The weight of Spanish in the world

The weight of Spanish in the world

Spanish is not strongly rooted in all of Europe (in contrast to South America where it is ubiquitous everywhere, except in Brazil) and is symbolically represented in Africa (in Equatorial Guinea where it is official), it appears that it is essentially a western hemisphere language. Therefore its impact internationally, although significant, is probably underutilized. Moreover, no Hispanic country can be considered as great industrial power globally, no, not even Mexico can hope for now acquire a weight equivalent to that of Germany, the United Kingdom, France or Italy. This results in not only certain industrial and technological matters, but also in terms of language, Spanish, like most other world languages, suffers from a certain underdevelopment of scientific vocabulary and a sub-radiation in science and technology at the expense of English.

http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/Langues/2vital_inter_espagnol.htm

Étant donné que l'espagnol n'est pas fortement enraciné dans l'ensemble de l'Europe (contrairement à l'Amérique du Sud où il est partout omniprésent, sauf au Brésil) et qu'il n'est que symboliquement représenté en Afrique (en Guinée équatoriale où il est langue officielle), il apparaît comme une langue essentiellement américaine. C'est pourquoi son impact au plan international, quoique non négligeable, reste probablement sous-utilisé. De plus, aucun pays hispanophone ne constitue présentement une grande puissance industrielle au plan mondial; aucun, même pas le Mexique, ne peut espérer pour le moment acquérir un poids équivalant à celui de l'Allemagne, du Royaume-Uni, de la France ou de l'Italie. Il en résulte une certaine dépendance industrielle et technologique, mais également au plan linguistique; l'espagnol, comme la plupart des autres langues du monde, souffre d'un certain sous-développement du vocabulaire scientifique et d'un sous-rayonnement dans les sciences et la technologie aux dépens de l'anglais.

http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/Langues/2vital_inter_espagnol.htm

So, Spanish itself is a regional language after all. It's just restricted to Spain (minus Catalonia, Valencia, Galicia, and Basque provinces) and Hispanic America. Outside these territories, it has no value.

<< in contrast to South America where it is ubiquitous everywhere, except in Brazil >>

This doesn't make much sense. Brazil has half the land mass and half the population of South America. Actually, the most spoken language in South America is Portuguese. Apart from Portuguese and Spanish there are Dutch, English, French, Guarani and Quechua speaking countries/regions in south america. How can you say that Spanish is "ubiquitous" in South America if less than half the population/land area is Spanish-speaking?

The weight of a language only can be considered important if it is spoken in several continents by a large population. Only two of them are spoken in over 2 of them by a relevant population (+50 million)

English: 4 Continents, North America, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Spanish: 3 Continents, North America, Europe and South America.


USA is becoming a bilingual country and the GDP of Spain, Mexico, South America and USA (Hispanics) all together is the second after the Anglo GDP. So, economically, Spanish is the second World language after English.

Spanish is the mother tongue of 424 million people around the World and 509 million, total speakers. It is the second most spoken language as mother tongue, the second economic language and the second most studied Worldwide.

La prueba más definitiva de que el Español ya es imprescindible la teneis en la lista de las 100 ciudades del Mundo con mayor PIB(GDP). La podeis ver en wikipedia. 25 de esas 100 ciudades con mayor PIB del Mundo hablan mayoritariamente Inglés, 9 hablan Español, 6 Portugués(=al Español en un 89%),4 Chino MANDARÍN(6 toda China),3 Alemán,3 Francés,2 Italiano,1 Ruso,....etc. ; Español+Portugués=20 ciudades, pero en 10-15 años van a ser 25 de Español+Portugués y solo 15 de Inglés.

Por ejemplo, en 10-15 años ciudades como Nueva York,San Francisco,Dallas,Denver,Tampa-St. Petersburgo,Las Vegas,y Austin-San Antonio van a ser mayoritariamente hispanohablantes,y solo eso puede dejar las cosas en 23 ciudades para el Inglés y 27 para Español+Portugués.

Aquí puede venir cualquiera y dar opiniones subjetivas no respaldadas por datos contrastables,pero la única prueba aceptable e indiscuible es esa lista de las 100 ciudades más importantes del Mundo en PIB. Ya sabeis, Inglés=25 ciudades; Español=9; y Español+Portugués+Los Ángeles+Miami+Houston+Phoenix+Las Vegas=20 ciudades. Chino mandarín=4.

<< Spanish is the mother tongue of 424 million people around the World and 509 million, total speakers. It is the second most spoken language as mother tongue, the second economic language and the second most studied Worldwide. >>

Mother tongue: 330 million only
Total speakers: 380 million only

STOP LYING

<< USA is becoming a bilingual country and the GDP of Spain, Mexico, South America and USA (Hispanics) all together is the second after the Anglo GDP. So, economically, Spanish is the second World language after English. >>

This ERIC digest examines the Spanish-speaking group in the United States, its growth through net immigration and natural increase, and its eventual decline as speakers shift to English. The Hispanic population is growing rapidly, but data suggest that U.S. Hispanics do learn and speak English. Research predicts that by the year 2001 the Spanish-speaking group will total 16.6 million and some 95% of the immigrant population will have Spanish for their mother tongues. However, only a bare majority of the U.S. native born will be given Spanish as their first language. Although most Hispanic immigrants remain lifetime bilinguals, the language shift begins immediately upon an immigrant's arrival in the United States, and ends within approximately 15 years. The language shift spans three generations, beginning with the immigrants who continue to speak Spanish, and ending with their grandchildren who virtually all have English as their mother tongue. Policy implications are: (1) the English language is not endangered by the use of Spanish; (2) simple courtesy suggests that essential public announcements and services should be provided in Spanish; (3) more English classes for adults are needed; (4) Spanish-speaking children need bilingual education; and (5) bilingual capabilities should be encouraged among all.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED335176&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED335176

3.7 oz. That is just a guess.