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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye.

Introduction to spanish

You can learn Spanish as a second language. There are many benefits of learning Spanish. If you are interested in learning Spanish there are inexpensively ways of doing so.

Spanish facts

Spanish and English are in a virtual dead heat to be the second most spoken language in the world. As of 1999, Spanish had 332 million speakers, while English had 322 million. They were far behind Chinese, with 885 million.

As of 1998, the United States has the fifth largest Hispanic population, about 30 million people (the exact number depending on how Hispanics are counted). Of them, two-thirds trace their roots to Mexico, and 86 percent say Spanish is their first language.

Much of the vocabulary of English has Latin origins, much of which came to English by way of Frenxh. Since Spanish is also a Latin language, you will find as you study Spanish that you have a better understanding of your native vocabulary.

Spain is the nearest European country to Africa.

The caves of the Sierra de Atapuerca, a World Heritage site, contain fossil records of the earliest humans in Europe dating back almost a million years. The caves were also used in the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age.

Some of the world's most beautiful prehistoric cave paintings were found at Altamira in Northern Spain. Altamira was added to the World Heritage List in 1985.

The top five Spanish-speaking nations are Mexico (100 million), Colombia (44.5 million), Spain (44 million), Argentina (38.5 million) and the USA (38 million).

Nearly 47 million people -- about 1-in-5 U.S. residents -- age 5 and older, reported regularly speaking a foreign language at home in 2000, according to the Census Bureau. The figures represented an increase of 15 million people since the 1990 census.

Advantages of learning Spanish.

Spanish is one of the easiest foreign languages to learn. Much of its vocabulary is similar to English's, and written Spanish is almost completely phonetic: Look at almost any Spanish word and you can tell how it is pronounced. And while mastering the grammar of Spanish can be a challenge, basic grammar is straightforward enough that you can have meaningful communication after only a few lessons.

CONCLUSION.

Because the birth rate in the Spanish-speaking word is higher than among people whose first language is English, Spanish can be expected to remain firmly in the No. 2 spot for years to come. And if the economies of Latin American countries improve, Spanish could gain importance in worldwide trade and communications as well.