Languages – iScribo

Learning a new language is like stepping into a family reunion where you don’t know anyone, but everyone shares a connection. And if the language you want to learn is Spanish, here’s some good news: it has plenty of “siblings” that can make the process much easier (or at least less intimidating). Want to know how quickly you might learn Spanish, depending on your native tongue? Keep reading!

The Romance Family: Close Cousins

Spanish belongs to the Romance language family, descendants of Vulgar Latin. You’re already halfway there if you speak one of its siblings, like Italian, Portuguese, French, Catalan, or Romanian.

For example, if you’re an Italian speaker, congratulations! You probably won’t need an intensive course to grasp basic Spanish. Words like familia (family), vino (wine), or amigo (friend) are practically identical. Even the grammatical structures are so similar they could be neighbours in a dictionary.

Portuguese speakers also have it pretty easy. With grammar that’s almost identical and very similar to vocabulary, the biggest challenge might be pronunciation. But don’t worry—with some practice, you’ll go from obrigado to gracias in no time.

French, while more distant in pronunciation, shares many lexical roots. Words like nation (nación) or important (importante) are almost the same, with a different accent. Watch out for false friends, though! (Embarazada doesn’t mean embarrassée; it means “pregnant.” Oops!)

The Surprise of Romanian

Though further away on the linguistic tree, Romanian is also a Romance sibling of Spanish. Its grammar includes case systems (like Classical Latin), which makes it a bit trickier. However, it shares many similar words, and Romanian speakers often find Spanish more accessible than other languages.

What About English? Distant Cousins

English and Spanish aren’t exactly siblings, but they’re more like distant cousins who greet each other at family gatherings. Both come from the Indo-European family, and while English belongs to the Germanic branch, it has borrowed thousands of words from Latin and Romance.

Thanks to these borrowed words, many academic, scientific, or political terms are easy to recognise: hospital, animal, intelligent, communication, etc. Plus, English and Spanish share straightforward verb structures and an almost identical alphabet, making things a bit easier.

The Germanic Languages: A Little Effort, But Doable

If your native language is German, Dutch, or Swedish, learning Spanish might be a bit more challenging, but it’s far from impossible. Spanish grammar is more flexible than Germanic grammar, which can be a relief. Plenty of words have travelled between these languages over the centuries. Did you know that guante (glove) comes from the Germanic word want?

The Slavic Languages: Unexpected Connections!

Do you speak Russian, Polish, or Czech? Although Spanish isn’t directly related, sharing the Latin alphabet (except for Russian) is advantageous. Slavic languages have sounds similar to Spanish, making pronouncing words like montaña (mountain) or mujer (woman) a bit easier.

Asian Languages: A Fun Challenge

For speakers of languages like Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, learning Spanish might seem like climbing a higher mountain, but it’s not impossible. The biggest difficulties are often the grammar and the concept of gendered nouns (why is a table feminine and a book masculine?). However, Spanish has a big advantage: its pronunciation is much more consistent than English’s, making it a more logical language to learn.

Indigenous Languages: Unexpected Links

If you speak languages like Náhuatl or Quechua, you might be surprised to learn that Spanish has borrowed many words from these cultures. Terms like chocolate, aguacate (avocado), or cancha (field) have indigenous roots. Additionally, in many cases, Spanish phonetics adapt well to speakers of these languages.

Spanish: A Language for Everyone

One of the most significant advantages of Spanish is its clarity and consistency. It’s a language with relatively stable grammar rules and pronunciation almost entirely phonetic (what you read is what you say). Plus, with over 500 million speakers worldwide, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice.

Learning Spanish is an exciting journey whether you speak a Romance language, English, or something entirely different. You never know how much you’ll enjoy its expressions, music, or the rich culture that comes with it. And you? What language do you speak? Share your experience learning Spanish, and let’s celebrate the wonders of our linguistic family together!

Keep learning curiosities about the language and the Spanish language, visiting and reading the articles we publish weekly on the iScribo blog. If you want to improve your Spanish writing and correct a specific variant of this language, subscribe to our superb grammar checker. We are waiting for you!

Spain, that great peninsula in the Mediterranean, is not only the birthplace of Spanish but also of a mosaic of languages intertwined in its history and geography. Although Castilian is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world today, its roots, along with those of other Iberian languages, are marked by conquests, cultures, and evolution.

Where was the Spanish born?

Contrary to what many might imagine, the Spanish did not emerge in a large city or a majestic setting but in a small town in the province of Burgos called San Millán de la Cogolla. With just 14 inhabitants today, this place witnessed the first attempts at the language that would conquer the world.

In the San Millán and Valpuesta monasteries, monks began recording texts in a Romance language that would evolve into Spanish. Among the oldest documents are the Cartularies of Valpuesta, which date back to the 9th century and contain familiar words, although wrapped in a primitive linguistic structure.

The jar of Iberian languages

Although Spanish became the predominant language of Spain and, later, of much of Latin America, it is not and was not the only language on the peninsula. Since ancient times, Spain has been home to a rich linguistic diversity that includes Catalan, Basque, Galician and, of course, the various variants of Aragonese and Astur-Leonese.

Catalan

Spoken in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community (where its variant is called Valencian), Catalan has roots in Vulgar Latin but with influences that make it unique. In the 21st century, it remains a living and strong language, with a robust literary culture and speakers passionate about its preservation.

Euskera

Euskera (or Basque) is the true rebel of the group: it is not related to any other known language and is considered one of the oldest languages in Europe. Although its origins are a mystery, its resilience is undeniable, as it survived Romanization and other linguistic influences that dominated the peninsula.

Galician

Galician is like Portuguese. It is spoken primarily in Galicia, where the language resonates with nostalgia for the vieiras and the sea. It was a literary language of great importance in the Middle Ages, and although it lost ground to Spanish, it has regained its vitality in recent decades.

From dialects to empires

Spanish began as one more variant among the Romance languages of the peninsula. Its rise coincided with the growth of the Kingdom of Castile, which extended its influence both territorially and linguistically. During the 15th century, with the unification of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon under the Catholic Monarchs and, later, the conquest of America, Castilian became a tool of communication and cultural domination.

The first step towards its consolidation as a standard language was the publication of Antonio de Nebrija’s first grammar of Spanish in 1492. He stated that a language is the companion of an empire, and Spanish indeed accompanied the Spanish empire in its global expansion.

Today, Spain remains an example of linguistic diversity. Co-official languages such as Catalan, Galician and Basque coexist with Spanish, although not without political and social tensions. Each language represents a way of speaking, an identity and a regional pride.

For example, the debate on the teaching and official use of co-official languages is a recurring theme in the Spanish political landscape. While some defend linguistic homogenisation, others advocate the protection and active promotion of these minority languages.

Spain: a model of plurality

Beyond the tensions, Spain’s linguistic plurality is a treasure that enriches its culture. From Rosalía de Castro’s Galician poems to the Basque songs that resonate in the Basque Country, each language contributes to the cultural puzzle that defines Spain.

Ultimately, Spain is not only the birthplace of Spanish but also a living reminder that languages reflect the history, resilience and creativity of the people who speak them. So, the next time you walk through San Millán de la Cogolla or listen to a song in Catalan, remember that you are witnessing the linguistic richness that makes Spain unique.

If you are interested in delving deeper into the history of Spanish and the languages of Spain, you can explore sources such as the Instituto Cervantes and specialised historical studies.

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