If you want to learn a foreign language at an advanced level and in a short time, we know a way to do that. Thanks to this method, after a month, you will be able to understand most of the conversations carried out in Spanish.
Everyone would like to understand a little of what our neighbour or a shop assistant says.
It is enough to learn a few words a day. Within a month you will learn about 150 words, which is enough to understand around 50% of the conversation or a written text.
Do not focus on grammar!
Think about the way you learnt Polish, which is, after all, considered one of the most difficult languages in the world. Did you attend a language school? Did anyone tell you how to learn? Did anyone teach you the rules of Polish grammar?
Spanish is used by 450 to 500 million people around the world. It is the second most frequently used native language after Mandarin, and the third if you count the people for whom Spanish is the second language. It is predicted that, in the future it will be the socond most important langauge of international communication after English. At present, Spanish is the most willingly learnt language in the world.
Apart from Castilian language, in Spain there are a few regional languages which have the status of official languauges in their Autonomous Communities (they are co-official together with Castilian). Among this language group we can list:
- Catalan or Valencian (9% of the population), co-official in Catalonia, Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community. It is also used in the eastern part of Aragonia. The languages act from 2009 regulates the use, protection and promotion of Catalan in Aragonia, giving the language the right to be used in schools or town halls on the territory of Aragonia and defining it as an "indigenous, original and historic language" for the Autonomous Community of Aragonia although it is not official in this region
- Galician (5% of the population), co-official language in Galicia. It is also used in some parts of Asturia and Castile and Leon (Leon and Zamora)
- Basque (1% of the population), co-official language in the Basque Country and Basque-speaking zones of Navarre. Although it is not an official language in the remaining parts of Navarre, it is spoken by the inhabitants of many provinces.
- Occitan, co-official in Catalonia. The Aranese variety of this language is used in Valle de Aran.
Spaniards also use many other Romance languages and dialects, which are not recognised as official, such as:
- Asturian- also known as bable and used in the Autonomous Community of Asturia in Leon and Zamora provinces and in the Portuguese province of Miranda do Douro in which it is called Mirandese and has co-official status
- Aragonese- commonly used in Northern Aragonia. The 2009 and 2013 Acts regulate the use, protection and promotion of the Aragonese and gives the language the right to be used in schools and town halls on the territory of Aragonia as it is an "indigenous, original and historic language" for the Autonomous Community of Aragonia, although it is not official in this region
- Fala, a combination of three Romance language varieties classified in the Galician- Portuguese subgroup, used by the people from the regions of San Martin de Trevejo, Eljas y Valverde del Fresno situated on the border of Portugal.
It is worth mentioning that Spain, under the auspices of the Council of Europe, ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages on 9th April 2001.
