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Spanish Language
Part I
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How many people speak
Spanish at present? More than 300 million - which includes the
Spanish speaking people in Spain in 18 Latin
American countries, in Puerto Rico, and in
the United States.
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Romance Languages
The word romance designates languages
that have their origin in the Latin Vulgate or
were spoken in the ancient empire of Rome.
Other romance languages include French,
Italian, Portuguese, Rumanian, Catalan, and
Provencal
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Comparing Romance Languages
Comparing grammar, vocabulary andpronunciation:
Portuguese and Italian are the most similar toSpanish. Native/fluent speakers dont havedifficulty in reading and comprehending forthe most part.
French is the most difficult due topronunciation.
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Latin American Spanish
vs.
Spain Spanish
The difference is more or less like the
difference between North American Spanish
and British English.
Pronunciation/vocabulary/vosotros/Vos
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Spanish colonization
There were regional dialects in Spain in the
days of colonization of America and the
colonists are responsible, in part, for the
Spanish that is spoken in Hispanic
American now. It is believed that 60% of the
colonists in the beginning years of America
came from Spain. There is also somevocabulary influence from the Native
Americans.
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Examples of Vocab.
From the West Indies: canoa, maiz, canibal,
tabaco, yuca, huracan.
From the language of Mexico: cacao, chocolate,
tiza, tomate
From the language of Peru: alpaca, condor y
papa
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Spanish Language - II
On comparing Spanish, French and German
three of the most common languages taught in
schools today.
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Spanish is easy?
Easy is not the correct term.actually, less
difficult would be more appropriate. No
language is easy to learn. Like a musical
instrument, all languages are more or less
difficult to master.
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Easy Spanish - II
In general, Spanish is easier than French and
German. Pronunciation and spelling is less
difficult than French and German for the
majority of the people. On the other hand,
Spanish verbs are more complicated than
French or German verbs and Spanish pronouns
are more difficult than German ones.
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Vocabulary comparison
Difficulty of vocabulary in Spanish and French
are similar because they are both romance
languages. But, if you compare Spanish with
German, you will find that the concrete words
are easier in German and the abstract words are
easier in Spanish.
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Why the difference?
English is a Germanic language. Vocabulary
that describes the daily life has a Germanic base.
On the other hand, abstract vocabulary, that
describes concepts and emotions are from Latin
or French.
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Examples
German concrete vocab:
die hand, der arm, der finger.
vs.
el mano, el brazo, el dedo
Spanish abstract vocab:
la paciencia, la idolatria, la justification
vs.der geduld, der gotzendienst, die rechtfertigung
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1st year vocab
German vocabulary is easier than Spanish during
the first year because most of the vocabulary is
concrete. However, after thatSpanish is easier
because of the abstract vocabulary.
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Bible Translation
German Bible: Historical narratives, with a lot
of concrete nouns, easier in German
Spanish Bible: The epistles, with much more
abstract concepts, would be easier in Spanish