Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages on the planet and is represented on almost all continents. This is due to both the colonial past of Spain and the active settlement of Spaniards around the world in the 20th century. The civil war, which shook the country in the 20th century, became a catalyst for the active movement of Spaniards around the world, and many supporters of communism, fleeing the fascist persecutors, found themselves even in the Soviet Union.
Hispanic countries
Based on the fact that a Hispanic country is considered to be with a fairly large number of people for whom Spanish is a native, then in the world you can count more than forty countries that match this criterion.
First of all, of course, Spanish is the official language of the Kingdom of Spain. But there are twenty-two more countries in which Spanish is officially recognized. The community of Hispanic countries has traditionally included states where the language has an official status.
The list of Hispanic countries is as follows:
- Argentina;
- Chile;
- Colombia;
- Bolivia;
- Costa Rica;
- Cuba;
- Dominican Republic;
- Ecuador;
- Guatemala;
- Honduras;
- Mexico;
- Nicaragua;
- Panama;
- Paraguay;
- Peru;
- Puerto Rico;
- Salvador;
- Uruguay;
- Venezuela;
- Spain;
- Philippines.
Hispanic countries in Africa include Equatorial Guinea and the unrecognized state of the Sahara Arab Democratic Republic. The Spanish language has gained a dominant position in these countries thanks to the aggressive colonialist policies of Spain, which continued for four centuries. During this time, Spanish-speaking countries appeared in all parts of the world, and the language spread from Easter Island, which is now under the control of the Chilean Republic, to the countries of Central Africa.
Jewish influence
However, not only colonialism contributed to the spread of language throughout the world. There were other events, no less tragic, that influenced this process.
In 1492, the Spanish queen Isabella shocked the large Jewish community of her country with a decree of incredible cruelty: all Jews had to leave the country or accept holy baptism, which, of course, was unacceptable for Orthodox Jews. Disobedience awaited death.
Within three months, many Jewish families left the kingdom, carrying with them, in addition to personal items, the language and culture of the Spanish kingdom. So the Spanish language was brought to the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and then to the state of Israel.
In addition, numerous Spanish and Jewish settlers brought language to Morocco, where for a long time it was safe thanks to the traditional religious tolerance of Islamic rulers.
Spanish in the USA
The United States Constitution does not say a word about the official language, and most states do not have special laws governing this issue. However, along with English, Spanish is actively used in the country, therefore, although the United States is not considered a Spanish-speaking country, in some states Spanish is also used in government institutions.
A large number of Hispanic Americans are associated not only with migration, as it may seem, but also with the historical events of the nineteenth century, when Mexico and the United States actively fought for influence in North America.
The result of this confrontation was a devastating war, which lasted two years from 1846 to 1848. As a result of the war, more than a million square kilometers of land were alienated from Mexico, which amounted to almost half the territory of the losing country. Together with these lands, the United States also got Spanish-speaking citizens. Since then, in many southern states, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language, and in some states, the majority of the population speaks Spanish.