📖 Introduction
Before discussing this topic, we first need to know a little about the history of this language. Spanish is one of the Romance languages that originated from Vulgar Latin, which in turn originated from the living or cultured Latin that was spoken in the Roman Empire.
Origin of Spanish Language
The Romance languages were formed by the end of the 9th century and emerged from the various dialects that differed in pronunciation and writing that gained prominence as the number of people speaking them grew. These dialects included Portuguese, Galician, Castilian, Asturleonese, Aragonese, Catalan, Occitan, French, Rhaeto-Romanic, Italian, Romanian, and Dalmatian.
Who speaks Spanish?
Spanish is the official language of 21 countries, most of them in America and Europe, although it is also present in former Spanish colonies such as the Philippines (Asia), Equatorial Guinea, and Western Sahara (Africa); it is the mother tongue of millions of people and is also spoken by those who study Spanish as a second language; all in all, more than 450 million people speak Spanish.
The Difference between Spanish and Castilian
A notion that many of us have heard but few have wondered about and investigated is the Castilian language. In particular, what is the difference between Spanish and Castilian?
The answer is simple: the term Spanish comes from the word Spain while Castilian comes from Castile, which was later used to differentiate the Spanish dialect spoken in Latin America from the one used in Spain.
🤔 Why is Spanish important?
Let's run over the facts quickly:
- It is spoken as a mother tongue not only in Spain but in many other countries such as the United States (37 million), Canada (909,000), Brazil (460,000), the Philippines (439,000), and more.
- Spanish is the official language of the following 21 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.
- Although not an official language, Spanish is also spoken in the United States, Belize, Andorra, and Gibraltar.
- 18 million students study Spanish as a foreign language.
- Latin American countries have experienced strong economic growth for years with GDP growth, resulting in driving major trade, economic and political agreements.
- Hispanic actors and singers are gaining worldwide recognition and fame.
Some predictions for the future of the Spanish language:
- In 3 or 4 generations, it is estimated that 10% of the world's population will understand Spanish.
- By 2030, some 535 million people in the world will be native Spanish speakers.
- By 2050, the United States will become the country with the world's largest population of Spanish speakers.
- Economy and culture: More and more companies value employees with Spanish language skills, a language that provides access to one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.
- The world is rapidly becoming multilingual, and Spanish is one of the key languages of the future.
The importance of knowing Spanish goes beyond the borders of Spain. Large companies have decided to broaden their horizons and are already present in larger international cities.
Think you need to make a change in your business? Maybe Spanish can help expand it – not only does it have 400 million native speakers but it also comes with a large Hispanic population in the U.S., which greatly increases the importance of the language in that region. An additional fact that highlights the importance of the language is that more than 21 million students in schools and institutes study Spanish as a foreign language.
Young people all over the world are learning this language, and we have to take advantage of its great expansion and promote our trade. Due to its worldwide deployment, Spanish has become a key language for creating alliances between different business circles, such as the strategic Latin American market. Some sectors, such as the world of telecommunications with Telefónica at the forefront, are good examples of this.
Financial sector
We must also not forget that there are many other areas where Spanish business is booming and represents the Spanish brand with guaranteed success. Here one can mention, for example, the financial sector with renowned banks such as Santander and BBVA that perhaps best capture the significance and crucial role of the Spanish language in the business world.
The latter has become one of the largest financial companies in the world and, in addition to Spain, is present mainly in Mexico, South America, the U.S., and Turkey. On the other hand, Santander Bank – which is also one of the world's leading banks – is present in the markets of the United Kingdom, Portugal, Poland, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, among others.
Retail world
Another strength of Spanish commerce lies in the retail sector. Spanish can open many doors when it comes to promoting your business, for instance, in the world of textiles. There, Spain has one of the most important multinational groups in the world, Inditex – a brand that is present in 5 continents with more than 7,000 stores divided among its main brands.
💭 Closing words
For all these reasons above, Spanish has become essential in our globalized world. Not only is it the key that allows us to access the prominent Hispanic culture and enjoy the works of universal masters of literature, art, and cinema, but it also opens many doors at a professional level.
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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://localazy.com/blog/spanish-a-growing-language-in-the-business-world