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Language

Spanish

Also Known As español / castellano
Romance Languages

Spanish is a Romance language descended from Vulgar Latin as spoken on the Iberian peninsula, spread worldwide from the sixteenth century onward by Spanish colonization and today the official language of twenty countries, more than any other language. It is written in the Latin alphabet and is notable among major world languages for an unusually regular relationship between spelling and pronunciation. Its closest relatives are the other Ibero-Romance languages, Portuguese, Catalan and Galician, all descended from the same Vulgar Latin base.

Facts
ISO 639-3 Code
spa 3
Speaker Count
560,000,000 3
Status
Living 3
Attested From (Year)
from 800 4
9th century; the earliest documents showing traces of the precursor of modern Spanish date to this century.
Region
Spain; Hispanic America including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Mexico; Equatorial Guinea; Puerto Rico; significant presence in the United States 4
Classification
Language Kind
Safe 1
Official Status
Official Language 2
Connections

Ancestor Of

Andalusian Spanish, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Andalusian Spanish
Canarian Spanish, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Canarian Spanish
Caribbean Spanish, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Caribbean Spanish
Chilean Spanish, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Chilean Spanish
Colombian Spanish, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Colombian Spanish
Mexican Spanish, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Mexican Spanish
Peruvian Spanish, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Peruvian Spanish
Rioplatense Spanish, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Rioplatense Spanish
Venezuelan Spanish, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Venezuelan Spanish

Associated With

Latin, Languages

This source names Spanish directly: "the ancestor of the Romance languages, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and others."

Source The Cambridge Encyclopedia of LanguageDavid Crystal (editor)
Latin, Languages

This source names Latin directly: "Romance language descended from Vulgar Latin as spoken on the Iberian peninsula, spread worldwide from the sixteenth century onward by Spanish colonization and today the official language of twenty..."

Source The Cambridge Encyclopedia of LanguageDavid Crystal (editor)

In Family

Indo-European, Language Families
Source Glottolog

Written In

Latin Script, Scripts
Source Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages
In the Other Atlases

Cases Where Used

Castile

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Hope Channel

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Laudato Si'

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Luzon

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Radio Bahá'í

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Salem Radio Network

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

The Caribbean

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

The Southern Cone

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Valley of Mexico

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Western Mexico

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Yucatan

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Adams-Onis Treaty

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Antarctic Treaty

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Charter of the United Nations

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Kyoto Protocol

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Outer Space Treaty

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Paris Agreement

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Rome Statute

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Treaty of San Francisco

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Treaty of Tlatelolco

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Treaty of Utrecht

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Apache

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: used in this subject.

Nahua

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: used in this subject.

Sephardic Jews

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: used in this subject.

Original Language Of

Alambrista! (1977 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Amores Perros

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Apocalypse Now Redux

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ascensor

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Buena Vista Social Club

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Deprisa, deprisa

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Dracula (1931 Spanish-language film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

El Lazarillo de Tormes

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

El Mariachi

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

From Afar

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Johanne Sacreblu

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

La colmena

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Las truchas

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Los Olvidados

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Money Heist

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

No Country for Old Men

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Pan's Labyrinth

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Roma

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Second Life

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Talk to Her

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Battle of Chile

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Milk of Sorrow

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

The Secret in Their Eyes

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Viridiana

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

What Max Said

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Wild Tales

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Y Tu Mama Tambien

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Adolfo Bioy Casares

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Alejo Carpentier

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Baltasar Gracián

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Blood Wedding

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Cantar de Mio Cid

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Carlos Fuentes

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Carlos Fuentes (Wikipedia)tier 2
Clarice Lispector

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Cocorí

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Don Quixote

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Doña Bárbara

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

El Criticón

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

El diablo cojuelo

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ernest Hemingway

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Estebanillo González

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Federico García Lorca

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Fernando Pessoa

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ficciones

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Forest of the Pygmies

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Francisco de Quevedo

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Fuenteovejuna

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Showing 1 to 50 of 84 in Original Language Of, page 1 of 2.

Found In

Africa

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Europe

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Wikipedia: Spanish LanguageLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
Spanish (español) or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe.
North America

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

South America

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Glottolog: Spanish (Glottolog languoid stan1288)
GlottologEndangerment, AES status
Quote, Endangerment, AES status
AES status: not endangered
View the Source
2. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
David Crystal (editor), Cambridge University Press, 2010Official status, Spanish entity page
Quote, Official status, Spanish entity page
Spanish is a Romance language descended from Vulgar Latin as spoken on the Iberian peninsula, spread worldwide from the sixteenth century onward by Spanish colonization and today the official language of twenty countries, more than any other language.
3. Ethnologue: Languages of the World
SIL International, 2024View the Source
4. Wikipedia: Spanish Language
Wikimedia Foundation
  • lead section
    Spain and Hispanic America
  • Quote
    first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century
View the Source
Glottolog
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyIn Family: Indo-EuropeanView the Source
Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages
Written In: Latin ScriptView the Source
Wikipedia: Andalusian Spanish
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Andalusian Spanish, Lead section
Quote, Ancestor Of: Andalusian Spanish, Lead section
They include perhaps the most distinct of the southern variants of peninsular Spanish, differing in many respects from northern varieties in a number of phonological, morphological and lexical features.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Rioplatense Spanish
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Rioplatense Spanish, Introduction section
Quote, Ancestor Of: Rioplatense Spanish, Introduction section
This dialect is widely recognized throughout the Hispanosphere due to its strong influence from Italian languages, a result of significant historical Italian immigration to the region.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Mexican Spanish
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Mexican Spanish, Opening section, Variation area
Quote, Ancestor Of: Mexican Spanish, Opening section, Variation area
Mexico has the world's largest number of Spanish speakers, more than double any other country.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Chilean Spanish
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Chilean Spanish, Lead sentence
Quote, Ancestor Of: Chilean Spanish, Lead sentence
o or castellano chileno) is any of several varieties of the Spanish language spoken in most of Chile.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Caribbean Spanish
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Caribbean Spanish, Lead sentence
Quote, Ancestor Of: Caribbean Spanish, Lead sentence
], locally [ehpaˈɲol kaɾiˈβeɲo]) is the general name of the Spanish dialects spoken in the Caribbean r
View the Source
Wikipedia: Canarian Spanish
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Canarian Spanish, Lead sentence
Quote, Ancestor Of: Canarian Spanish, Lead sentence
, habla canaria, or dialecto canario) is the variety of the Spanish language as spoken in the Canary I
View the Source
Wikipedia: Colombian Spanish
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Colombian Spanish, Lead sentence
Quote, Ancestor Of: Colombian Spanish, Lead sentence
nish: español colombiano) is a grouping of the varieties of Spanish spoken in Colombia.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Venezuelan Spanish
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Venezuelan Spanish, Lead sentence
Quote, Ancestor Of: Venezuelan Spanish, Lead sentence
tellano venezolano or español venezolano) is the variety of Spanish spoken in Venezuela.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Peruvian Spanish
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Peruvian Spanish, Lead
Quote, Ancestor Of: Peruvian Spanish, Lead
is a family of dialects of the Spanish language that have been spoken in Peru
View the Source
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