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Spanish Immersion CDs Instant
Instant Immersion Spanish
8 Audio CDs
8 Audio CDs - play in your
car - portable CD player - or at home - (they are not computer software)
More Spanish Language Learning click here
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Instant Immersion Spanish - 8 Audio CDs - Audio Only
Brand New : . 8
CDs
Based on the highly effective Euro Method™ (an intuitive
approach that surrounds you with native speakers and a new culture), New and
Improved! Instant Immersion™ Spanish Advanced provides authentic dialogue and
traditional settings that immerse you in the Spanish language and lifestyle.
Written and developed by university professors and linguistic experts, each
lesson in this 8-CD suite utilizes the same learning methods and retention
techniques used in university-level language programs. The lesson plan is
designed to build a solid collection of vocabulary terms and more advanced
dialogue skills, all of which are reinforced throughout each advancing lesson.
You will quickly move from an intermediate speaking level to an advanced level
with easy-to-follow activities on everything from family and secular traditions
to adjectives and past tense usage. Additionally, the cultural notes provide
you with an inside glimpse of Spanish customs, and introduce proper etiquette
appropriate to various situations. Whether learning for business or for
pleasure, you'll quickly perfect your Spanish with Instant Immersion™.
The Quickest way to learn a language, guaranteed!
The most widely used method in the world!
Written and Developed by University Language Experts!
Designed to strengthen your fluency by emulating everyday
situations you may experience while in a foreign country, the Instant Immersion
Advanced Spanish course fully prepares you for interaction among native Spanish
speakers. Developed by university professors and linguistic experts, this
thorough curriculum moves you from an intermediate to advanced level, fast.
Starting with a complete review of essential vocabulary terms and verbs, this
8-compact disc suite focuses on building a strong vocabulary base before
addressing more complex dialogue skills. Each advancing CD includes concepts
from the previous lessons, ensuring you retain each core principle. In
addition, the cultural notes familiarize you with ethnic foods, Spanish
traditions, and appropriate etiquette that will benefit you while traveling.
From vocabulary about family and professions to phrases concerning
entertainment and religious traditions, the Instant Immersion Advanced Spanish
suite is the quickest and easiest course available for learning to fluently
speak the Spanish language.
Lesson Plan includes:
Part 1: Alphabet, sounds
Part 2: Greetings, introductions, subject pronouns
Part 3: Gender agreement, physical descriptions, and
corresponding verbs
Part 4: Weather, numbers, irregular verbs, finding and
following directions
Part 5: Days of the week, date, useful shopping terms
Part 6: Restaurants, food and corresponding verbs
Part 7: Cultural notes on ethnic food and customs,
finding accommodations
Part 8: Time/hours, corresponding verbs, and sue of
object pronouns
About the Spanish Language
Spanish (español ) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific when they were brought under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries.
The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers.
Today, it is one of the official languages of Spain, most Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea. In total, 21 nations use Spanish as their primary language. Spanish is also one of six official languages of the United Nations.
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, Basque, and Catalan. 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
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 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.
Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities. Spanish is among the most popular foreign languages for study in the rest of the nations of the Anglosphere in general, where on top of the widespread use of English globally, the large number of additional countries and geographic territory that Spanish allows exploring is an attractive prospect for many people. 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 fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers. Global internet usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the internet, after English and Chinese.
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Instant Immersion Spanish - 8 Audio CDs - Audio Only |
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Audio
Teach Yourself Spanish
Book and 2 Audio CDs
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Teach Yourself Spanish - Book and 2 Audio CDs
Brand New - 2 CDs and Book
Teach Yourself Spanish is the course for anyone who wants to progress quickly from the basics to understanding, speaking and writing Spanish with confidence. Although aimed at those with no previous knowledge, it is equally suitable for anyone wishing to brush up existing knowledge or refresh rusty language skills for a holiday or business trip. Key structures and vocabulary are introduced in 25 thematic units progressing from introducing yourself and dealing with everyday situations to making travel arrangements and renting a flat. The course covers all structures required for GCSE level and beyond. The emphasis is on communication throughout with important language structures introduced through dialogues on the accompanying recording. There are plenty of exercises to practise the language as it is introduced and tips throughout to help with pronunciation and grammar. Cultural information boxes give useful advice and information for anyone planning a trip to Spain or Latin America. There are five tests at the back of the book for learners to check their progress and review any areas of difficulty.
The language taught in Teach Yourself Spanish is standard Spanish, which will allow you to communicate with speakers anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world. Differences between European and South American Spanish are explained in the units where necessary, and two of the four speakers on the recording are from South America.
The new edition retains the tried-and-tested structure of the lessons but has been updated to reflect societal and technological changes. The audio has been completely re-recorded, with, as before, two Spanish and two Latin American speakers, and there is approximately 150 minutes of listening material.
* covers a wide range of topics and language structures for learners who want to progress quickly beyond the basics to a level where they can communicate with confidence
* this course will appeal to those who want to refresh rusty language skills as well as beginners who want to gain a thorough grounding in understanding, speaking and writing Spanish.
* this new edition has been completely updated to reflect societal and techonological changes
* new features in this edition include newly-recorded audio and extra resources on a dedicated web page
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Before you start
01 I speak Spanish
02 How are you?
03 I want a room, please
04 Where is it?
05 What are you going to have?
06 What time does it arrive?
07 How much do they cost?
08 I'd like to change some money
09 How old are you?
10 What do you do?
11 I start at nine
12 I like it
13 What are you going to do?
14 Hello?
15 It was a great journey
16 Where were you born?
17 It was very small
18 What were you doing there?
19 It has been a mistake
20 We will go to the beach
21 I'd love to
22 Shall I give you some more?
23 Go straight on
24 I have a headache
25 What kind of person are you looking for?
Taking it further
Testing yourself
Glossary of grammatical terms
Grammar summary
Irregular verbs
Listening comprehension transcripts
Key to the activities
Key to 'testing yourself'
Spanish-English vocabulary
English-Spanish vocabulary
Index to grammar
About the Author:
Juan Kattan-Ibarra was born in Chile and lived in Spain for a number of years. He has degrees in foreign language teaching from the University of Chile, Michigan State University, Manchester University and the Institute of Education, London University. He taught Spanish at Ealing College and Shell International, and was an examiner in Spanish for the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the University of London School Examinations Board. He is now a full-time author.
About the Spanish Language
Spanish or Castilian (castellano) is an Indo-European, Romance language that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade. It was taken to Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific with the expansion of the Spanish Empire between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Today, between 322 and 400 million people speak Spanish as a native language, making it the world's second or third most-spoken language by native speakers, depending on the sources.
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, Basque, and Catalan. 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:
The name Castellano (Castilian), which refers directly to the origins of the Language and the sociopolitical context in which it was introduced in the Americas, is preferred in Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Chile, instead of español, which is more commonly used to refer to the language as a whole in the rest of Latin America.
Some Spanish speakers consider castellano a generic term with no political or ideological links, much as "Spanish" is in English.
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. 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 (after English and Chinese).
Today, Spanish is an official language of Spain, most Latin American countries, and Equatorial Guinea; 20 nations speak it as their primary language. Spanish also is one of six official languages of the United Nations. Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population, and 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.
Most Spanish speakers are in Latin America; of all countries with majority Spanish speakers, only Spain is outside of the Americas. Mexico has the most native speakers of any country. 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 Guarani), Peru (co-official Quechua and, in some regions, Aymara), Uruguay, and Venezuela. Spanish is also the official language (co-official with 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 Spanish-speaking 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 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. 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 illegal 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 in various states besides English; in the U.S. state of New Mexico for instance, 30% of the population speaks the language. It also has strong influence in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, New York City, and in the 2000s the language has rapidly expanded in Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix and other major Sun-Belt cities. Spanish is the dominant spoken language in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. In total, the U.S. has the world's fifth-largest Spanish-speaking population.
There are important variations among the regions of Spain and throughout Spanish-speaking America. In some 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.
Spanish evolved from Vulgar Latin, with major influences from Arabic in vocabulary during the Andalusian period and minor surviving influences from Basque and Celtiberian, as well as 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 (see Glosas Emilianenses), as a strongly innovative and differing variant from its nearest cousin, Leonese, 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.
In the 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara, and in areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as in Spanish Harlem, in New York City. For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language.
Spanish is closely related to the other West Iberian Romance languages: Asturian, Galician, Ladino, Leonese and Portuguese. Catalan, an East Iberian language which exhibits many Gallo-Romance traits, is more similar to the neighboring Occitan language than to Spanish, or indeed than Spanish and Portuguese are to each other.
Spanish and Portuguese share similar grammars and 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%.
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Teach Yourself Spanish - Book and 2 Audio CDs |
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Audio CDs
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Brand New
Audio Book
Learn in Your Car
Spanish - The Complete Language Course
9 Hours of Audio - Level I ,II and III |
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Learn in Your Car - Spanish - The Complete Language Course - Audio Book
Brand New :
9 Audio CDs - plus three listening guides plus zippered carry case plus bonus DVD
This exciting new edition includes a 60-minute Travelogue DVD of the relevant destination countries for each language. This added feature will enrich the learning experience and add that extra stimulus to motivate users with their studies. New material in this second edition includes a variety of internet and digital media/technology terms. It features: nine 60-minute CDs; full text listening guide; and zippered CD carrying case. It includes: Level 1 - introduction to key words, numbers, phrases, sentence structure, and basic grammar; Level 2 - more challenging vocabulary, more grammar, more complex sentences generate confidence in your ability to comprehend and converse; and Level 3 - expanded vocabulary, advanced grammar and complex sentences to expand your conversational skills.
Three Levels Designed to Make You Fluent!
Level 1 Beginning Level
# Introduces key words and phrase
# Develops basic grammar skills
# Emphasizes travel needs
Level 2 Intermediate Level
# Increases vocabulary
# Presents new grammar concepts
# Includes more routine, day-to-day experiences
Level 3 Advanced Level
# Broadens Vocabulary base
# Adds even more grammar skills
# Enriches conversational abilities
Spanish Language
Spanish (español ) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. It is the official language of Spain, most Latin American countries, and one of the official languages of Equatorial Guinea, in Africa. In total, twenty-five nations and territories use Spanish as their primary language. It is one of six official languages of the United Nations.
Spanish originated as a dialect of Latin along the remote cross road strips among the Cantabria, Burgos, Soria and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to the Americas and other parts of the world in the last five centuries by Spanish explorers and colonists. The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers.It is estimated that the combined total of native and non-native Spanish speakers is approximately 500 million, likely making it the fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers.
The language is spoken most extensively in the Americas, Spain and to a small extent in Africa and Asia Pacific. It is also the second most widely spoken language in the United States[16] and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and Universities. Within the globalized market, there is currently an international expansion and recognition of the Spanish language in literature, the film industry, television and music.
Contents
Naming and origin
Main article: Names given to the Spanish language
Spaniards tend to call this language español (Spanish) when contrasting it with languages of foreign states, such as French and English, but call it castellano (Castilian), that is, the language of the Castile region, when contrasting it with other Spanish languages such as Galician, Basque, and Catalan. This reasoning also holds true for the language's prefered 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 follow:
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…
Some philologists use "Castilian" only when speaking of the language spoken in Castile during the Middle Ages, stating that it is preferable to use "Spanish" for its modern form. The subdialect of Spanish spoken in northern parts of modern day Castile is also called "Castilian" sometimes. This dialect differs from those of other regions of Spain (Andalusia or Madrid for example); the Castilian dialect is conventionally considered in Spain to be the same as standard Spanish.
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 vice-versa, to refer to that variety of Spanish which is considered as standard in this one.
Classification and related languages
Castilian Spanish has closest affinity to the other West Iberian Romance languages: Asturian (asturianu), Galician (galego), Ladino (dzhudezmo/spanyol/kasteyano), and Portuguese (português), as well as, in some ways, to Aragonese (aragonés) and Catalan (català).
Catalan, an East Iberian language which exhibits many Gallo-Romance traits, is more similar to the neighbouring Occitan language (occitan) than Spanish and Portuguese are to each other. In fact, it wasn't until the earliest years of the 20th century that Catalan was considered a variant of the Occitan language. 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 is estimated at 89%. See Differences between Spanish and Portuguese, for further information.
(from Wikipedia) |
Learn in Your Car - Spanish - The Complete Language Course - Audio Book |
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Trainer Brain Audio Spanish Volume CD Rapid
Earworms Rapid Spanish Volume 1
Learn in Your Car - Musical Brain Trainer
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Earworms Rapid Spanish Volume 1 - Musical Brain Trainer - Audio CD
Brand New (still shrink wrapped):
earworms mbt is a revolutionary accelerated learning technique that takes the hard work out of learning.
By listening to these specially composed melodies with their rhythmic repetitions of Spanish and English a few times, you pick up over 200 essential words and phrases that will not just be on the tip of your tongue, but burned deeply into your long-term memory in next to no time.
If you like music, and want to make rapid progress without any formal knowledge of language learning, earworms mbt Rapid Spanish is the course for you.
Rapid Spanish
Vol 1 is your survival kit of essential words and phrases to get you by on your trip abroad.
Listen a few times to be able to ask for a table in a restaurant, order food and drink, take a taxi, rent a car, buy tickets, deal with money, numbers, times and days, ask for directions, deal with typical problems, hold a simple conversation and more.
After a few listenings, foreign words will be popping out of your memory...... when you least expect them!
Effortless, enjoyable and effective
Essential phrases for your trip abroad
Words anchored deeply into your memory by gentle repetition to music
Stimulating and self-motivating through real rapid progress
Developed by language teaching experts
Target language spoken by native speakers
Pronunciation acquired automatically
Listen and learn, anytime, anywhere: in the car, while jogging...
Phrase book included
Spanish Language
Spanish (español ) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. It is the official language of Spain, most Latin American countries, and one of the official languages of Equatorial Guinea, in Africa. In total, twenty-five nations and territories use Spanish as their primary language. It is one of six official languages of the United Nations.
Spanish originated as a dialect of Latin along the remote cross road strips among the Cantabria, Burgos, Soria and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to the Americas and other parts of the world in the last five centuries by Spanish explorers and colonists. The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers.It is estimated that the combined total of native and non-native Spanish speakers is approximately 500 million, likely making it the fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers.
The language is spoken most extensively in the Americas, Spain and to a small extent in Africa and Asia Pacific. It is also the second most widely spoken language in the United States[16] and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and Universities. Within the globalized market, there is currently an international expansion and recognition of the Spanish language in literature, the film industry, television and music.
Spaniards tend to call this language español (Spanish) when contrasting it with languages of foreign states, such as French and English, but call it castellano (Castilian), that is, the language of the Castile region, when contrasting it with other Spanish languages such as Galician, Basque, and Catalan. This reasoning also holds true for the language's prefered 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 follow:
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
Some philologists use "Castilian" only when speaking of the language spoken in Castile during the Middle Ages, stating that it is preferable to use "Spanish" for its modern form. The subdialect of Spanish spoken in northern parts of modern day Castile is also called "Castilian" sometimes. This dialect differs from those of other regions of Spain (Andalusia or Madrid for example); the Castilian dialect is conventionally considered in Spain to be the same as standard Spanish.
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 vice-versa, to refer to that variety of Spanish which is considered as standard in this one.
Classification and related languages
Castilian Spanish has closest affinity to the other West Iberian Romance languages: Asturian (asturianu), Galician (galego), Ladino (dzhudezmo/spanyol/kasteyano), and Portuguese (português), as well as, in some ways, to Aragonese (aragonés) and Catalan (català).
Catalan, an East Iberian language which exhibits many Gallo-Romance traits, is more similar to the neighbouring Occitan language (occitan) than Spanish and Portuguese are to each other. In fact, it wasn't until the earliest years of the 20th century that Catalan was considered a variant of the Occitan language. 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 is estimated at 89%. See Differences between Spanish and Portuguese, for further information.
(from Wikipedia)
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Earworms Rapid Spanish Volume 1 - Audio Book |
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CD Discount speak
Quick and Easy Spanish
Learn the basics with easy to follow CD and Book
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Quick and Easy Spanish - Audio CD and booklet
Brand New ( 64 page booklet and CD):
Covering Travel, Staying the Night, Leisure and sport,Eating Out, Business, Shopping, Nightlife and Health. Light and compact with an audio CD
About the Spanish Language
Spanish (español ) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific when they were brought under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries.
The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers.
Today, it is one of the official languages of Spain, most Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea. In total, 21 nations use Spanish as their primary language. Spanish is also one of six official languages of the United Nations.
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, Basque, and Catalan. 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
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 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.
Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities. Spanish is among the most popular foreign languages for study in the rest of the nations of the Anglosphere in general, where on top of the widespread use of English globally, the large number of additional countries and geographic territory that Spanish allows exploring is an attractive prospect for many people. 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 fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers. Global internet usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the internet, after English and Chinese.
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Quick and Easy Spanish - Audio CD and booklet |
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speak Spanish CD Spanish Basic Discount Learn
Pimsleur Basic Spanish 5 Audio CDs
5 Audio CDs Audio Only
More Spanish Language Learning click here
More Pimsleur Audio CDs click here |
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Pimsleur Basic Spanish 5 Audio CDs
Brand New : . 5 CDs
This Basic program contains 5 hours of audio-only, effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions.
HEAR IT, LEARN IT, SPEAK IT
The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning
program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of
Spanis structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Spanish
can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.
The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they
aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language.
Other language programs sell only pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books
and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands of words and
definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to
assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to
spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just
studying its parts.
When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to
conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That same learning process is
what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one
integrated piece so you can succeed.
With Pimsleur you get:
* Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
* Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
* The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
* 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.
Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational
skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever --
without textbooks, written exercises, or drills.
About the Spanish Language
Spanish (español ) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific when they were brought under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries.
The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers.
Today, it is one of the official languages of Spain, most Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea. In total, 21 nations use Spanish as their primary language. Spanish is also one of six official languages of the United Nations.
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, Basque, and Catalan. 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
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 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.
Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities. Spanish is among the most popular foreign languages for study in the rest of the nations of the Anglosphere in general, where on top of the widespread use of English globally, the large number of additional countries and geographic territory that Spanish allows exploring is an attractive prospect for many people. 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 fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers. Global internet usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the internet, after English and Chinese.
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Pimsleur Basic Spanish 5 Audio CDs
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Spanish CD Learn speak Spanish Book Pimsleur Discount
Pimsleur Conversational Spanish
Totally Audio Language Course
8CDs 16 Lessons Audio CDs play on Car/Portable/Home CD player
More Pimsleur Audio CDs click here |
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Pimsleur Conversational Spanish - 8 Audio CDs :
Brand New : 8 Audio CDs
HEAR IT, LEARN IT, SPEAK IT
The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Spanish structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Spanish can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.
The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands of words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.
When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That same learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.
With Pimsleur you get:
* Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
* Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
* The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
* 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.
Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without textbooks, written exercises, or drills.
About the Spanish Language:
Spanish (español ) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific when they were brought under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries.
The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers.
Today, it is one of the official languages of Spain, most Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea. In total, 21 nations use Spanish as their primary language. Spanish is also one of six official languages of the United Nations.
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, Basque, and Catalan. 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
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 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.
Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities. Spanish is among the most popular foreign languages for study in the rest of the nations of the Anglosphere in general, where on top of the widespread use of English globally, the large number of additional countries and geographic territory that Spanish allows exploring is an attractive prospect for many people. 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 fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers. Global internet usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the internet, after English and Chinese |
Pimsleur Conversational Spanish - 8 Audio CDs |
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Audio For Spanish Learn CD speak
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Brand New Audiobook
Spanish for Dummies
Three CDs and 96 page listening guide
More Spanish Language Learning click here |
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Spanish
for Dummies - Audio CDs and Book
Brand New (still shrink wrapped):
3 CDs plus 96 page book
Whether you are moving to Spain or just planning a vacation, you’ll want to know some key words and phrases to make sure everything’s va bene.
Spanish For Dummies Audio Set has everything you need to introduce you to the language so that you can start to communicate with other Spanish speakers (without memorizing a bunch of boring grammar notes and long vocabulary lists!). Each of the three hour-long CDs is filled with interesting conversation topics that allow you to listen to what you want to listen at your own pace. Soon, you’ll be able to communicate in Italian about:
* Work, jobs, and office life
* Making small talk
* Traveling and making arrangements
* Asking for directions
* Getting help and assistance
* Ordering at a restaurant
* Booking a room in a hotel
* Exchanging money at the bank
* Shopping in a store or boutique
Along with all these topics, these CDs cover essential rules and building blocks of the Italian language, such as verb conjugation, tenses, and sentence structure, as well as a list of essential words. With this beginner audio set, you can pop any of the CDs in your CD player or computer and discover the joy and fun of speaking Spanish!
The fun and easy way to communicate effectively in a new language! This practical audio set is
designed to help you learn quickly and easily at home or on the road. From basic
greetings and expressions to grammar and conversations, you'll grasp the
essentials and start communicating right away! Plus, you can follow along with
the handy, 96-page portable guide — filled with the words and phrases you'll
hear on the CDs as well as a mini dictionary. Skip around and learn at your own pace
- CD 1: Get started with basic words and phrases.
- CD 2: Form sentences and practice parts of speech.
- CD 3: Handle real-world situations.
About the Author
Jessica Langemeier has taught Spanish and English as a Second Language in multi-lingual communities and schools, and has developed ESL and Spanish language programs for individuals and companies.
About the Spanish Language
Spanish (español or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. It is the official language of Spain, most Latin American countries, and Equatorial Guinea, in Africa. In total, twenty-five nations and territories use Spanish as their primary language, which is spoken in every continent around the world. It is one of six official languages of the United Nations.
Spanish originated as a dialect of Latin along the remote cross road strips among the Cantabria, Burgos, Soria and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to the Americas and other parts of the world in the last five centuries by Spanish explorers and colonists. The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers. It is estimated that the combined total of native and non-native Spanish speakers is approximately 500 million, likely making it the fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers.
The language is spoken most extensively in the Americas, Spain and in Africa and Asia Pacific. It is also the second most widely spoken language in the United States and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities.According to George Weber's "Top Languages: The 10 most influential languages" Spanish ranks 3rd (after English and French). |
Spanish
for Dummies - Audio CDs and Book - Learn to Speak Spanish |
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Learn speak Minute American Travel Latin Spanish
DK Eyewitness Travel - 15 Minute Latin-American Spanish
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DK Eyewitness Travel - 15 Minute Latin-American Spanish
Brand New - 2 CDs and Book
Learn Latin-American Spanish in just 15 minutes a day
With an innovative, visual approach the Eyewitness Travel 15-Minute language guides are the ideal tools for people who need to learn a language fast.
Now there is no excuse. Just 15 minutes a day, for 12 weeks (with the weekends off!), will provide you with language essentials for any trip to Latin America. Whether starting from scratch or just in need of a refresher, there is no easier way to learn Latin-American Spanish - fast. Practice only 4 times a week for 3 months and master the language!
-Each week covers the language relating to a specific topic or situation.
-Unique combination of visual guide and CDs makes learning quick, easy and fun.
-In just 15 minutes a day you can speak and understand Latin-American Spanish with confidence.
-No writing or homework, just use the included book to test yourself.
-Perfect your pronounciation by hearing native Latin-American Spanish speakers om the CD's.
-The unique visual approach makes learning quick, easy and fun. No writing or homework.
-Real-life examples cover every holiday and business situation.
With people travelling abroad more each year for both business and pleasure, learning a foreign language should be top of our to do list. But how many of us have time? We just never get around to it. But all that can change with 15 Minute Latin-American Spanish. Every session starts with a warm-up exercise reinforcing past lessons and fold-over flaps enable you to hide text while you test yourself. Finally say it again panels reinforce the phrases you have learned. At the end of the week a revision page will consolidate your new language knowledge.
About the Language
Spanish or Castilian (castellano) is an Indo-European, Romance language that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade. It was taken to Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific with the expansion of the Spanish Empire between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Today, between 322 and 400 million people speak Spanish as a native language, making it the world's second or third most-spoken language by native speakers, depending on the sources.
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, Basque, and Catalan. 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:
The name Castellano (Castilian), which refers directly to the origins of the Language and the sociopolitical context in which it was introduced in the Americas, is preferred in Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Chile, instead of español, which is more commonly used to refer to the language as a whole in the rest of Latin America.
Some Spanish speakers consider castellano a generic term with no political or ideological links, much as "Spanish" is in English.
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. 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 (after English and Chinese).
Today, Spanish is an official language of Spain, most Latin American countries, and Equatorial Guinea; 20 nations speak it as their primary language. Spanish also is one of six official languages of the United Nations. Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population, and 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.
Most Spanish speakers are in Latin America; of all countries with majority Spanish speakers, only Spain is outside of the Americas. Mexico has the most native speakers of any country. 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 Guarani), Peru (co-official Quechua and, in some regions, Aymara), Uruguay, and Venezuela. Spanish is also the official language (co-official with 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 Spanish-speaking 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 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. 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 illegal 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 in various states besides English; in the U.S. state of New Mexico for instance, 30% of the population speaks the language. It also has strong influence in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, New York City, and in the 2000s the language has rapidly expanded in Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix and other major Sun-Belt cities. Spanish is the dominant spoken language in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. In total, the U.S. has the world's fifth-largest Spanish-speaking population.
There are important variations among the regions of Spain and throughout Spanish-speaking America. In some 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.
Spanish evolved from Vulgar Latin, with major influences from Arabic in vocabulary during the Andalusian period and minor surviving influences from Basque and Celtiberian, as well as 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 (see Glosas Emilianenses), as a strongly innovative and differing variant from its nearest cousin, Leonese, 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.
In the 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara, and in areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as in Spanish Harlem, in New York City. For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language.
Spanish is closely related to the other West Iberian Romance languages: Asturian, Galician, Ladino, Leonese and Portuguese. Catalan, an East Iberian language which exhibits many Gallo-Romance traits, is more similar to the neighboring Occitan language than to Spanish, or indeed than Spanish and Portuguese are to each other.
Spanish and Portuguese share similar grammars and 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%.
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DK Eyewitness Travel - 15 Minute Latin-American Spanish |
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Audio Book Latin Teach Spanish Learn Spanish CDs American speak Yourself
Teach Yourself Latin-American Spanish
Book and 2 Audio CDs
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Teach Yourself Latin-American Spanish - Book and 2 Audio CDs
Brand New - 2 CDs and Book
This communicative course in Latin American Spanish assumes no previous knowledge of the language. It is designed for beginners as well as those who have done a general Spanish course and now wish to learn the forms spoken in Latin America.
The 13 units will give you ample opportunity to learn and practise the language in practical, everyday situations, such as introducing yourself and others, giving personal information, making travel arrangements, ordering food and shopping - in fact everything you need for travelling in Latin America, be it on business or on holiday.
The new edition retains the tried-and-tested structure of the lessons but has been updated throughout. New features include an English-Latin American Spanish vocabulary to go alongside the existing Latin American Spanish-English vocabulary and a 'taking it further' section which gives additional sources of real Latin American Spanish - websites, books, etc. The page design has been improved and the section headings given in English to make the course even easier to use without a teacher.
The accompanying double CD has been recorded by native speakers from different parts of Latin America to familiarise you with different accents.
* Comprehensive - 13 carefully graded units of dialogues, culture notes, grammar, exercises, grammar summary, pronunciation guide and two-way vocabulary lists to give you everything you need
* Range - Set in a variety of Latin American countries to give you the major linguistic variations and a broad range of cultural background information
* Level - Suitable for both the complete beginner and anyone who already has a basic knowledge of Spanish
Table of Contents:
What is your name?
Where is it?
They open at eight
What do you do?
A table for two
How much does it cost?
Holiday plans
Travelling
A message
I used to live in Spain
I would like to hire a car
Have you been to Cuzco?
Go straight on
Pronunciation
Key to the exercises
Transcript of listening comprehension texts
Table of irregular verbs
Glossary of Latin American Terms
Spanish-English vocabulary
English-Spanish vocabulary
Index
About the Author:
Juan Kattan-Ibarra was born in Chile and has travelled extensively in Latin America and Spain. He has degrees from the University of Chile, Michigan State University, Manchester University, and the Institute of Education, London University. He has taught Spanish in colleges and to businesses and has been an examiner for various examining boards. He is now a full-time author.
About the Language
Spanish or Castilian (castellano) is an Indo-European, Romance language that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade. It was taken to Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific with the expansion of the Spanish Empire between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Today, between 322 and 400 million people speak Spanish as a native language, making it the world's second or third most-spoken language by native speakers, depending on the sources.
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, Basque, and Catalan. 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:
The name Castellano (Castilian), which refers directly to the origins of the Language and the sociopolitical context in which it was introduced in the Americas, is preferred in Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Chile, instead of español, which is more commonly used to refer to the language as a whole in the rest of Latin America.
Some Spanish speakers consider castellano a generic term with no political or ideological links, much as "Spanish" is in English.
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. 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 (after English and Chinese).
Today, Spanish is an official language of Spain, most Latin American countries, and Equatorial Guinea; 20 nations speak it as their primary language. Spanish also is one of six official languages of the United Nations. Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population, and 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.
Most Spanish speakers are in Latin America; of all countries with majority Spanish speakers, only Spain is outside of the Americas. Mexico has the most native speakers of any country. 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 Guarani), Peru (co-official Quechua and, in some regions, Aymara), Uruguay, and Venezuela. Spanish is also the official language (co-official with 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 Spanish-speaking 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 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. 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 illegal 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 in various states besides English; in the U.S. state of New Mexico for instance, 30% of the population speaks the language. It also has strong influence in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, New York City, and in the 2000s the language has rapidly expanded in Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix and other major Sun-Belt cities. Spanish is the dominant spoken language in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. In total, the U.S. has the world's fifth-largest Spanish-speaking population.
There are important variations among the regions of Spain and throughout Spanish-speaking America. In some 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.
Spanish evolved from Vulgar Latin, with major influences from Arabic in vocabulary during the Andalusian period and minor surviving influences from Basque and Celtiberian, as well as 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 (see Glosas Emilianenses), as a strongly innovative and differing variant from its nearest cousin, Leonese, 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.
In the 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara, and in areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as in Spanish Harlem, in New York City. For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language.
Spanish is closely related to the other West Iberian Romance languages: Asturian, Galician, Ladino, Leonese and Portuguese. Catalan, an East Iberian language which exhibits many Gallo-Romance traits, is more similar to the neighboring Occitan language than to Spanish, or indeed than Spanish and Portuguese are to each other.
Spanish and Portuguese share similar grammars and 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%.
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Teach Yourself Latin-American Spanish - Book and 2 Audio CDs |
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Guide CDs Audio you drive Reference Time while Learn Drive SPANISH
Drive Time Spanish
Learn while your Drive
More Spanish Language Learning click here
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Drive Time Spanish 4 Audio CD and Booklet
Brand New : . 4 CDs
Now anyone can learn a foreign language while commuting to work, running
errands, or even taking a trip with the family. The new all-audio Drive Time series starts with an ingenious "On-Ramp" CD that eases language learners
into Spanish with simple, practical
expressions and engaging warm-up exercises. Three additional CDs contain 18
lessons that cover all of the essentials-vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar,
and basic conversation.
Drive Time also includes a 64-page reference guide for anyone who would
like to see spellings or read dialogues as a review-from the passenger seat,
of course
About the Spanish Language
Spanish (español ) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific when they were brought under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries.
The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers.
Today, it is one of the official languages of Spain, most Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea. In total, 21 nations use Spanish as their primary language. Spanish is also one of six official languages of the United Nations.
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, Basque, and Catalan. 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
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 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.
Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities. Spanish is among the most popular foreign languages for study in the rest of the nations of the Anglosphere in general, where on top of the widespread use of English globally, the large number of additional countries and geographic territory that Spanish allows exploring is an attractive prospect for many people. 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 fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers. Global internet usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the internet, after English and Chinese.
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Drive Time Spanish 4 Audio CD and Booklet
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First Baby's Teach Words
Baby's First Words in Spanish
Teach Your Child Spanish
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Baby's First Words in Spanish Book and CD - Newborn to 2 Years
Expand Your Child's Mind and Horizons with a Second Language!
Reccomended for babies and toddlers up to 2 years of age.
Brand New - Still in Original Packaging
Before they focus in on their native language, babies have an amazing ability to hear and absorb sounds that adults unconsciously block out, like the subtleties of a foreign language. "Baby's First Words in Spanish" is an introduction to the sounds of Spanish and locks in a child's ability to learn these sounds.
Created by linguistic experts, "Baby's First Words in Spanish" is designed for newborns to toddlers up to two years old. Each package includes:
-A CD of sweet and soothing songs, rhymes, words and stories
-Parents' guide that explains how children learn languages
-Lyric sheet so that parents can sing along to the songs on the CD with their children
Here's what a well-known expert has to say about Baby's First Words:
"it makes good science and good sense to teach your child an extra language in the early years when the brain centers for learning language are rapidly maturing."
Dr. William Sears, renowned pediatrician and co-author of The Baby Book.
About the Spanish Language
Spanish or Castilian (castellano) is an Indo-European, Romance language that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade. It was taken to Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific with the expansion of the Spanish Empire between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Today, between 322 and 400 million people speak Spanish as a native language, making it the world's second or third most-spoken language by native speakers, depending on the sources.
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, Basque, and Catalan. 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).
The name Castellano (Castilian), which refers directly to the origins of the Language and the sociopolitical context in which it was introduced in the Americas, is preferred in Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Chile, instead of español, which is more commonly used to refer to the language as a whole in the rest of Latin America.
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.
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 (after English and Chinese).
Today, Spanish is an official language of Spain, most Latin American countries, and Equatorial Guinea; 20 nations speak it as their primary language. Spanish also is one of six official languages of the United Nations. Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population, and 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 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.
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. 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 illegal 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 in various states besides English; in the U.S. state of New Mexico for instance, 30% of the population speaks the language. It also has strong influence in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, New York City, and in the 2000s the language has rapidly expanded in Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix and other major Sun-Belt cities. Spanish is the dominant spoken language in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. In total, the U.S. has the world's fifth-largest Spanish-speaking population.
Most Spanish speakers are in Latin America; of all countries with majority Spanish speakers, only Spain is outside of the Americas. Mexico has the most native speakers of any country. 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 (co-official Quechua and, in some regions, Aymara), Uruguay, and Venezuela. Spanish is also the official language (co-official with 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 Spanish-speaking 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.
There are important variations among the regions of Spain and throughout Spanish-speaking America. In some 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.
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Baby's First Words in Spanish Book and CD - Newborn to 2 Years |
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CDs Book Audio Activty
Spanish for Children
Activity Book CDs and Parents CD
Other Learn to Speak Spanish Audio click here |
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Spanish for Children Activity Book 2 Program Audio CDs 1 Parents Audio CD
Brand New
Includes A Full Color Activity Book (80 pages)- A complete Language Course, A wide range of Activities, Games, Spanish-language songs, the cartoon adventures of Supergato
Stimulating Program CDs - Numerous -activities drawn from the activity book, additional activities created especially for the CD, the songs for all the units, each exciting episode of Supergato
Parents/Instructors CD - Tips for helping children get the most out of the program, Additional games and activities, All the program songs collected together, the adventures of Supergato read aloud.
Already a proven home-study program, the Language for Children series is making noise with this updated, integrated book-plus-audio edition. Along with its charming visuals and lively activities, the series now provides in CD format the stimulating sounds of language to entice preschoolers through primary graders into learning a second language. Cute, catchy songs and the humorous, serial adventures of Supergato are sure to captivate the imagination and foster language acquisition. Each set in the series contains an 80-page full-color activity book coordinated with two 60-minute CDs as well as a Parent/Instructor CD packed with helpful tips.
Together children and parents can master basic language skills, including making introductions, counting from 1 to 20, and describing objects. The perfect package for parents and teachers who want to familiarize three- to nine-year olds with foreign languages and cultures. Published by McGraw-Hill
About the Spanish Language
Spanish (español ) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific when they were brought under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries. The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers.
Today, it is one of the official languages of Spain, most Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea. In total, 21 nations use Spanish as their primary language. Spanish is also one of six official languages of the United Nations. 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, Basque, and Catalan. 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 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 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.
Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities. Spanish is among the most popular foreign languages for study in the rest of the nations of the Anglosphere in general, where on top of the widespread use of English globally, the large number of additional countries and geographic territory that Spanish allows exploring is an attractive prospect for many people. 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 fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers. Global internet usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the internet, after English and Chinese.
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Spanish for Children Activity Book 2 Program Audio CDs 1 Parents Audio CD |
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CD Baby Guide Teach Spanish Teaching
Teach Your Baby Spanish
Audio CD and teaching guide
More Spanish Language Learning click here
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Teach Your Baby Spanish Audio CD and Teaching Guide
Brand New : . 1 CD
Teach Your Baby Spanish helps your child learn more than one language during
the crucial window of opportunity: The first three years of life!
Teaching counting, colours, body parts, animals, clothes and more, Teach Your
Baby Spanish focuses on concepts and objects which infants can comprehend,
instead of abstractions like time, or social greetings.
Teach Your Baby Spanish helps stimulate a baby's neural pathways, build
vocabulary, and develop innate grammar understanding - in more than one
language!
Children learn multiple languages more easily and quickly before age three than
at any other time in life, because their brains are still rapidly developing.
Take advantage of this opportunity, and give your child a head start in life!
For Ages 0 - 3
About the Spanish Language
Spanish (español ) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific when they were brought under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries.
The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers.
Today, it is one of the official languages of Spain, most Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea. In total, 21 nations use Spanish as their primary language. Spanish is also one of six official languages of the United Nations.
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, Basque, and Catalan. 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
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 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.
Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities. Spanish is among the most popular foreign languages for study in the rest of the nations of the Anglosphere in general, where on top of the widespread use of English globally, the large number of additional countries and geographic territory that Spanish allows exploring is an attractive prospect for many people. 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 fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers. Global internet usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the internet, after English and Chinese.
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Teach Your Baby Spanish Audio CD and Teaching Guide
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speak Level Learn
Learn in Your Car Spanish
Level 1
Other Learn to Speak Spanish Audio click here |
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Learn in your Car Spanish - Level 1 - 3 Audio CDs
Brand New (3 audio CDs)
The Learn in Your Car Spanish is the first system ever designed to teach a language in your car...or anywhere...without a textbook. Simple and effective, you can learn to converse in another language while driving, walking, or doing tasks around the house.
Each course is organized the way you learn best - by learning words and phrases - and building these into sentences and clear conversations. Arrange hotel accommodations, order in restaurants, change money, and feel more at home next time you travel!
he Learn in Your Car Spanish language series is: Easy to use without a textbook Prepared by dialect-free professionals Available in levels for students of all abilities Designed to teach grammar basics through recorded examples PLUS Full Text Listening Guide
Level 1 spanish offers an introduction to key words, numbers, phrases, sentence structure, and basic grammar.
About the Spanish Language
Spanish (español ) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It was later taken to Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific when they were brought under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries. The language is spoken by between 322 and 400 million people natively, making Spanish the most spoken Romance language and possibly the second most spoken language by number of native speakers.
Today, it is one of the official languages of Spain, most Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea. In total, 21 nations use Spanish as their primary language. Spanish is also one of six official languages of the United Nations. 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, Basque, and Catalan. 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 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 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.
Mexico has the world's largest Spanish-speaking population. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States and by far the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities. Spanish is among the most popular foreign languages for study in the rest of the nations of the Anglosphere in general, where on top of the widespread use of English globally, the large number of additional countries and geographic territory that Spanish allows exploring is an attractive prospect for many people. 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 fourth most spoken language by total number of speakers. Global internet usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the internet, after English and Chinese. |
Learn in your Car Spanish - Level 1 - 3 Audio CDs |
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