Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and is the most popular second language for Brits as we love to holiday and even retire there. Spanish is also the language of business in many countries in South America, not to mention being the second most spoken language in the United States.
Need more convincing as to why Spanish is such a great language to learn? Read on to discover five solid reasons for putting Spanish at the top of your language-learning list.
An Easy Win
We love teaching Spanish partly because it is not too challenging for English speakers to learn. You can make an impressive amount of progress in a fairly short space of time, which is always satisfying! Spanish has relatively simple grammar and pronunciation rules. In fact, Spanish is almost completely phonetic, meaning you can nearly always ‘say what you see’ when learning.
As a Romance language (meaning that it evolved from Latin, the language of the Romans, along with Italian, French, Portuguese and Romanian), Spanish can be a helpful gateway into absorbing yet another language, as the similarities between them make learning easier.
Join the Club
After English, Mandarin and Hindi, Spanish comes a respectable fourth as the most spoken language in the world. But as a language to learn, Spanish races past them all to gain first place. The Language Trends 2023 report shows that Spanish is still the most popular A-level language in UK schools. And Spanish takes the medal for being the most desirable second language Brits want to learn. (Funnily enough, it is also the most popular language to learn in Spain, almost certainly due to the fact that 300,000 British expats live there!) So why not join the club?
A Global Language
As we mentioned, Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world (to be more precise, it is spoken by nearly 560 million people). But more importantly, Spanish is a global language, as it is spoken not only in Spain, but also the United States and many countries in South America and the Caribbean.
Spanish is considered to be the language of business in many countries, including Argentina, Venezuela and Chile. Many companies want to do business in Spanish-speaking countries. Mexico, for example, is one of the most sought-after destinations for international business, with a skilled workforce and a robust consumer market that many UK companies are eager to tap into.
On Your Doorstep
We mentioned the huge number of expats who said ‘adiós’ to Blighty and ‘hola’ to the energy and sunshine of Spain. Spain offers a relatively low cost of living, a lovely warm climate and wonderful fresh food (see how much of your next weekly shop’s fruit and veg were grown in Spain!). In addition, Spain remains the most popular holiday destination for Brits. You can understand why Spanish is such a popular language to learn.
Spain is geographically easy to access, and its culture is readily accessible from right there on your sofa. Ever read a novel by Isabel Allende or Gabriel García Márquez? Ever seen The Motorcycle Diaries, Like Water for Chocolate or Pan’s Labyrinth, or enjoyed watching a film by Oscar-winning Pedro Almodóvar such as Volver or Talk to Her? Moving off your sofa, have you ever danced the tango, shimmied the salsa or flaunted your flamenco skills (or perhaps just enjoyed the music!)? If the answer is ‘yes’, then you have already dipped your toes into Spanish language and culture without the need for a passport.
Find Your ‘Happy’
Now, bear with us, this last point is a little… unusual. A scientific study looked at the way we humans have a ‘positivity bias’ in our language. They collected billions of words from ten languages, including Spanish, from websites, tweets, books and lyrics. Looking at the most frequently used words, they then rated them from one to ten according to how ‘happy’ the word was. For example, the Spanish word for love (‘amor’) was rated 8.7, but the word for throw (‘tirar’) was rated 4.3. The scientists then evaluated how often the words were used online. Guess what? Spanish language websites came top for word happiness! Spanish can officially take first prize for the world’s happiest language. And if that’s not a good enough reason to learn, we do not know what is!
If you would like to tap into your ‘happy’ and learn the vibrant and colourful language of Spain, contact us today. Whether you are a complete beginner, an employer looking to improve relations with Spanish-speaking colleagues, or you want to expand your business into Spanish-speaking countries, we are always happy to help with a bespoke quotation to meet your needs.