The Spanish-Speaking World

The Spanish language is the most widely spoken Romance language (Romance refers to the connection to Latin, once spoken by the Romans), both in terms of number of speakers and the number of countries in which it is the dominant language. There are more than 500 million Spanish speakers worldwide. Pronunciation and usage of the spoken Spanish language naturally vary among countries, but regional differences are not so great as to make the language unintelligible to speakers from different areas. There is no such thing as a single “Spanish.” There are different Spanish dialects because of the evolution of Spanish in different regions. The history of the Spanish language in America starts with the colonization of America at the end of the fifteenth century.

Besides being spoken in Spain, it is the official language of: all of the South American republics except Brazil and French Guyana; the six republics of Central America and Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Additionally, the Spanish language is spoken in the Balearic and Canary islands, in parts of Morocco and the west coast of Africa, and also in Equatorial Guinea. In the United States, it is widely spoken in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, New York City and southern Florida.

Mexico La Republica Dominicana Spain Cuba