Today, the whole world is becoming a multicultural society. Let’s look at the etymology and expansion of Spanish, which is used as an official language by various international organizations! ......Ed
Today, the world is aiming to see a multicultural country. Accordingly, the world’s official language has become important. For international communication, a language that everyone can use is required. International languages promote mutual understanding between countries and cultures, and facilitate communication involving international business, politics, and culture. Let me introduce Spanish, which is used as an official language by several international organizations, including the UN(United Nations), WTO(the World Trade Organization), the World Bank, and the ILO(International Labor Organization).
It is easy to think that English is the language spoken by most people in the world as their first language. However, Spanish overtook English in 2015 and came in second place, maintaining it until now. In 2023, Ethnologue, an international linguistics laboratory, published data on the status of global language use. Spanish won second place in the ‘Languages with the most native users, 2023’ category, and in the ‘Languages with the most speakers, 2023’ category, it came in fourth place. Spanish doesn’t mean it’s only spoken in Spain. Other than Spain, it is widely used in most Latin American countries and the United States, which has a large Hispanic population. Interestingly, there are more than twice as many native Spanish speakers in Mexico as in Spain. How can there be more Spanish speakers in other countries than in Spain? The reason can be found in the history of Spain.
Spanish is one of the languages derived from the Latin of the Roman Empire. With the expansion of the Roman Empire, Latin spread to the region, which later became the etymology of Spanish. It formed an early form of Spanish called Proto-Spanish. In the centuries since, it has grown under various cultural and religious influences. In particular, the conquest of the Islamic Empire and the war during Reconquista on the Spanish peninsula influenced the development of the Spanish language. In the 15th century, the discovery of a new continent by Christopher Columbus greatly expanded the territory of Spain. In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire developed into one of the largest empires in the world. Since then, Spanish has spread throughout Latin America. During the Spanish colonial period, many people from the Americas were heavily influenced by Spanish or by Spanish immigrants. They brought language and culture and settled down, taking root in their own culture. As a result, several mixed-race people have been created, and these effects are seen on many continents and countries. From the 19th century, Spanish became important in the United States as the Spanish-speaking population in the United States increased.
Today, with the development of transportation and information devices, the relationship between the state and individuals has become closer. These phenomena are collectively called globalization. As globalization progresses, the use of language also expands. Korea also needs a more open and active attitude toward foreign languages as the international floating population is increasing day by day. The whole world is operating as a single unified space across borders, and the Earth is the flattest it has ever been.
Lee Eun-seo (ST Cub-Reporter)
les0404123@soongsil.ac.kr