SMART
LINGUISTS NY
WHY SPANISH
Globalization is behind the increasing importance of being able to communicate with people from other countries. The trend shows that Americans are studying Spanish in record numbers and there are many reasons for this:
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Spanish is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world. Realizing that over 400 million people speak Spanish in more than 21 countries, make learning Spanish a good choice.
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Within the United States, Spanish is by far the most widely spoken language after English.
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In the U.S. there is an increasing demand for professionals who are fluent in both Spanish and English due to the explosion in the Spanish-speaking population.
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Phonetically, Spanish is nearly perfect which makes it easy to learn.
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Learning Spanish can facilitate mastering other languages in the future. Language acquisition requires skills that, once learned, can be used to acquire fluency in other languages due to similarities in grammar structure and vocabulary.
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Understanding a language means understanding culturally enriching aspects of different societies. In order to stay competitive in today's world, it is imperative that we learn more about other cultures.
THE SPANISH LANGUAGE IN THE U.S.
Today, the United States has the fifth largest Hispanic population worldwide (barely behind Spain itself and Argentina) and it is predicted that the Hispanic population in America in 2050 will actually triple in size reaching 133 million, or 30% of the total population.
It's increasingly difficult to ignore the spread of Spanish in the United States in daily activities. In the New York City area, the television local news in Spanish-speaking channels often has higher ratings than 'the big three' networks. Also, all Bank ATMs offer instructions in Spanish, kids programs teach Spanish (Dora the Explorer), the Yellow Pages in many cities have added a Spanish-language insert, and Spanish is working its way into everyday use.