Spanish history and lessons for the whole family

Hispanic Heritage Month started Sept. 15 and extends through Oct. 15. A wonderful way to celebrate and learn more about a culture is to learn about its language. Although there are lots of languages spoken by Latinx and Hispanic people throughout the United States, Central America and South America, Spanish is most widely spoken. How much Spanish can you learn during Hispanic Heritage Month? Here are some interesting facts, vocabulary words and phrases to get you started.

Spanish belongs to the Romance language group. Other languages in this group include Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian and Sardinian.

These languages evolved in Europe from what is called Vulgar Latin, a form of Latin spoken commonly among average people, in contrast to Classical Latin, which was used more in literature and academic settings.

Some people may be under the impression that Romance languages mean the languages sound romantic. While it may be true that these languages sound beautiful and romantic, the term “Romance” actually comes from the Vulgar Latin word “romanice” which translates as “in Roman.”

Because these languages share common roots, you may notice similarities between them. For example, the word “possible” is spelled exactly the same in Italian, French and Spanish although the pronunciations are different. Most words don’t match this closely and will have slight changes to consonant and vowel sounds. For example, “kitchen” is “cucina” in Italian, “cuisine” in French and “cocina” in Spanish.

Latin American countries did not always speak Spanish, and even today there are differences between the type of Spanish spoken in the Americas and the type spoken in Europe. Spaniards and many other Europeans sailed from their home countries to the American continents and brought their languages with them. Spain was the first European power to colonize large areas in the Americas, which is largely why Spanish is the most widely spoken language.

These explorers were primarily interested in gaining control of these areas to enrich their home countries, so most of the Indigenous Americans who were already there were forced to convert to the Europeans’ languages, religions and other cultural traditions.

Despite this, some Indigenous languages have survived over hundreds of years of colonization. For example, about 6 million people still speak Mayan languages, which are thought to have existed for at least 5,000 years. More than 1 million people still speak Nahuatl, the language spoken by the ancient Aztecs.

Now that you know why Spanish is spoken in North and South America, try learning a few words and phrases. It can come in handy as Spanish is also the second-most commonly spoken language in the United States.

According to the 2019 census, 6.5% of Spokane’s population is Hispanic or Latino. If you don’t speak Spanish, you may come across a classmate or friend with whom you can practice.

Greetings

Hello – Hola. This is pronounced like “o-la”, with a silent “h”.

How are you? – ¿Cómo estás? This is pronounced like “koh-moh ehs-tahs.” To make this more formal, you would drop the “s” from estás.

How’s it going?/How are things? – ¿Qué tal? The Spanish word “qué” is pronounced like the English letter “k.” The word “tal” is pronounced with a short “a” sound like in the words crab, hat or nap. This is a more informal way of greeting someone.

What’s up?/What’s happening? – ¿Qué pasa? The “a” in pasa is also a short “a”, similar to how English speakers pronounce papa.

Numbers

Zero – Cero

One – Uno

Two – Dos

Three – Tres

Four – Cuatro

Five – Cinco

Six – Seis

Seven – Siete

Eight – Ocho

Nine – Nueve

Ten – Diez

To hear the pronunciation of these numbers and hear a song that will help you remember them, watch “Numbers Song in Spanish. Canción de los Números” by KidsTV123 on YouTube.

Family

Father – Padre, or papá for informal use.

Mother – Madre, or mamá for informal use.

Son – Hijo

Daughter – Hija

Husband – Esposo

Wife – Esposa

Parents – Padres

Brother – Hermano

Sister – Hermana

To learn how to pronounce these words and more watch “Members of the family in Spanish” by Learn Spanish World on YouTube.