Spanish Translation
Top 5 reasons why Spanish is so important
Culture
From Madrid’s Museo del Prado to Peru’s Machu Picchu, there are a wealth of cultural attractions in the Spanish-speaking locations of the world. Indeed, Spanish is a highly popular language for those looking to travel and discover new things.
Millions of speakers
There are over 580 million Spanish speakers across the world. In the United States alone, there are 33 million speakers. The language is also spoken in various countries across South America, Europe and Africa. As a second language, it is increasingly popular. It is estimated that 21 million people study Spanish as a second language worldwide.
Employment opportunities
Given that Spanish is so widely spoken, being able to speak Spanish is certainly an asset. Giving you the opportunity to access a huge number of markets, the language no doubt contributes to business success.
Cognitive benefits
Learning any language delays the onset of diseases like Alzheimer’s. Speaking Spanish regularly will allow you to continually learn and improve, enhancing your cognitive functions. Those who are bilingual are also considered to be better at multi-tasking, problem solving and concentrating.
The future of Spanish
The United States is already home to the greatest number of Spanish speakers in the world. It is estimated that the number of Spanish speakers will continue to grow in the country, with the Latino population set to reach 130 million by the year 2060.
How difficult is Spanish?
Similarity to other languages
Spanish is highly similar to other romance languages, particularly Italian and Portuguese. In fact, the three are often considered to be mutually intelligible. Nevertheless, there are many false friends between the three languages. For example, salir in Spanish means ‘to go out’, whereas in Italian, it means ‘to go up’. When it comes to Spanish translations, therefore, extra care must be taken not to get confused by similar-looking words.
Grammar
For an English speaker, Spanish grammar may appear complex. It is true that there are many aspects the two languages have in common, such as the use of the present progressive. However, Spanish also uses the subjunctive, the imperfect and has gendered nouns. Nevertheless, compared to other romance languages, such as French and Italian, Spanish grammar is often considered easier to learn.
Phonetic
Spanish, with more words said per minute on average than many other languages, is considered to be among the fastest languages of the world. This makes listening and understanding it particularly challenging. When it comes to transcription services, therefore, having a specialised, native Spanish speaker is essential.
Regional variances and Spanish translation
The Spanish language has numerous dialects distributed across the world. Each country, and the regions within it, vary in their use of language. This includes certain grammatical elements as well as word choice. For example, in Mexico, you can express the word ‘cool’ with padre, whereas in Spain, you might say guay. Equally, in Argentina it is common to use vos instead of tú to say ‘you’. Spanish localisation services take into account not only these linguistic differences, but also the cultures of the different Spanish-speaking countries as well.