Introduction - Language

Spain(Spanish: España) is a diverse country sharing the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the country with the second-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites after Italy, and the largest number of World Heritage Cities.

Spain is considered an exotic country in Europe due to its friendly inhabitants, relaxed lifestyle, its cuisine, vibrant nightlife, and world-famous folklore and festivities. Among many places worth visiting are Spain's thriving capital Madrid, the vibrant coastal city of Barcelona, the famous "Running of the Bulls" at Pamplona, major Andalucian cities with Moorish architecture, like Seville, Granada and Cordoba, the Way of St. James and the idyllic Balearic and Canary Islands.

Me encanta España. It means 'I love Spain' in Spanish.

The official language in Spain is Spanish, otherwise known as Castillian. It is the first language of over 72% of the population. However, Castillian Spanish is spoken with a great variety of accents. Other languages include Catalan, which is spoken in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencia region. Gallego is spoken in Galicia and Basque is spoken in the Basque country. Other minor languages are Aranese, Asturian and Aragonese.

Spanish Castillian

This is a Romance language originated from the northern area of Spain. From there, its use gradually spread to 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 the Philippines when they were brought under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries. Till now, countries which were once under the Spanish colonial rule are still influenced by the Spanish culture. Some of the living people of older generations still speak Spanish. Presently, it is one of the official language of Spain, most Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea. In total, 23 nations use Spanish as their primary language. Spanish is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

These are some figures of the number of people speaking Spanish in the 23 countries.

Country	No. of people speaking Spanish
Spain	39,500,000
Argentina	33,000,000
Bolivia	7,000,000
Chile	14,000,000
Columbia	36,000,000
Costa Rica	3,500,000
Cuba	11,000,000
Dominican Republic	7,500,000
Ecuador	10,000,000
Equatorial Guinea	10,000,000
Guatemala	350,000
Honduras	5,500,000
Mexico	85,000,000
Nicaragua	4,000,000
Panama	2,500,000
Paraguay	4,500,000
Peru	23,000,000
Philippines	2,000,000
Puerto Rico	4,500,000
El Salvador	5,500,000
Uruguay	3,500,000
USA	25,500,000
Venezuela	20,000,000

adiós. Nos reuniremos de nuevo.