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| | Today, the majority of its speakers live outside of Spain, with large numbers in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]]. It is one of the most-spoken languages in the [[world]]. It is spoken as a first language by about 350,000,000 people, or by 417,000,000 if non-native speakers are included. The Spanish language is the second-most common language in the [[United States]], as well as the second-most natively spoken language in the world, after [[Mandarin Chinese]]. | | Today, the majority of its speakers live outside of Spain, with large numbers in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]]. It is one of the most-spoken languages in the [[world]]. It is spoken as a first language by about 350,000,000 people, or by 417,000,000 if non-native speakers are included. The Spanish language is the second-most common language in the [[United States]], as well as the second-most natively spoken language in the world, after [[Mandarin Chinese]]. |
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| − | It is more difficult for native Spanish speakers to learn [[English]] than it is for native English speakers to learn Spanish{{fact}}, due to the complexity and inconsistency of English [[grammar]] and pronunciation compared to Spanish.
| + | Main difficulties in learning Spanish for an English speaker: |
| − | | + | 1. In Spanish there are two verbs for "to be", "ser" and "estar" |
| − | main difficulties in learning Spanish for an English speaker:
| + | 2. The subjunctive is used a lot in Spanish but hardly ever in |
| − | 1. In Spanish there are two verbs for "to be". "Ser" and "Estar" | |
| − | 2. The second difficulty is that the subjunctive is used a lot in Spanish but hardly ever in | |
| | English. | | English. |
| | 3. All nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine | | 3. All nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine |
| − | 4. Spanish has an informal and a formal form of address | + | 4. Spanish has an informal (tú and vosotros/vosotras) and a formal form of address (usted and ustedes) |
| | 5. pronunciation of J, Ñ and R. | | 5. pronunciation of J, Ñ and R. |
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| − | easiest things about learning Spanish for an English speaker:
| + | Easiest things about learning Spanish for an English speaker: |
| | 1. In English there are 13 vowel sounds in Spanish there are only five (a, e, i, o, u) | | 1. In English there are 13 vowel sounds in Spanish there are only five (a, e, i, o, u) |
| − | 2. It is very easy to write in Spanish | + | 2. Spanish ortography is largely phonetic |
| | 3. It is easy to make affirmative sentences, negative sentences and questions | | 3. It is easy to make affirmative sentences, negative sentences and questions |
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| − | | + | Many loan words enter Spanish from English, but there usually are proper Spanish words which the people can use instead. |
| − | | |
| − | Spanish is being contaminated by many words loaned from English, but there usually are many good Spanish words which the people can use instead. | |
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| | ==Distribution== | | ==Distribution== |