Spanish is the most spoken language in the world?

Usuario   Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:32 pm GMT
I read an article that say Spanish is the most spoken language in the World as mother tongue, and not the second, as all linguists say.

The most spoken officially is Mandarin Chinese. The problem is that Mandarin Chinese has 8 dialects, and some of them, like Ji Lu Mandarin is very different from Beijing Mandarin.

I don't know if the differences are very important or not. If they are very important, Spanish and Portuguese can be also one language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_dialects
JGreco   Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:58 pm GMT
Unfortunately because of the definition of the Chinese language Spanish and Portuguese could be considered variations of the same language. There are differences between Chinese and Arabic dialects that are far greater than between Portuguese and Spanish. So yes by that basic definition despite culture and political interference , Portuguese and Spanish could not only make up the same language, combined would be the most spoken language in the world.
Domine   Thu Jul 16, 2009 7:30 pm GMT
">There are differences between Chinese and Arabic dialects that are far greater than between Portuguese and Spanish. So yes by that basic definition despite culture and political interference , Portuguese and Spanish could not only make up the same language, combined would be the most spoken language in the world.<"

Well said. There is much more cohesion and similarity with Spanish (all variants) and Portuguese (all variants) then the other two distinct languages; that is to say, Arabic and Chinese. I wonder what the future has in store for Spanish and Portuguese merging as one...to challenge the status quo of the future lingua franca.
Krush   Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:30 pm GMT
Spanish:
Pero, a pesar de esta variedad de posibilidades que la voz posee, sería un muy pobre instrumento de comunicación si no contara más que con ella. La capacidad de expresión del hombre no dispondría de más medios que la de los animales. La voz, sola, es para el hombre apenas una materia informe, que para convertirse en un instrumento perfecto de comunicación debe ser sometida a un cierto tratamiento. Esa manipulación que recibe la voz son las "articulaciones".

Portuguese:
Porém, apesar desta variedade de possibilidades que a voz possui, seria um instrumento de comunicação muito pobre se não se contasse com mais do que ela. A capacidade de expressão do homem não disporia de mais meios que a dos animais. A voz, sozinha, é para o homem apenas uma matéria informe, que para se converter num instrumento perfeito de comunicação deve ser submetida a um certo tratamento. Essa manipulação que a voz recebe são as "articulações".
Dough   Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:34 pm GMT
Portuguese sounds like a funny version of Spanish.
Joao   Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:34 pm GMT
The Spanish will only stop OVERrating themselves in the same manner as in the disastrous decline they had in the XVII century.

Only illiterate ignorants claim that Spanish and Portuguese are one language. It's different enough in phonetics and spelling. The spelling is not the same.

Look at the week working days in Portuguese:
Segunda-feira (Monday)
Terça-feira (Tuesday)
Quarta-feira (Wednesday)
Quinta-feira (Thursday)
Sexta-feira (Friday)
There are countless more examples.
Completely different from the lunes, martes, etc. of Spanish

A phrase for dumb Europeans "thank you", is "gracias" in Spanish while "obrigado" in Portuguese (The origin of the Japanese word "arigato" comes from here).

If Spanish and Portuguese are one language, then Dutch and German are one language, all the Scandinavian languages (except Finnish) are one language, Czech and Slovak are one language, All the languages spoken in former-Yugoslavia are one language as well.
Latvian and Lithuanian are one language. Turkish and all the other languages spoken in central Asian (in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Cazakistan, etc) are one language as well.
Polish, Ukrainian and Belorussian are one language.
Is this true? No!

I do not know Mandarin, but if its variations are sharp is grammar, phonetics and spelling, it's not a language but a family of languages. Probably the same applies for Arabic (an Algerian cannot understand an Iraqi). Only knowledgeable people in those tongues can verify that.

Now, Spaniards, you're nice people. So, if you want to be seen as such, start to get real and stop with those predatory attempts to swallow everything with the help of dumb Europeans.
Stop using the EU to strangle the Portuguese economy as well.

The truth is, the ones who are really interesting in deleting Portugal and the Portuguese language are the Spaniards. According to a survey shown in Wikipedia (reliable?) 45% of Spaniards favor the annexation of Portugal by Spain. bahhh...

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberismo
Joao   Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:39 pm GMT
Spanish sounds like a funny version of Portuguese
leonita   Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:00 pm GMT
A phrase for dumb Europeans "thank you", is "gracias" in Spanish while "obrigado" in Portuguese

//Muito obrigado is just a copy of the British archaism Much obliged.
leonita   Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:03 pm GMT
The truth is, the ones who are really interesting in deleting Portugal and the Portuguese language are the Spaniards.

//

1. Spain does not give a damn about Portugal.
2. Brazil does not give a damn about Portugal.
3. Spanish is an international language and it would be, even excluding Spain.
4. Continental Portuguese is not an international language
5. Brazilian Portuguese is separate language from Continental Portuguese (therefore all Portuguese products in Brazil, from movies to soap operas need to be dubbed in Brazilian in order to be shown there)

passar bem


OBS
aqui no Brasil a gente ama a Espanha
15% de brasileiros têm origem espanhola
amo a Galícia e Astúrias
**   Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:22 pm GMT
<<The truth is, the ones who are really interesting in deleting Portugal and the Portuguese language are the Spaniards>>
That's absolutely false. We have other languages which are official in their respective regions and ShoeMaker is giving them more autonomy.

<<1. Spain does not give a damn about Portugal. >>
False. We say: Menos mal que nos queda portugal.

<<3. Spanish is an international language and it would be, even excluding Spain. >>
Very true.
Annoyed   Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:36 pm GMT
Why argue with linguists? I mean, isn't it their job to know languages!?
(*)   Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:37 pm GMT
I'm Sorry but is true, portuguese sounds like a funny version of Spanish.

Spanish-Portuguese

Perfecto= Perfeito

Muy= Muito

Posee= Possui

Medios= Meios

Animales= Animais
defon   Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:00 pm GMT
<<If Spanish and Portuguese are one language, then Dutch and German are one language, all the Scandinavian languages (except Finnish) are one language, Czech and Slovak are one language, All the languages spoken in former-Yugoslavia are one language as well.
Latvian and Lithuanian are one language. Turkish and all the other languages spoken in central Asian (in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Cazakistan, etc) are one language as well.
Polish, Ukrainian and Belorussian are one language.
Is this true? No!
>>


Yes, exactly. That is true. If we go by the definitions of Chinese and Arabic then the Scandinavian languages SHOULD be one language, as should Russian and Ukranian and Belorussian. Don't know about the other ones you mentioned but it's likely.
Different dialects of Chinese ARE as different as Ukranian from Russian. Different dialects of Arabic ARE as different as Norweigan from whatever. They are MUTUALLY INCOMPREHENSIBLE. Who knows, some may be so mutually incomprehensiblet you could even class English and German as the same language. That's why the definitions of Chinese and Arabic are a joke.
Joao   Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:06 pm GMT
Listen Leonita, if you do not care about Portugal, why do you spend your precious time writing non-sense? he he he... and in clear Portuguese (lol)

15% percent of Brazilians have Spanish background. Who cares about it? In Portugal the figures might be even higher. See the amount of Portuguese who have Spanish ancestors? My ancestors were from Andalucia. Other people here have ancestors from Galicia. So many of them had restaurants in Lisbon in the past.
I have a colleague at work whose her name is Fatima Nibau. Her surname is either from Castille or from Catalonia. She doesn't know exactly but it from Spain for sure.

In time where Portugal was better off than Spain, there were so many prostitutes from Spain in Portugal that an old slang word here for a hooker was "the Spanish". It's no longer used anyway (lol)

We also have here in Portugal people from other ethnic backgrounds. Old ancestors from other countries.
The piano player Pedro Burmester, the author of the Portuguese anthem Alfredo Keil, the painter Joao Hogan, the poets Sophia de Melo Breyner Andersen, Mario Cesarinny or Alexandre o'Neil. The journalists Sarsfield Cabral, Pedro Norton or Luisa Schmidt. The president of the bosses confederation Francisco van Zeller. The play writer Jorge Listopad.
Who cares? They're all Portuguese. The world is mixing up everywhere.

We have 100.000 Brazilians living legally in Portugal. Illegally there are countless more. The foreign police here does not deport anyone from Brazil. There are illegal Brazilians here with more than 30 orders to leave the country, and nothing happens to them. They keep staying and working. Who cares about Portugal? The Brazilians (lol)

Because of your posts, every day I ask Brazilians what they think they speak: Portuguese or Brazilian?
So far, The answers I got were: We speak Portuguese, or Portuguese, Brazilian version (Português abrasileirado). They all denied that they spoke a different language.

So leonita, your ridiculous claims represent a tiny minority in Brazil, or even someone who is not Brazilian (no one talked to you and you keep bullshitting here).

If you're really Brazilian (I doubt), I wonder if you're not descendant of one of those nazis who fled to South America after WWII. I do not want to blame the Brazilians of German background but I wonder if among them... one or two might... brrrrrr
Joao   Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:09 pm GMT
I'm Sorry but is true, spanish sounds like a funny version of Portuguese.

Spanish-Portuguese

Perfecto= Perfeito

Muy= Muito

Posee= Possui

Medios= Meios

Animales= Animais