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The Spanish Language
Spanish, a Romance language, derives from Latin, with Castilian being considered to be the purest form of Spanish. Spanish or Castilian is an Iberian Romance language spoken as a first language by about 352 million people, or by 417 million including non-native speakers. Spanish and English are practically neck in neck to be the second most commonly used language in the world.
The majority of speakers of the Spanish language are in Latin America; followed by the United States and Spain itself. Nearly no Spanish is spoken in Africa, except for Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara, or Asia, where it is only spoken in some areas of the Philippines. Modern Spanish has an estimated 4,000 words with Arabic roots.
Other countries or semi-autonomous areas with significant Spanish language populations include Andorra, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gibraltar, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, the United States and Venezuela. Source: Ethnologue.
In Spain, the North Castilian dialect is generally considered to be the standard Spanish language. In Latin America, Mexico, Colombia, Peru or Bolivia have their own regional dialects, but share one standard variety also known as "High Land Spanish".
The Spanish language in Spain and Spanish in Latin America vary slightly with the evolving development since the colonization of the Americas. In Latin America the use of indigenous words and differing pronunciation mark the differences between the mainland's Spanish language.
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