It is well known that learning languages - any language - brings multiple benefits, such as professional growth, improvements in brain health, more self-confidence, and so much more; and although most of the time we have very specific reasons to start learning a new language (work, family, travel, etc.), sometimes we want to learn a new language, but it's a little difficult to decide which one, and that's why today I want to give you 5 reasons to learn Spanish.
1. It is one of the most spoken languages in the world.
If we look only at the number of native speakers, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, with approximately 490 million speakers, while it is the fourth most spoken language in the world in terms of the sum of native speakers and students of different levels, with more than 590 million.
Considering the above, it is not difficult to understand why Spanish is the second most used language in the dissemination of scientific information and social networks, and the third in Internet searches.
2. Cultural enrichment
Being the official language in more than 20 countries around the world, knowing Spanish opens the doors to a wide cultural diversity: history, art, and gastronomy are just some of the many interesting things to know in each new destination and... what's better than being able to do it in the native language?
Of course, you can travel and enjoy many places without speaking the language... but I guarantee that your experience will be much more fun and rewarding if you are able to communicate with the locals and make more friends while you are there.
3. An increasing variety of content
In addition to the Internet and social networks, which are very popular nowadays, you can find an amazing variety of material to enjoy and learn in Spanish; Great writers such as Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and his work El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la mancha, Gabriel García Márquez, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982 with his novel Cien años de soledad, Mario Vargas Llosa, Isabel Allende, Gabriela Mistral, Julio Cortázar, among many others in different literary genres; Exponents of different musical styles with great success worldwide, in addition to the local genres of each country; not to mention the growing number of films and series that are becoming more accessible every day, thanks to streaming platforms, anywhere in the world.
4. Connection with Romance languages (easier)
Romance languages are several languages that evolved from Latin, a language spoken by the Romans between the third and eighth centuries and that, thanks to their travels in Europe, was transformed into several different dialects that today are known as "Vulgar Latin" and gradually into different languages, the most used today are Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian and even Catalan, but there are more than 20 languages listed as Romance, many of them in danger of extinction.
But... how does this help you learn a language?
Simple, since several languages are "born" from the same origin, they share important characteristics; and although it clearly does not mean that they are the same, or that you have nothing to learn; if you speak Spanish fluently, it will be much easier to learn any of these languages, due to their similarity in some grammatical forms and basic vocabulary; so if your plan is to learn several languages, or you already master one of these Romance languages, Spanish is an excellent choice for you.
5. A growing language
According to the latest report "español una lengua viva", published in 2022 by El Instituto Cervantes (a Spanish public institution founded in 1991 with the aim of promoting the language and Hispanic cultures throughout the world, based mainly on high-quality standards and currently with more than 80 offices in the 5 continents), the sum of students from institutions and independent students results in approximately 24 million learners of Spanish around the world. In addition, a study conducted by the popular language learning platform Duolingo showed that Spanish is the most studied language in 31 of the 194 countries where the platform operates, which leads us to an estimated projection of 726 million Spanish speakers by the year 2068.
In conclusion, Spanish is one of the most widely used languages in the world; full of content, history, and culture, completely different depending on the place; and you could learn all of this so much easier if you speak Spanish, also it is a phonetic language that makes easier to practice the correct way to pronounce, there are hundreds of reasons to decide to learn such a beautiful language.
