Station
identification: "Radio Nacional de Espana" ,
pronounced ...Espanee'a Spanish is spoken in Spain, Latin America (except Brazil), Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
Spanish has many final consonants and stressed syllables, which contrasts with Italian which tends to have vowel endings to words. Spanish has the standard vowels: a, e, i, o, u spoken clearly without nasialisation or glide; there is no distinction of length.
Castillian Spanish (spoken in Madrid and Northern Spain) has the sound of English th'e and ll, whereas in Latin America a hissing s is used for both sounds. Countries such as Argentina, Uraguay and Chile pronounce ll and y like ge (in English garage), in northerly areas y is pronounced like the English (as in year).
Argentine Spanish has longer vowels and a greater range in pitch.
In Caribbean Spanish (eg Cuba and Puerto Rico) the final s is almost silent (but these dialects are seldom heard in radio broadcasts).
Ths contribution from Viajes Alventus: According to the
latest research, Spanish is now spoken by 320 million people.
Spanish is the official language in Equatorial Guinea (Africa)
and is widely spoken as a co-official tongue in Morocco along
with French. North of Larache in Morocco, Spanish is second to
French.
Station
identification: "Radio Nacional de Espana" ,
pronounced ...Espanee'a
| Name | Where spoken | Language Family | How many (000s) |
| Spanish | Spain, C & S America, USA, Canary Islands | Indo-European (Romance) | 150-250m |
Table source: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, David Ctystal, Cambridge University Press
[Articles/_private/langnavbar.htm]