Spanish is spoken by more than 400 million people around the world, and it is the primary language of 332 million people (Spanish language, 2004). It is the official language of almost all of Latin America and of Spain. It is also widely spoken in the U.S., Canada, and the Philippines. In the United States alone, there are 39 million people of Hispanic origin (Grow, 2004, p. 60) (many of whom call themselves Latinos) and 78% of them speak Spanish (Grow, 2004, p. 62).

Modern Spanish originates with Vulgar Latin, that is, Classical Latin modified by the various autochthonous languages of the Iberian Peninsula. In the 8th century AD, the Moorish conquest of Spain infused Vulgar Latin with Arabic words. During the 13th century, due to the political domination of the Kingdom of Castile over other regions, and thanks to the efforts of king Alfonso X--the dialect of Castile, known as Castilian (castellano) spread across Spain. In the 15th century, the Moors were expelled from the Peninsula, and Castilian was declared the official language of Spain. The eight century long occupation by the ... MORE