Spanish speaking countries

Spanish and Castilian

The designations Spanish and Castilian both apply to the same language. The geographical origin is in the region in and around Castile. Internationally, the names "Spanish" and "Español" are in common use. Within the Spanish-speaking countries, both terms are used simultaneously. In many South American countries, the name "Castellano" is predominantly used and is even anchored in the national constitutions.


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Origin and spread of the Spanish language

As the name "Castilian" already indicates, the language comes from Castile — a region in what is now central Spain. It is based on, among other things, Westernaragonese and other languages of the then Iberian Peninsula. The first Castilian or Spanish documents date back to the year 964 C.E. But the Spanish language (Old Spanish) did not really develop until the 13th century, when Latin, which was predominant in Europe, was separated. Over the course of the centuries, the language changed through many influences from Basque, Celtic and Germanic. The Portuguese language is also closely related to the Spanish language. Both languages are based on the same origins.

Until the late 15th century, Spanish was only spoken on the Iberian Peninsula, i.e., mainly in today's Spain. There was a significant expansion of the language with the voyages of discovery and conquest in the 15th and 16th centuries. Christopher Columbus was certainly the most famous — he is today credited with the discovery of America when he sailed on behalf of the Spanish crown. By the way, he himself was not Spanish, but came from Genoa. Other sailors commissioned by the Spanish Crown with important conquests included Hernán Córtez (Mexico), Franzisco Pizarro (Inca Empire) and Ferdinand Magellan (South America, Philippines). Through the partly violent conquests, Christianity and the Spanish language were imposed on the new territories. Many of those areas are still predominantly Christian today and have retained the Spanish language.





Unless otherwise described in the text, this page is about native speakers — not the total number of speakers. How many people understand or speak Spanish as a subsequently learned language is not the subject of this page. Countries where native speakers make up only a few thousand, or even a few hundred people, or countries with a percentage well below 1% are unlikely to be listed here.