By Autumn Mozeliak
Happy International Spanish Language day from Speak! In the spirit of this linguistic celebration, we’re taking a look at Spanish around the world, but not just any Spanish.
When we think of Spanish, we think of the home of the language- Spain. However, if we look hard enough, there are a plethora of forgotten little pockets where this beautiful romance language resides. From the Americas, Europe, Africa and even Asia, Spanish has found a home everywhere. Let’s take a look at a few gems....
Equatorial Guinea
When we typically think of Africa and romance languages, normally francophone Africa comes to mind first. Not Equatorial Guinea! Previously known as Spanish Guinea, this beautiful country which comprises two land masses (the islands of Bioko and the continental counterpart) is the forgotten Spanish colony that has maintained the Spanish language since the late 1700s. In fact, approximately 1 million speakers reside there today.
Although Equatorial Guinea holds a plethora of languages (including English, Portuguese, and French), Spanish still remains the official and national language of this central African country. Because of this, all educational and administrative services use this unique Spanish dialect.
This dialect is extremely unique. Unlike South American dialects, Equatoguinean Spanish is more similar to the peninsular Spanish than that of the American dialects. It’s also the only Spanish dialect in all of central Africa. It’s even regulated by their own language academy, to preserve its uniqueness- similar to France’s Académie Française, known as Equatoguinean Academy of the Spanish Language.
The Philippines
Yes, the Philippines; This country is probably the least suspecting out of all of these. Nonetheless, this east Asian country has a history of Spanish heritage dating back to the 1500s until 1898 and remained a co-official language in the country all the way up to 1987. Because of this, the predominant languages,
Filipino and Tagalog, actually have approximately 4,000 loan words from Spanish due to this heavy influence. Some words include:
Sampaguita (Spanish)/ Sampagita (Tagalog), or jasmine in English
Baguio (S)/ Bagyo (T)/ or hurricane in English.
Dalaga (S)/ Dalaga (T)/ or single, young woman in English
Today, there are a striking 500,000 speakers on the island. In fact, the Spanish language has formulated a version of Spanish creole based in the Philippines called ‘Chavacano’. Though, this dialect remains predominantly in Zamboanga City, which actually makes a lot of sense if we take note that this urban area was once the main headquarters of the Spanish colonizers! This creole has a lot of varieties, which would typically be confusing, but in reality these are all mutually intelligible amongst each other!
Morocco
Morocco is a melting pot of a plethora of cultures and languages- perfect for anyone with an international spirit! If you were to visit, you’d hear a beautiful meld of English, Arabic (including many dialects), French, and Berber. Better yet, their Spanish speaking population is certainly one to consider when noting there are at least 20,000 speakers! This is actually because there was protectorate status of Spain in Morocco back in 1912, so the culture and language had crept its way in and has remained part of Morocco’s multicultural charm.
The northern region of this diverse country holds the most amount of Spanish speakers, specifically in Tetouan, Chefchaouen, as well as Tangier in the north and Sidi Ifni in the south! In addition to this, Spain still has control in two Moroccan bordered cities called Melilla and Ceuta, where Spanish is the official language. Because of these occupancies, Morocco has obtained ample Spanish flares and it would further be useful to learn a bit of Spanish on your trip there! Speaking of which….
Don’t all of these interesting dialects make you want to learn Spanish? Lucky for you Speak! has a talented staff of fantastic Spanish teachers and we would love for you to learn with us! Check out our main page to schedule a consultation to be paired up with an instructor that’s perfect for you!
