HOW MUCH POPULAR IS SPANISH LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD?

Hola, buenas noches, adiós amigos, o despacito, son algunas de las muchas famosas palabras en español que muchos conocen. Español or Spanish is a beautiful language, one of the "romance languages" imbued in our culture today, including songs, movies, dances, sports, etc. Who hasn't heard about salsa, flamenco, merengue, tango, Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Messi, Iniesta or Picasso?

Yes! At least 21 countries have Spanish as their official language, which makes it the second most widely-spoken language in the world. Apart from Spain, twenty countries in Latin America have Spanish as their first language, plus Equatorial Guinea in Africa. A significant number of people from other countries also make use of it.

In total numbers, Spanish is the third most spoken language in the world after Chinese and English and the second most used language amongst businessmen. If you intend to start a business in future, you won't want to lose a big market of prospect clients or buyers who speak Spanish (many of them do not know English). Spanish can be a great asset for a business. In a globalized world, it is no secret that knowing other languages can open many doors for you in the job market. Language proficiency gives you more value as an employee and can bring you a better income. Speaking Spanish is good for your resume as today more and more companies want to make contacts with Spanish speaking countries.

Besides this, Spanish is the third most used language on the Internet and the second most used in the two main social networks in the world: Facebook and Twitter. In addition, the use of Spanish on the internet has experienced a great growth in the last years, and of the 285 languages in which the contents of Wikipedia  are currently published, Spanish occupies the second position in terms of number of visits.

The Spanish language is one of the top three foreign languages opted for by students in India. There is an increased demand for Spanish in the recent years. One of the major reasons behind the increased popularity for the Spanish language in our country is job opportunities, love for Spanish football, dances, movies and music. Also there is a lot of business between India and all the Spanish-speaking countries. Indians are becoming more aware of the importance of this language, since it is more spoken in the world than French or German.

Are you a travel lover? If you like to travel, knowing Spanish will make your travel much easier and safe. A good knowledge of the language will allow you to travel to Spain and Latin America much more confidently and safely. With so many countries where Spanish is spoken, knowing the language will act as a great advantage that will make your travel experience even more wonderful. Besides, many people in other countries know Spanish as their second language.

And last but not the least, Spain, and the countries of Latin America, are countries full of artists, music, sports and fun. Studying Spanish will open one's doors to art, literature, theatre, music or cinema. You will be able to enjoy each work in its original version and feel the real emotion that each of them transmits, without intermediaries, without subtitles, in its purest form.

Learn Spanish, it's a beautiful language, it's not very difficult and it will open many doors in your life!

Picture Credit : Google 

Alien Tongue


I am a student of class XII and I am keen to learn a foreign language. What is the appropriate stage to learn a foreign language? Can one get a job on the basis of a foreign language?



 



From the perspective of knowing a different country or culture, you can start learning a foreign language as early as class V. your age will not prevent you from grasping the basics of a foreign language. Early learning encourages one to move beyond mere literacy and read the original works of literature. In fact, institutes like Max Mueller Bhawan (for German) and Alliance Francaise (for French) rather than follow a translation approach, encourage you to communicate in the new language from day one.



However, from the job perspective, it is better to study a language once you are clear about your career objectives. Direct job opportunities in foreign languages are limited to teaching at school and college-level or at foreign language institutes. You can also take up translation. But as a translator, the chances are that you will come across more work for translating personal documents or instruction material for some machine. The more challenging task of translating literary works will be available only if you are exceedingly good at the language.



Then there is the job of interpretation. The new age economy is opening up avenues for interpreters, who have good spoken language and communication skills, in travel and tourism, hospitality, public relations, event management, and so on. However, in most jobs, foreign language is a time-consuming and costly affair. You will tend to forget it if you do not constantly practice that language or use its vocabulary regularly.



 



Picture Credit: Google