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10 Facts You Didn't Know About el Español

10 Facts You Didn't Know About el Español

October 12th celebrates Spanish Language Day - a day highlighting the importance of the Spanish Language. Started by the United Nations in 2010, we couldn’t agree more with the reason for its creation, with an “aim to promote and support initiatives that promote multiculturalism and multilingualism.” At IBA we want to promote this initiative everyday of the year through our variety of programs rooted in our Latino community. We want Spanish speakers and Latinos to be proud of their heritage, so here are some interesting facts about Spanish, that you may not have known before, hopefully they’ll help assure you that being a Spanish speaker is something to treasure.

  1. Spanish has the second most native speakers in the world (329 million), it’s the most widely studied language in the world (18 million students), the third most used language on the internet (256.8 million users) and according to a prediction made by the Cervantes Institute - by 2050 half of the United States will be Spanish speakers.
  2. Only eleven Spanish speakers have ever won the Nobel Prize for Literature - including famous writers like Gabriel García Marquez (Colombia) and Gabriela Mistral (Chile). Mistral was the first Latin American to ever win the prize.
  3. Everyone knows Gabriel García Marquez as the author of One Hundred Years of Solitude, but what you probably didn’t know is that this novel is the second most translated Spanish work in history - after Don Quijote.
  4. Many Latinos have received Pulitzer Prizes in a variety of categories, but the first to receive the prize was Oscar Hijuelos (Cuban American) in 1990 for The Mambo Kings Sing Songs of Love. Hijuelos is one of two Spanish writers to ever receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; the other writer is Junot Díaz (Dominican American) who, today, teaches creative writing right here in Boston, at MIT. Nilo Cruz, a Cuban-American playwright, is the only Latino playwright to ever win the Pulitzer Prize for a Drama for his 2003 work, Anna in the Tropics. Cruz was born in Matanzas, Cuba and immigrated to “Little Havana” in Miami, Florida in 1970 on a Freedom Fight.
  5. Of the roughly 6,500 languages in the world today, the inverted exclamation point, inverted question mark, and the ñ are entirely unique to Spanish. The inverted punctuation marks became standard sometime in the 18th century by the “Royal Spanish Academy.” (Real Academia Española - RAE)
  6. Spanish is constantly adapting, even today. In fact, every three to four years the Cervantes Institute, the Royal Spanish Academy, the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, and a Spanish speaking host country’s government organize the “Congress of Spanish Language.” The congress brings together academics, writers, scientists, and a variety of language experts to discuss the future of Spanish. In the past, these conferences have determined the inclusion of words often rooted in English - such as “hacker,” “dron,” (drone) and “tuitear” (to tweet) - in the latest RAE dictionary.
  7. “Vos” (the older, informal tú) is predominantly used in Central America and the South American countries of Uruguay, Bolivia, and Argentina. While the word is also accepted across the borders of some neighboring U.S. cities like Los Angeles, it is only a common part of vocabulary in those regions of the world previously mentioned.
  8. There are 10 dialects of Spanish, and even more languages that integrate Spanish vocabulary. Three of those dialects are from ‘the Americas,’ including, Latin American Spanish (LAS), Rioplatense Spanish (spoken in the River Basin region between Uruguay and Argentina), and Caribbean Spanish. There is even a dialect of Spanish native to Africa - called Equatoguinean Spanish. As for a language that uses some Spanish vocabulary, look at Quechuan, an indigenous Andean language and the second official language of Peru. Quechuan was the language of the Incan Empire, and throughout history has become increasingly linked to Spanish and vice versa - with many Quechuan speakers borrowing vocabulary from Spanish and Spanish speakers borrowing vocabulary from Quechuan.
  9. Spanish is the official language of 22 countries, but it is also widely and regularly spoken and understood in at least 9 additional countries.
  10. Paraguay is the only country in Latin American (by law) that is bilingual. Paraguayans speak both their indigenous language, Guaraní, and Spanish.
*Bonus*: Spanish has become increasingly important across the United States - President Jimmy Carter learned Spanish during college and was fairly fluent, delivering some speeches in Spanish during his presidency. Today, besides Hillary’s running mate, Tim Kane, politicians like Michael Bloomberg, Mike Koffman, Bill De Blasio, Jeb Bush, Andrew Romanoff, and David Dewhurst speak Spanish fluently. These politicians recognize the growing importance of the language in our country and in the world by paying attention and connecting to Spanish speakers. Spanish is expanding across the globe, and it’s important to preserve and honor the history, culture, and development of the language. At IBA, we strive to do this in all of our programs - especially through our multicultural and bilingual preschool and integrative arts program by showcasing artists who often tap into their Latin culture for inspiration. It’s because of people like you, people who value our Spanish roots, that IBA is able to keep our culture not just alive but thriving in our communities. Consider donating to our initiative now, and remember, no amount is too small....