0SPANISH - LECTURE#1
Spanish Language
The Spanish language is the most widely spoken Romance language, both in terms of number of speakers and the number of countries in which it is the dominant language. There are more than 400 million Spanish speakers worldwide. Pronunciation and usage of the spoken Spanish language naturally vary among countries, but regional differences are not so great as to make the language unintelligible to speakers from different areas. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a single spoken "Spanish". There are different Spanish dialects because of the evolution of the Spanish language in different regions.
The Importance of Spanish Today
The Spanish-speaking population is one of the fasting growing segments in the world, especially in the United States. The Spanish-speaking segment constitutes a huge community that shares products, services, and culture, offering businesses and institutions a truly unique growth opportunity. Here are some important facts regarding the Spanish language:
- Spanish, the official language in twenty-one countries, is the third most widely-spoken language in the world, after English and Mandarin.
- More than 400 million people speak Spanish worldwide.
- Experts predict that by the year 2050, there will be 530 million Spanish speakers, of which 100 million will be living in the United States.
Hence, as you can imagine, the demand for having documents and communications in Spanish is growing at exponential rates. This is especially true in the United States where the Hispanic population has recently become the largest minority in the country. [Source : Trusted Translation]
Reasons to Learn Spanish:
1. Learning Spanish is necessary to keep pace with popular culture.
2. Learning Spanish is actually a medical device!
3. For many, learning Spanish is rapidly becoming a business necessity.
4. Spanish, Spanish everywhere.
5. Learning Spanish will (truly) expand your universe.
6. Knowing Spanish will completely transform your travel experience.
7. Knowing how to speak Spanish will enable you to help others.
8. There are reasons to learn language for language’s sake.
9. Learning Spanish will allow you to better appreciate Hispanic cultural contributions.
10. Learning Spanish is fun!
Spanish Alphabets
- In English we have 26 alphabets from A -> Z
- In Spanish we have 29 alphabets. Apart from A to Z, 3 extra alphabets are present viz. ch, ll, ñ
- Words starting from K and W have been taken from language of Non-Spanish Origin. Example, “kilo”, “kite” has been taken in Spanish from English.
Pronunciation of Vowels
1.A:- Sound of “a” as in word far, father.
Example of Spanish Word : Patata [Pronunciation: Paataata, Means : "Potato"]
2.E:- Sound of “ay” as in word May / Say
Example of Spanish Word : De [Pronunciation: Day, Means : "Of"]
3.I:- Sound of “ee” as in word meet
Example of Spanish Word : Dinero [Pronunciation: Deenayro, Means: Money]
4.O:- Sound of “o” as in word Gold
Example of Spanish Word : Sopa [Pronunciation: Sopaa, Means : Soup]
5.U:- Sound of “oo” as in word Wool / Moon
Example of Spanish Word : Luna [Pronunciation: Loona, Means: Moon]
2 Important Exceptions:-
1. “H” is always silent in Spanish.
Example, hombre is pronounced as “ombrey” with “h” silent. Hombre in Spanish means Man.
2.Whenever you have a word starting with G / Q and after G/Q vowel U is coming, and after U, the any of the vowel E/I is coming …i.e. a combination like G/Q_U_E/I …
=> In this case the sound of “U” will be completely ignored while speaking.
Example, “Guerra” .. this will be pronounced as “Gerra”. Guerra means “war”.
Another example, “Guindal”, will be pronounced as “Geendaal” . Guindal in Spanish means Cherry tree.
