Tongues of the World: Spanish

Spanish One of the most important languages in the world, Spanish is the dominant language in the Western Hemisphere and is growing more rapidly than many other languages around the world. It is the second most common language within the United States, and the number one choice of Americans that choose to learn a second language. According to some sources, Spanish is the most commonly spoken language on Earth outside of Mandarin Chinese, and is very likely the second most common natively spoken language, as well. Spanish is divided into countless dialects that differ quite strongly from one another. Various regions of Spain each had their own dialects, the dominant version being that of the Castilian region of Spain, known as castellano. Where it is spoken in Latin America and other places, it has seen local modifications and been adopted into new dialects.