Editing Spanish language (section)

{{Short description|Romance language}}
{{Redirect|Castilian language|the specific variety of the language|Castilian Spanish|the broader branch of Ibero-Romance|West Iberian languages}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{CS1 config|mode=CS1}}
{{Infobox language
| name           = Spanish
| altname        = Castilian
| nativename     = {{hlist|{{lang|es|español}}|{{lang|es|castellano}}}}
| pronunciation  = {{IPA|es|espaˈɲol||Es-español.oga|}}<br/>{{IPA|es|kasteˈʝano||Es-Castellano.oga}}, {{IPA|es|kasteˈʎano||Es castellano 001.ogg}}
| speakers       = [[first language|L1]]: {{sigfig|483.979360|3}} million 
| date           = 2022–2024
| ref            = <ref name="e28|spa">{{e28|spa}}</ref>
| speakers2      = [[second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|74.483130|2}} million (2022–2024)<ref name="e28|spa">{{e28|spa}}</ref><br/>
Total: {{sigfig|558.462490|3}} million (2020–2024)<ref name="e28|spa">{{e28|spa}}</ref>
| speakers_label = Speakers
| familycolor    = Indo-European
| fam2           = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3           = [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]]
| fam4           = [[Latin]]
| fam5           = [[Romance languages|Romance]]
| fam6           = [[Italo-Western languages|Italo-Western]]
| fam7           = [[Western Romance languages|Western Romance]]
| fam8           = [[Iberian Romance languages|Ibero-Romance]]
| fam9           = [[West Iberian languages|West Iberian]]
| fam10          = [[Castilian languages|Castilian]]<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Eberhard|Simons|Fennig|2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter=Castilic|chapter-url=http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/cast1243|editor1-first=Harald|editor1-last=Hammarström|editor2-first=Robert|editor2-last=Forkel|editor3-first=Martin|editor3-last=Haspelmath|editor4-first=Sebastian|editor4-last=Bank|year=2022|title=[[Glottolog|Glottolog 4.6]]|edition=|location=Jena, Germany|publisher=Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology|ref={{sfnref|Glottolog|2022}}|access-date=19 June 2022|archive-date=28 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528095200/https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/cast1243|url-status=live}}</ref>
| ancestor       = [[Vulgar Latin]]
| ancestor2      = [[Old Spanish]]
| ancestor3      = [[Early Modern Spanish]]
| script         = [[Latin script]] ([[Spanish alphabet]])<br />[[Spanish Braille]]
| nation         = {{Collapsible list | titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left; | title = [[List of countries where Spanish is an official language|20
countries]]|
|[[Argentina]]
|[[Bolivia]]
|[[Chile]]
|[[Colombia]]
|[[Costa Rica]]
|[[Cuba]]
|[[Dominican Republic]]
|[[Ecuador]]
|[[El Salvador]]
|[[Equatorial Guinea]] 
|[[Guatemala]]
|[[Honduras]]
|[[Mexico]]
|[[Nicaragua]]
|[[Panama]]
|[[Paraguay]]
|[[Peru]]
|[[Spain]]
|[[Uruguay]]
|[[Venezuela]]}}
<br />{{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=[[List of countries where Spanish is an official language|Dependent territories]]|
|[[Puerto Rico]]}}
<!-- This list is intended for subnational territories that do not form an integral part of a country (such as Puerto Rico), as well as integral parts of nations that are not traditionally considered Spanish-speaking. Adding Ceuta and Melilla will result in deletion as they are integral parts of Spain. This also applies to Chile and the case of Easter Island. -->
<br />{{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=[[List of countries where Spanish is an official language|Partially recognized country]]|
|[[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]]}}
<!-- This list is intended for countries with limited recognition where Spanish is an official language. -->
<br />{{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=[[List of countries where Spanish is an official language|Significant minority]]|
|[[Andorra]]
|[[Belize]]
|[[Gibraltar]]
|[[United States]]}}
<!-- This list is only intended for countries and territories where Spanish is currently spoken by a significant minority of the population (~20% or more) and is used as a major working language in government and other institutions. The Philippines, Morocco, Western Sahara, Guam, the Mariana Islands, and other former historic Spanish colonies where considerably less than 20% of the population speaks standard Spanish should not be listed here. -->
<br />{{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;| title = [[List of countries where Spanish is an official language#International organizations|International<br />organizations]]|
|[[African Union]]
|[[Andean Community]]
|[[Association of Caribbean States]]
|[[Caribbean Community]]
|[[Community of Latin American and Caribbean States|CELAC]]
|[[European Union]]
|[[Latin American Integration Association|ALADI]]
|[[Latin American Parliament]]
|[[Mercosur]]
|[[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|OSCE]]
|[[Organization of American States]]
|[[United Nations]]
|[[Union of South American Nations]]
|[[Organization of Ibero-American States]]}}
| agency         = [[Association of Spanish Language Academies]]<br />({{lang|es|[[Real Academia Española]]}} and 22 other national Spanish language academies)
| iso1           = es
| iso2           = spa
| iso3           = spa
| lingua         = 51-AAA-b
| sign           = [[Signed Spanish]] (using signs of the local language)
| glotto         = stan1288
| glottorefname  = Spanish
| map            = File:Map-Hispanophone World.svg
| mapcaption     = {{legend|#045a8d|Official majority language}}
{{legend|#0674b6|Co-official or administrative language but not majority native language}}
{{legend|#9bbae1|Secondary language (more than 20% Spanish speakers) or culturally important}}
| notice         = IPA
}}

'''Spanish''' ({{lang|es|español}}) or '''Castilian '''({{lang|es|castellano}}) is a [[Romance languages|Romance language]] of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]] that evolved from the [[Vulgar Latin]] spoken on the [[Iberian Peninsula]] of [[Europe]]. Today, it is a [[world language|global language]] with 483 million native speakers, mainly in the [[Americas]] and [[Spain]], and about 558 million speakers total, including second-language speakers.<ref name="e28|spa">{{e28|spa}}</ref> Spanish is the official language of [[List of countries where Spanish is an official language|20 countries]], as well as one of the [[Official languages of the United Nations|six official languages]] of the [[United Nations]].<ref name="un1">{{cite web | last=| first=| title=Official Languages | publisher=United Nations | url=https://www.un.org/en/our-work/official-languages | access-date=2024-01-05| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105190533/https://www.un.org/en/our-work/official-languages| archive-date=2024-01-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=In which countries of the world is this language spoken? |url=http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_by_languages.htm |url-status=live |access-date=23 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629022556/https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_by_languages.htm |archive-date=29 June 2023}}</ref> Spanish is the world's [[list of languages by number of native speakers|second-most spoken native language]] after [[Mandarin Chinese]];<ref name="size">{{cite web |last1=Eberhard |first1=David M. |last2=Simons |first2=Gary F. |last3=Fennig |first3=Charles D. |date=2022 |title=Summary by language size |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/ethnologue200/ |work=Ethnologue |publisher=SIL International |language=en-US |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=18 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618002011/https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/ethnologue200/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Salvador |first=Yolanda Mancebo |title=Calderón en Europa |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31819/9783964565013-007/html |chapter=Hacia una historia de la puesta en escena de La vida es sueño |publisher=Vervuert Verlagsgesellschaft |year=2002 |pages=91–100 |isbn=978-3-96456-501-3 |language=es |doi=10.31819/9783964565013-007 |access-date=3 March 2022 |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303220424/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31819/9783964565013-007/html |url-status=live}}</ref> the world's [[list of languages by total number of speakers|fourth-most spoken language]] overall after [[English language|English]], Mandarin Chinese, and [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] ([[Hindi]]-[[Urdu]]); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is [[Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Countries with most Spanish speakers 2021 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/991020/number-native-spanish-speakers-country-worldwide/ |website=[[Statista]] |access-date=17 May 2022 |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517000420/https://www.statista.com/statistics/991020/number-native-spanish-speakers-country-worldwide/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Spanish is part of the [[Iberian Romance languages|Ibero-Romance language group]], in which the language is also known as ''Castilian'' ({{Lang|es|castellano}}). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the [[collapse of the Western Roman Empire]] in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vergaz |first=Miguel A. |title=La RAE avala que Burgos acoge las primeras palabras escritas en castellano |date=7 November 2010 |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/11/07/castillayleon/1289123856.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124225541/http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/11/07/castillayleon/1289123856.html |newspaper=El Mundo |language=es-es |access-date=24 November 2010 |archive-date=24 November 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the first systematic written use of the language happened in [[Toledo (Spain)|Toledo]], a prominent city of the [[Kingdom of Castile]], in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the [[early modern period]] spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rice |first=John |date=2010 |title=sejours linguistiques en Espagne |url=http://sejours-linguistiques-en-espagne.com/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118163355/http://sejours-linguistiques-en-espagne.com/index.html |archive-date=18 January 2013 |access-date=3 March 2022 |website=sejours-linguistiques-en-espagne.com}}</ref>

As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Heriberto Robles |author2=Camacho Becerra |author3=Juan José Comparán Rizo |author4=Felipe Castillo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ODJ7FTikTE0C&pg=PA19 |title=Manual de etimologías grecolatinas |date=1998 |publisher=Limusa |isbn=968-18-5542-6 |edition=3rd |location=Mexico |page=19 |access-date=9 January 2023 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124185159/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Manual_de_etimolog%C3%ADas_grecolatinas/ODJ7FTikTE0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA19&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Comparán Rizo |first1=Juan José |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caqn_7i6tvkC&pg=PA17 |title=Raices Griegas y latinas |publisher=Ediciones Umbral |isbn=978-968-5430-01-2 |page=17 |language=es |access-date=22 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423162130/https://books.google.com/books?id=caqn_7i6tvkC |archive-date=23 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Alongside English and [[French language|French]], it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world.<ref>[https://www.languagemagazine.com/2019/11/18/spanish-in-the-world/ Spanish in the World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206042553/https://www.languagemagazine.com/2019/11/18/spanish-in-the-world/ |date=6 February 2021}}, ''Language Magazine'', 18 November 2019.</ref> Spanish is well represented in the [[humanities]] and [[social science]]s.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 March 2014 |title=El español se atasca como lengua científica |url=https://www.agenciasinc.es/Noticias/El-espanol-se-atasca-como-lengua-cientifica |work=Servicio de Información y Noticias Científicas |language=es |access-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222204919/https://www.agenciasinc.es/Noticias/El-espanol-se-atasca-como-lengua-cientifica |archive-date=22 February 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/internet-language |title=What Are The Most-Used Languages On The Internet? |work=+Babbel Magazine |last=Devlin |first=Thomas Moore |date=30 January 2019 |access-date=13 July 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=6 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206012715/https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/internet-language}}</ref> and the second most used language by number of websites after English.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_language |title=Usage statistics of content languages for websites |date=10 February 2024 |access-date=10 February 2024 |archive-date=17 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817192928/https://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_language/all/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Spanish is used as an official language by [[List of countries and territories where Spanish is an official language#International organizations|many international organizations]], including the United Nations, [[European Union]], [[Organization of American States]], [[Union of South American Nations]], [[Community of Latin American and Caribbean States]], [[African Union]], and others.<ref name="un1"/>
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