Why Spanish is a Language worth learning?

[betita03]

Spanish is an influential language. They had influenced different languages in the world after Spaniards had conquered some countries that they had reach many years ago. In the Unites States, Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language and there are lots of historical letters that were written in Spanish. Learning Spanish really worth our effort because it's one of the languages that is easy to understand, learn and use by many people worldwide.

[Robert]

Spanish is essential for anyhone who does any kind of business in the American Continent. If you need to be convinced, just remember that all of central america and most of south america speak spanish.

[Anderson]

I agree with Robert about the amount of spanish speaking people beeing very significant.

[efpierce]

Now days, a second and even third language is essential, and not only in the business world. Spanish should be one of the languages that you learn as you won't get very far in many Central and South American countries without it. I have even been to parts of the United States where Spanish was the predominant language spoken by almost everyone.

[Brad]

I think english and spanish pretty much help you cover an entire continent and quite a few parts of another.

[LinguaFranka]

Can only add to what everyone else has said really, Spanish is the language to learn for businesses looking to move into the new booming economies of Central and South America. the US also has it as a de-facto second language so anyone wanting to get by in the Americas will give themselves a massive advantage.

[lookforuu]

I like Spanish, which sounds so romantic. The pronounce every phonetic symbol clearly. Spanish songs are nice too!

[Ersatz]

It's definitely one of the most practical languages to learn.  Even outside of the American continent, there are a ton of Spanish speakers worldwide.  Spanish is also very helpful to know when learning other Romance languages.  For example, I visited Paris and was able to read most of the signs even though I don't speak French; it's similar enough that I could piece together the meaning in most cases.

[Mogra]

It's one of the most beautiful and melodious languages in the world, to my mind. It's worth learning because of its beauty. Just to read Garcia Lorca in his native language.

[Paolo]

Here is the reason why it's worth learning:

406 million native speakers

About 100 million non-native speakers

[lookforuu]

It's one of the most beautiful and melodious languages in the world, to my mind. It's worth learning because of its beauty. Just to read Garcia Lorca in his native language.

Yea it's a very beautiful language. What is Garcia Lorca? I heard some Spanish songs, which are very nice, and the language sounds nice already when it's spoken by someone.

[Mogra]

Garcia Lorca is a poet. Many people (including me) find his poems very harmonious, with vivid imaginery. Besides, some of them are really easy for a beginner.

La guitarra

Empieza el llanto

de la guitarra.

Se rompen las copas de la madrugada.

Empieza el llanto de la guitarra.

Es inútil callarla.

Es imposible callarla.

Llora monótona

como llora el agua,

como llora el viento

sobre la nevada.

Es imposible callarla.

Llora por cosas

lejanas.

Arena del Sur caliente

que pide camelias blancas.

Llora flecha sin blanco,

la tarde sin mañana,

y el primer pájaro muerto

sobre la rama.

!Oh guitarra!

Corazón malherido

por cinco espadas.

[Mogra]

Seriously, I find a desire to be able to read  Spanish and Latin American classics in their native language a valid reason for learning the language. The best representatives of the Spanish culture would speak to you through decades or even centuries - isn't that wonderful? I'm sure 'Cien anos de soledad' sounds more convincing than 'One hundred years of solitude', no matter how masterful a translation might be.

[cefmac]

Much as I love the sound of Spanish, for me, that's not the number one reason for learning the language. It's incredibly useful, and if I remember correctly, is one of the top three most widely-spoken languages in the world (along with Mandarin and English). By learning Spanish, you're opening youself up to the possibility of understanding millions of people worldwide and their respective cultures, not to mention how helpful it must be for business purposes.

[linguaholic]

awww, all those posts really encourage me to start studying Spanish !!

@mogra: by the way, I love your avatar..it's kind off-topic but it had to be said :=) 

[Mogra]

hehe, thanks, @linguaholic. If you had a  Russian language section on the forum, I would post the original cartoon with this charismatic character . But you can check it out on Youtube, 'Hedgehog in the fog'. It's available with English subtitles.

[cbintz]

I have taken four years of Spanish and although it was hard to pick up at first, eventually it grew on me. I think it is important because many people speak Spanish in my workplace and I like that I am able to communicate with them a bit. They speak very little to no English and many of my co-workers do not know the language, so they can't communicate with them like I can.

I'm planning to vacation to Mexico in 2015 and it will be nice to be able to read, write and speak the language of the place I am vacationing, although I know that many people there speak English, especially in the big tourist areas/resorts.

[BWL]

Spanish is even more widely spoken than you think. I was on holiday in Istanbul and I hears some old folk speaking (they were clearly locals, living in one of the neighborhoods there) in what I thought was Spanish. I asked them (in Spanish) if they were from Spain. Imagine my shock when they told me that they were in fact Turkish Jews and that their ancestors had been living in Turkey for centuries! I was walking in an old Jewish neighborhood and some of the old folk (but not all) still spoke Judeo-Spanish.

The Turkish Jews are descended from Spanish Jews who fled Spain during the 15th century and slightly after during the Spanish Inquisition when Muslims and Jews were either forced to convert to Catholicism or if they were still faithful to their old religions, to face death by torture. Many Jews (and Muslims) either converted or fled. They were allowed to settle in the Islamic world, in North Africa and in the Ottoman Empire, what is now Turkey.

I find it really ironic that when the Christians were discriminating against Jews centuries ago, it was the Muslims who gave them refuge. I wonder what modern Israelis and Palestinians would say if they met some Turkish (and North African Sephardic Jews) who told them history!

[pcgamer]

Right now my main focus is to concentrate and focus on learning my third and fourth language; aka, English and French. I think, I have gotten the hang off English language now, so I can start focusing on French a bit more.

But yeah, I would definitely love to learn Spanish as my fifth language. I would be the first one in my family to learn 5 languages (*pats himself)!

[NatureSun]

Well apart from having second most native speakers in the world following English. It is also necessary to know Spanish if you want to be able to effectively community with the majority of people in South America and alot of the North America.

It's always better to be a part of the population that does speak this language rather than not.

[mleocasas]

Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages, both by geographic spread and total number of speakers. It's such a door-opener for anyone looking to learn about or within other cultures.

As a language nerd, like most people on this forum are, I also think that if you live in North America, Spanish is a very good 'gateway' language. It's easily accessible and applicable to things around us Americans in everything from street signs to on-the-street conversations. Learning Spanish can really help get people interested in studying the nuances of languages that make them similar at times, and very different at other times.

[A0130]

I feel Spanish is very important not only in the United States, but all over the world. I live in the US, so I encounter Spanish speakers almost every day. Being a nurse, knowing Spanish is essential to doing my job! I hope to master Spanish and travel to a Spanish-speaking country one day.

[Shellyann36]

I feel Spanish is a needed language if you are living in North America.  So many spanish speaking people have found their homes in North America and it is beneficial to native English speakers to know Spanish as it is equally beneficial to the spanish speakers. In my area, if you know English and Spanish you are more likely to be hired for a job as opposed to only knowing English. 

[btatro]

Absolutely. I live in mid-western North America, and if there is one language I would recommend knowing it would be Spanish, followed closely by Hmong.

[Alfonso]

Spanish is one of the most widely spoke languages in the world. Whether your in Spain, South, Central or North America, Africa, and even the Philippines, learning Spanish can be a big advantage. If you can speak English and Spanish, you can most probably speak to almost anyone around the world. It's definitely worth your time to learn Spanish.