Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages on the planet and is represented on almost all continents, this is due both to the colonial past of Spain and to the active settlement of Spaniards around the world in the 20th century. The civil war that shook the country in the 20th century became a catalyst for the active movement of the Spaniards around the world, and many supporters of communism, fleeing from fascist persecutors, even ended up in the Soviet Union.
Spanish speaking countries
Assuming that a Spanish-speaking country is considered with a fairly large number of people for whom Spanish is native, then there are more than forty countries in the world that meet this criterion.
First of all, of course, Spanish is the official language of the Kingdom of Spain. But there are twenty-two other countries in which Spanish is officially recognized. The community of Spanish-speaking countries traditionally includes states where the language has official status.
The list of Spanish-speaking countries is as follows:
- Argentina;
- Chile;
- Colombia;
- Bolivia;
- Costa Rica;
- Cuba;
- Dominican Republic;
- Ecuador;
- Guatemala;
- Honduras;
- Mexico;
- Nicaragua;
- Panama;
- Paraguay;
- Peru;
- Puerto Rico;
- El Salvador;
- Uruguay;
- Venezuela;
- Spain;
- Philippines.
Spanish-speaking countries in Africa include Equatorial Guinea and the unrecognized state of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic. The dominant position of the Spanish language in these countries was achieved thanks to the aggressive colonialist policy of Spain, which lasted for four centuries. During this time, Spanish-speaking countries appeared in all parts of the world, and the language spread from Easter Island, which is now under the control of the Chilean Republic, to the countries of Central Africa.
Jewish influence
However, not only colonialism contributed to the spread of the language around the world. There were other events, no less tragic, that influenced this process.
In 1492, the Spanish Queen Isabella shocked the large Jewish community of her country with a decree of incredible cruelty: all Jews had to leave the country or receive holy baptism, which, of course, was unacceptable for orthodox Jews. Death awaited those who disobeyed.
Within three months, many Jewish families left the kingdom, carrying with them, in addition to personal belongings, also the language and culture of Spanishkingdoms. So the Spanish language was brought to the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and then to the State of Israel.
In addition, numerous Spanish and Jewish settlers brought the language to Morocco, where it was safe for a long time thanks to the traditional religious tolerance of Islamic rulers.
Spanish in the US
The United States constitution does not have a word about the state language, and most states do not have special laws regulating this issue. However, along with English, Spanish is widely used in the country, so although the United States is not considered a Spanish-speaking country, some states also use Spanish in public institutions.
The large number of Hispanic Americans is associated not only with migration, as it may seem, but also with the historical events of the nineteenth century, when Mexico and the United States actively competed for influence in North America.
The result of this confrontation was a devastating war that lasted two years from 1846 to 1848. As a result of the war, more than a million square kilometers of land were alienated from Mexico, which accounted for almost half of the territory of the losing country. Along with these lands, the United States also got Spanish-speaking citizens. Since then, Spanish has been the second most spoken language in many southern states, and in some states, Spanish is spoken by the majority of the population.
