One way to easily learn Spanish is by obtaining a better understanding as to its roots and origins. In the 15^th century, Spanish made its way to America through the Italian Navigator Christopher Columbus who brought with him the Castilian language. Spanish was established as the primary language in the Iberian Peninsula due to the process termed by historians as Hispanizacion.

During the period of Hispanizacion, there were several different languages spoken in the southern part of American continent, and this created a great challenge in communication. Moreover, the cultural differences between the settlers and the Spaniards were also a factor to the communication problems that occurred during the first stages of colonization.

Catholic Church played a vital role in the expansion of the Hispanic language in Latin America. In an aim to push Spanish to be the primary language of the southern part of American continent, Jesuits and Franciscans in particular established institutions in which they educated young children and adolescents about Catholicism using the Hispanic language. The administrative imposition to learn Spanish through the so called process of evangelization gradually overshadowed the other Amerindian languages resulting to the spread and establishment of the Spanish language.

The cultural and linguistic influences that Spaniards tried to impose to their colonized Americans did not result into a perfect unilateral language though. Spaniards at that point occupied a very small minority which caused the unique blend of various dialects instead. The Mexican dialect which is spoken by the Aztecs and the Peruvian dialect that came from the Incas were two of the most influential languages that were incorporated and contributed to the rich variations of the American Spanish today.

Also, the varying Spanish explorers which came all over from Spain made contributions to the rich mosaic of the American Spanish. It was at the Seville Andalucía in the southern Iberian Peninsula that these hundreds of Spanish voyagers met prior to their long journey of exploration. Incidental to their preparatory purposes, they spend so much time in the said place, long enough for them to adopt several characteristics of the Andalucían  dialect which they subconsciously took and spread into the “new world”. It is for this reason that Andalucían Spanish and the American Spanish almost have similar characteristics of pronunciation.

The perfect blend of these sociological and historical factors gave rise to the evolution of the multicultural linguistic variety of the Latin American Spanish that is spoken in Central and Southern America today.

This clearly explains the variety and differences in various aspects of the Hispanic language. And learning these would help people who want learn Spanish as a second language.

Spanish is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world (next to English, Chinese and Hindustani). And as the Hispanic population continues to rise, it is no surprise that there are already 500 million Spanish-speaking people in the world today. And being the second commonly spoken language in United States, many native English speakers want to learn Spanish.

Learning Spanish can be a very enjoyable experience and a rewarding one as well. If done systematically, Spanish could be easily understood and learned. Pursuing to learn Spanish can provide several advantages to different aspects. Be that just for fun of learning another tongue or for any special purpose, learning Spanish is important for the following reasons:

Being able to use the Spanish language can open windows of career opportunities for everyone in various industries like tourism, interpretation and translation, education, medical and legal profession. As the Latin American countries are pushing efforts to strengthen their economic situation, employment and business opportunities on the said countries can be paved by way of learning their language. This can also help in building a good working relationship and even personal relationship with colleagues and neighbors who have no solid English backgrounds.

Secondly, one may have a better understanding and may also be able to further enhance their English speaking abilities by learning the Hispanic language. Little did we know, lots of English vocabularies have Latin origins of which came their way to English through the French language. Since both Spanish and English have Indo-European roots, grammars of both languages are similarly structured. Learning Spanish therefore would allow one to see how English grammars are being structured, thereby strengthening ones knowledge on the native language.

Another obvious benefit of learning Spanish is to help you enjoy more your travel to Hispanic-speaking countries like Mexico, Argentina, Cuba and Spain. While it is true that travelling to such places do not necessarily require the use of their language, being able to learn Spanish can be useful in many circumstances. For one, getting lost in a foreign land wouldn’t be of so much trouble without any language barriers. Also, shopping can be very satisfying and financially rewarding if things can be acquired on a good bargain. Again, eliminating language barriers can be of paramount use.

Lastly, being able to learn Spanish can also be advantageous in learning other languages like French and Italian. Since both languages along with German and Russian dialects have Indo-European roots and has numerous similar characteristics that are present in Spanish, this can put one into a privileged position just by learning the Hispanic language.

In your first attempt to learn Spanish, the first thing you will be taught about is greetings. What do you know if you don’t know how to say “hello?” Learning the greetings will help you to learn Spanish in its simplest form because you don’t have to worry about too many verb agreements or word orders. The greetings are taught in simple phrases. No extra words need to be looked up or added. As I said before, as you learn Spanish the first phrase you need to know is “hello.” In order to say that in Spanish, you would say, “Hola.”
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The Past Participle

In this Spanish lesson we will learn the Past Participle and its different uses.  Although this lesson is actually briefer than past lessons, the Past Participle is very important if you want to learn how to speak Spanish.  Its formation is quite simple.  As in English, the Past Participle in Spanish  is a central element in most topics of discussion.

In general, the Past Participle is best understood as having 4 distinct uses that include  past and present actions, and adjectives.  Although this range in usage seems broad, understanding each particular use can be learned and applied rather easily with practice.

The Past Participle is rather simple to form.  For -ar verbs, an -ado is added to the verb’s stem.
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The Future Indicative Tense

This Learning-Spanish Grammar lesson covers the Future Indicative Tense for regular verbs.  Similar to English, the Future Indicative Tense in Spanish is used:

1.         To express a future action or condition.

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If you are about to learn Spanish or purchase a course to help you learn Spanish, it is very helpful to get a grasp on some simple Spanish words first. This can help you get the basics down so that you can expand on them and eventually become a fluent Spanish speaker.

It also becomes important to learn these simple words if you are attempting to speak to a native Spanish speaker or are traveling to a Spanish-speaking area. Even if you don’t have the time to become fluent in Spanish before your trip, you can take the time to learn the simplest words. This shows a lot of respect, and you’ll be able to get around a lot more easily.
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There are many different ways to learn the Spanish language. One way is to actually start living in a Spanish-speaking country in order to immerse yourself in the local language. Another way is to purchase one of the high priced language learning packages. However, the best way by far is to learn with your computer!

It should be said that you will probably get the most accurate and helpful education by actually living in a Spanish-speaking country. The reason we say that the BEST way to learn is on your computer is because it is helpful for you to get a primer and to become as fluent as possible before moving abroad. If you are not considering moving, it is even more important for you to learn on your computer! Continue Reading

One of the main questions that people who are beginning to learn Spanish have is how long it will take. There is no simple answer to this question, as everyone is different. There are a few different reasons why the time it will take you varies.

For one thing, people learn in different ways. Some people enroll themselves in Spanish courses, while others live in a Spanish-speaking country for a while and learn by immersion. Still others purchase comprehensive language courses to help them learn quickly and easily.

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Want to know how to speak Spanish quickly? Of course it can help to learn how to ask for the bathroom, and to say hello. Here are a few of those basic phrases, with the phonetic pronunciations:

Hola. (oh-la) Hello or hi.

Buenos dias. (bway-nos dee-ahs) Good day.

Cuál es su nombre? (kwahl ays soo nohm-bray) What is your name?

Mi nombre es Jose. (mee nohm-bray ays ho-say) My name is Jose.
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The Spanish alphabet only has three more letters than the English alphabet, ch (che), ll (elle) and n (ene). All three letters simply follow the letter from the English alphabet which starts with the same or similar letter. The Spanish alphabet is as follows: a,b,c,ch,d,e,f,g,h,I,j,k,l,ll,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z.

However, there is some controversy over the letters “w” and “k” due to their similar language origin. No Spanish words contain the letters “w” and “k” unless added through translation. Also, the letter “rr” is used in some versions of the Spanish alphabet when the “r” is rolled.

A Spanish dictionary may add to the confusion regarding the inclusion or exclusion of certain letters. For example, older dictionaries may list all words containing “ch” after all words beginning with “c” while new versions list the “ch” words in alphabetical order as with the English language. On the contrary, this is opposite when referring to the letter “n.” This change occurred in 1994.

To add more confusion, some letters may not be part of the official alphabet but are created by adding accents to the letters. For example, adding accents to the vowels o, e or u alter their pronunciation and, consequently, their meaning. These accented vowels are not included in the alphabet separately. Though other languages may add these accented vowels separately, when learning the Spanish language you must simply remember the variants of these vowels when accented.

If you speak English, you already know some Spanish words since these languages are both based on the Romance language. Though the spelling may be different, the pronunciation is almost identical with only the accent differing the words. For example, the word “baby” in English is pronounced similar to the Spanish word “bebe.” As you see, though, the spellings are different.

Once you have a good grasp on the Spanish alphabet, you will be ready to begin learning the language for your next trip. The residents of Spain welcome travelers and will be flattered at your attempts to communicate with them in their language. Also take some time to learn about the Spanish culture. This will make your trip even more enjoyable. You will find, though, that in the larger more tourism-based areas, everyone also speaks English. But, do not let that discourage you from improving your Spanish speaking skills. Keep practicing and be prepare for your next trip to Spain!