}}
|
|
| {{IPA|n}}
|{{IPA|ɲ}}
|
|- align=center
! [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| {{IPA|p &nbsp; b}}
|
| colspan=2|{{IPA|t &nbsp; d}}
| {{IPA|tʃ &nbsp; (ɟʝ)}}
| {{IPA|k &nbsp; g}}
|- align=center
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
| align=left|&nbsp;{{IPA|f}}
| {{IPA|*θ &nbsp; (ð)}}
| {{IPA|s &nbsp; (z)}}
|
| align=left|&nbsp;{{IPA|x}}
|- align=center
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| align=right|({{IPA|β̞}})&nbsp;
|
| align=right|({{IPA|ð̞}})&nbsp;
|
| align=right|{{IPA|ʝ}} &nbsp;
| align=right|({{IPA|ɣ˕}})&nbsp;
|- align=center
! [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|
|
| {{IPA|r}}
|
|
|- align="center"
! [[Flap consonant|Tap]]
|
|
|
| {{IPA|ɾ}}
|
|
|- align=center
! [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
|
|
|{{IPA|l}}
| {{IPA|*ʎ}}
|
|}

By the 16th century, the consonant system of Spanish underwent the following important changes that differentiated it from [[Iberian Romance languages|neighboring Romance languages]] such as [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Catalan language|Catalan]]:

*Initial {{IPA|/f/}}, when it had evolved into a vacillating {{IPA|/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]] {{IPA|/β̞/}} (which was written ''u'' or ''v'') merged with the bilabial oclusive {{IPA|/b/}} (written ''b''). There is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic ''b'' and ''v'' in contemporary Spanish, excepting specific areas in Spain (particularly the ones influenced by [[Catalan language|Catalan]]) and Latin America (notably [[Peru]]).
*The [[voiced alveolar fricative]] {{IPA|/z/}} which existed as a separate phoneme in medieval Spanish merged with its voiceless counterpart {{IPA|/s/}}. The phoneme which resulted from this merger is currently spelled ''s''.
*The [[voiced postalveolar fricative]] {{IPA|/ʒ/}} merged with its voiceless counterpart {{IPA|/ʃ/}}, which evolved into the modern velar sound {{IPA|/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 {{IPA|/ʒ/}} or {{IPA|/ʃ/}}.
*The [[voiced alveolar affricate]] {{IPA|/dz/}} merged with its voiceless counterpart {{IPA|/ts/}}, which then developed into the interdental {{IPA|/θ/}}, now written ''z'', or ''c'' before ''e, i''. But in [[Andalusia]], the [[Canary Islands]] and the Americas this sound merged with {{IPA|/s/}} as well. See ''[[Ceceo]]'', for further information.

The consonant system of Medieval Spanish has been better preserved in [[Ladino language|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.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Cressey|1978|p=152}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Abercrombie|1967|p=98}}</ref> 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:<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Eddington|2000|p=96}}</ref>

* In words ending in vowels and {{IPA|/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 pair]]s which contrast solely on stress. For example, ''sabana'', with penultimate stress, means 'savannah' while ''{{lang|es|sábana}}'', with antepenultimate stress, means 'sheet'; ''{{lang|es|límite}}'' ('boundary'), ''{{lang|es|limite}}'' ('[that] he/she limits') and ''{{lang|es|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 ''[[wikt:té#Spanish|té]]'' for 'tea' and ''[[wikt:te#Spanish|te]]''

An amusing example of the significance of intonation in Spanish is the phrase ''{{lang|es|¿Cómo "cómo como"? ¡Como como como!}}'' ("What do you mean / 'how / do I eat'? / I eat / the way / I eat!").

==Grammar==
{{main|Spanish grammar}}

Spanish is a relatively [[inflected]] language, with a two-[[Grammatical gender|gender]] system and about fifty [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugated]] forms per [[verb]], but limited inflection of [[noun]]s, [[adjective]]s, and [[determiner]]s. (For a detailed overview of verbs, see [[Spanish verbs]] and [[Spanish irregular verbs]].)

It is [[Branching (linguistics)|right-branching]], uses [[preposition]]s, and usually, though not always, places [[adjective]]s after [[noun]]s. Its [[syntax]] is generally [[Subject Verb Object]], though variations are common. It is a [[pro-drop language]] (allows the deletion of pronouns when pragmatically unnecessary) and [[verb framing|verb-framed]].

==See also==
<div class="references" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">

* [[List of languages by number of native speakers]]
* [[Chavacano language]]
* [[Differences between Spanish and Portuguese]]
* [[Frespañol]]
* [[Hispanic culture]]
* [[Hispanophone]]
* [[Instituto Cervantes]]
* [[Isleños]]
* [[Latin Union]]
* [[List of English words of Spanish origin]]
* [[Llanito]]
* [[Names given to the Spanish language]]
* [[Palenquero]]
* [[Papiamento]]
* [[Portuguese language]]
* [[Portuñol]]
* [[Real Academia Española]]
* [[Spanish language rock and roll|Rock en español]]
* [[Romance languages]]
* [[Spanglish]]
* [[Spanish-based creole languages]]
* [[Spanish language learning and teaching]]
* [[Spanish language poets]]
* [[Spanish profanity]]
* [[Spanish proverbs]]
* [[Spanish Empire]]
</div>
===Local varieties===
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
[[Peninsular Spanish]]<br>

* [[Andalusian Spanish]]
* [[Canarian Spanish]]
* [[Castilian Spanish]]
* [[Castrapo]] (Spanish spoken in Galicia as opposed to Galician)

[[Latin American Spanish]]<br>
* [[Argentine Spanish]]
* [[Bolivian Spanish]]
* [[Caliche (linguistics)|Caliche]]
* [[Central American Spanish]]
* [[Colombian Spanish]]
* [[Chilean Spanish]]
* [[Cuban Spanish]]
{{col-2}}
* [[Dominican Spanish]]
* [[Mexican Spanish]]
* [[New Mexican Spanish]]
* [[Panamanian Spanish]]
* [[Peruvian Coast Spanish]]
* [[Puerto Rican Spanish]]
* [[Rioplatense Spanish]]
* [[Spanish in the United States]]
* [[Venezuelan Spanish]]
Other Variants<br>
* [[Spanish language in the Philippines|Spanish in the Philippines]]

{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Wikibooks|Spanish}}
{{InterWiki|code=es}}
{{Wikiversity|Spanish}}
{{Wiktionarylang|code=es}}
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* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=spa Ethnologue report for Spanish]
* [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/2444/splatin.html Spanish evolution from Latin]
* {{es icon}} [http://buscon.rae.es/diccionario/drae.htm Dictionary of the RAE] [[Real Academia Española]]'s official Spanish language dictionary
* [[WikiTravel:Spanish phrasebook|Spanish phrasebook]] on [[WikiTravel]]
* [http://www.verbix.com/languages/spanish.shtml Spanish verb conjugations]
* [http://www.onlinespanishhelp.com/viewSentence.php Random Spanish Audio Examples]
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15353/15353-h/15353-h.htm#e1 The Project Gutenberg EBook of A First Spanish Reader] by [[Erwin W. Roessler]] and [[Alfred Remy]].
* [http://www.notesinspanish.com Spanish Conversations at Different Levels for Listening Practice]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/ Spanish] - [[BBC]] Languages
* [http://www.argentina.ar/sw_contenido.php?id=395 Study Spanish in Argentina]
{{Official UN languages}}
{{Official EU languages}}
{{Romance languages}}
{{Languages of Europe}}
{{Languages of South America}}

{{Latinunion}}

[[Category:Spanish language| ]]
[[Category:Languages of Spain]]
[[Category:Languages of Andorra]]
[[Category:Languages of Argentina]]
[[Category:Languages of Belize]]
[[Category:Languages of Bolivia]]
[[Category:Languages of Chile]]
[[Category:Languages of Colombia]]
[[Category:Languages of Costa Rica]]
[[Category:Languages of the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Languages of Ecuador]]
[[Category:Languages of El Salvador]]
[[Category:Languages of Equatorial Guinea]]
[[Category:Languages of Guatemala]]
[[Category:Languages of Honduras]]
[[Category:Languages of Mexico]]
[[Category:Languages of Morocco]]
[[Category:Languages of Nicaragua]]
[[Category:Languages of Panama]]
[[Category:Languages of Paraguay]]
[[Category:Languages of Peru]]
[[Category:Languages of the Philippines]]
[[Category:Languages of the United States]]
[[Category:Languages of the United States Virgin Islands]]
[[Category:Languages of Uruguay]]
[[Category:Languages of Venezuela]]

{{link FA|hu}}
[[af:Spaans]]
[[als:Spanische Sprache]]
[[ang:Spēonisc sprǣc]]
[[ar:لغة إسبانية]]
[[an:Idioma castellán]]
[[frp:Castilyan]]
[[ast:Castellanu]]
[[gn:Karaiñe'ẽ]]
[[ay:Kastilla aru]]
[[az:İspan dili]]
[[bn:স্পেনীয় ভাষা]]
[[be-x-old:Гішпанская мова]]
[[bcl:Espanyol]]
[[bar:Schbanisch]]
[[bs:Španski jezik]]
[[br:Spagnoleg]]
[[bg:Испански език]]
[[ca:Castellà]]
[[cv:Испан чĕлхи]]
[[ceb:Kinatsila]]
[[cs:Španělština]]
[[co:Lingua spagnola]]
[[cy:Sbaeneg]]
[[da:Spansk (sprog)]]
[[de:Spanische Sprache]]
[[dv:އިސްޕެނިޝް]]
[[nv:Naakai bizaad]]
[[et:Hispaania keel]]
[[el:Ισπανική γλώσσα]]
[[eml:Spagnôl]]
[[es:Idioma español]]
[[eo:Hispana lingvo]]
[[eu:Gaztelania]]
[[fa:زبان اسپانیایی]]
[[fo:Spanskt (mál)]]
[[fr:Espagnol]]
[[fy:Spaansk]]
[[ga:Spáinnis]]
[[gl:Lingua castelá]]
[[ko:스페인어]]
[[haw:‘Ōlelo Sepania]]
[[hy:Իսպաներեն]]
[[hi:स्पेनी भाषा]]
[[hsb:Španišćina]]
[[hr:Španjolski jezik]]
[[io:Hispaniana linguo]]
[[ilo:Pagsasao nga Espaniol]]
[[id:Bahasa Spanyol]]
[[ia:Lingua espaniol]]
[[iu:ᓯᐸᐃᓂᑎᑐᑦ/sipainititut]]
[[zu:IsiSpanish]]
[[is:Spænska]]
[[it:Lingua spagnola]]
[[he:ספרדית]]
[[pam:Castila (amanu)]]
[[kn:ಸ್ಪ್ಯಾನಿಷ್ ಭಾಷೆ]]
[[ka:ესპანური ენა]]
[[kw:Spaynek]]
[[sw:Kihispania]]
[[ku:Zimanê spanî]]
[[lad:Lingua espanyola]]
[[la:Lingua Hispanica]]
[[lv:Spāņu valoda]]
[[lb:Spuenesch]]
[[lt:Ispanų kalba]]
[[lij:Lengua Spagnòlla]]
[[li:Castiliaans]]
[[ln:Lispanyoli]]
[[jbo:sanbau]]
[[hu:Spanyol nyelv]]
[[mk:Шпански јазик]]
[[mg:Fiteny espaniola]]
[[mi:Reo Pāniora]]
[[mr:स्पॅनिश भाषा]]
[[ms:Bahasa Sepanyol]]
[[mn:Испани хэл]]
[[nah:Caxtillāntlahtōlli]]
[[nl:Spaans]]
[[nds-nl:Spaans]]
[[ne:स्पेनी भाषा]]
[[ja:スペイン語]]
[[no:Spansk]]
[[nn:Spansk språk]]
[[oc:Espanhòu]]
[[pms:Lenga spagneula]]
[[nds:Spaansche Spraak]]
[[pl:Język hiszpański]]
[[pt:Língua castelhana]]
[[crh:İspan tili]]
[[ro:Limba spaniolă]]
[[rm:Lingua spagnola]]
[[qu:Kastilla simi]]
[[ru:Испанский язык]]
[[se:Spánskagiella]]
[[sc:Limba ispagnola]]
[[sco:Spainyie leid]]
[[sq:Gjuha spanjolle]]
[[scn:Lingua spagnola]]
[[simple:Spanish language]]
[[ss:SíSpanish]]
[[sk:Španielčina]]
[[sl:Španščina]]
[[sr:Шпански језик]]
[[sh:Španski jezik]]
[[fi:Espanjan kieli]]
[[sv:Spanska]]
[[tl:Wikang Kastila]]
[[ta:எசுப்பானிய மொழி]]
[[tet:Lia-español]]
[[th:ภาษาสเปน]]
[[vi:Tiếng Tây Ban Nha]]
[[tg:Забони испанӣ]]
[[tr:İspanyolca]]
[[uk:Іспанська мова]]
[[vec:Łéngoa spagnoła]]
[[vls:Spoans]]
[[war:Kinatsila nga yinaknan]]
[[yi:שפאניש]]
[[bat-smg:Ėspanu kalba]]
[[zh:西班牙语]]
[[zh-classical:西班牙語]]
[[zh-min-nan:Se-pan-gâ-gí]]
[[wuu:西班牙文]]
[[zh-yue:西班牙話]]

Revision as of 12:56, 31 March 2008

should be banned

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