Spanish is a *Romance language spoken in Spain, Latin America, the
Philippines, and elsewhere by about 160 million people. It is spreading
rapidly, particularly in America. The standard form is based on the
Castilian dialect (originally spoken in the Burgos region of Spain) which
was the official language of Spain in the late 15th century.
*Basically descendants of Latin, the group consists of modern French, Italian,
Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, the Rhaetian group of dialects,
Sardinian and the now extinct Dalmatian. These languages are classified
under the name 'Romance' on the basis of a shared vocabulary, which
originated from the Roman conquerors of the Mediterranean Sea, in which
the languages of the group are clustered. Since 1500 their use has spread
outside Europe to South America and Africa, with French, Spanish and
Portuguese colonisation.
Is Spanish difficult to learn?
Our Rating:**
*
= Easy **** = Very
difficult
Explanation:
Romance languages are easier for English speakers
to learn, due to similar alphabets, sentence structure, and
relatively straightforward pronunciation.
Watch out for:
The
subjunctive mood of verbs. In English, the subjunctive is rarely
used, but good Spanish speakers use it a lot. Loosely put, it
serves to denote uncertainty.
About Spain
Spain is located in South West Europe, occupying over four-fifths of the
Iberian Penninsula. The Balearic and Canary Islands are also part of
Spain. It consists mainly of a high plateau, rising over 3000 metres
(10,000 feet) in the Pyrenees in the North East.
Economy:
Once agricultural, but the development of
industry helped make England a world force. Now, tourism and a
large service sector play important roles.
Historical Fact:
The 19th century saw the heyday of the
renowned British Empire, colonial expansion which was doomed to
fail in the 20th century.
