Bővebb ismertető
INTRODUCTION
introducción
Spanish, or Castilian, as it's also called in Spain, is the most widely spoken of the Romance languages, the group of languages derived from Latin which includes French, Italian and Portuguese. Outside Spain, it's the language of most of Latin America and the West Indies and is also spoken in the Philippines and Guam, as well as in some areas of the African coast and in the US. Worldwide, there are more than 30 countries or territories where Spanish is spoken.
Spanish is derived from Vulgar Latin, which Roman soldiers and merchants broughttothe Iberian Peninsuladuringthe period of the Roman conquest (3rd to 1 st century BC). By 19 BC Spain had become totally Romanised and Latin became the language of the peninsula in the four centuries that followed. Today's
Castilian is spoken in the
at a glance
language name: Spanish
name in language:
Espanol es-pa-n/o/
language family: Romance
key country: Spain
approximate number of speakers:
over 390 million worldwide
close relatives: Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
donations to english: alligator, bonanza (lit: fair weather), canyon, guerilla, rodeo, ranch, stampede, tornado and many more familiar words
north, centre and south of Spain.
People are intensely proud of their language and generally expect visitors to know at least a little. English is less widely spoken in Spain than in many other European countries, especially outside the major cities.
This book gives you the practical words and phrases you need to get by, and the fun, spontaneous phrases that lead to a better experience of Spain and its people. Need more encouragement? Remember, the contact