10 good reasons to learn Spanish

Need some reasons to learn Spanish? Here we are to encourage you. After which, you’re welcome! 

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO LEARN SPANISH?

Learning a new language will make us better, and will turn our brain into a more powerful and efficient one. Bilingualism/multilingualism have many perks, some of which we will be next breaking down for you.

For example:

SPANISH IS THE SECOND MOST SPOKEN FIRST LANGUAGE AROUND THE WORLD

And we suppose number one is Chinese, but don’t you even dream of beating that human bulk. In this exclusive list, Spanish comes in second and that stands to reason: apart from the native speakers from Spain, where to date a not-bad 46.79 million people were living, we have not even mentioned the Spanish American world. This area of the planet is comprised by most of the countries in South America (taking out Brazil and some other very small countries), and a fair number of the Caribbean islands. And yes, in the United States Spanish has grown to become the second de facto language, so important that official documents often end up translated into it.

TRAVEL 

Thinking of visiting precisely Spain or Latin America? You will not believe how handy will Spanish come to you. Despite official efforts in Spain and some –not all– Spanish American countries to change the situation for the better, the truth is you may not find too many English speakers there. And anyway, what’s the point?!?! An additionally learned language will open new doors for us and will help us strike a conversation with all types of human beings. And trust us, the ones who speak Spanish are standouts in the lot. 

WORKING ABROAD 

True, English is compulsory when it comes to working abroad no matter where you go. But another of the reasons to study Spanish includes that your place of destination may be Spain, any Spanish American country or, never say never, either Equatorial Guinea or even Western Sahara. Then, chances are you are being hired by people who mainly speak Spanish –and may be relevant enough to the company to dare not to speak English! Also, remember your co-workers might not speak English at all times when in the office, and you would want to mingle with them, engage in coffee-break small talk and share your thoughts in Spanish. 

LITERATURE 

If you are a bookworm, Spanish has produced quite a lot of Nobel Prize in Literature winners. When it comes to literary output, Spanish is quite THE world power, as Spanish-language novelists and poets have really worked their way to putting Spanish on the map of universal literature. One of the most obvious examples of this is Gabriel García Márquez, author of Cien años de soledad (“One Hundred Years of Solitude”). The book has reached such fame and prestige that one Russian man undertook the legendary task of rewriting the book (in Spanish) word by word just to figure how who of them, García Márquez or the Russian man, was the craziest.  

TV SHOWS AND MOVIES 

Speaking of which, if you are still wondering “Why do I have to learn Spanish?”, this is a friendly reminder that telenovelas (soap operas) are the legitimate and most consummate heir of written novels and, when the name of the game is excellence, Spanish telenovelas are the champions. 

BRAIN TRAINING

A lot of research backs up the fact that learning a new language helps to keep your brain active and, somehow, boosts the “expansion of conscience”. And Spanish is no little feat: its grammar, tough but airtight, Vulcanian-ish logic, will certainly keep you busy. Don’t worry: it may give the impression that Spanish grammar is messy and encrypted, but even the few exceptions you will find can be explained and doubts cleared out within seconds. 

“Quien no conoce lenguas extranjeras, nada sabe de la suya propia”

This quote, stated by none other than Goethe and which translates as “He who knows no foreign languages, knows nothing of his own”, sheds a light on something we may take a very long time before finding out: that the more we learn another language, more consciously we would use ours. No exception with Spanish that, being a Neoromantic language, shares a lot of similar words with English (Sp. nación, En. Nation; Sp. matemática, En. Mathematics; the names for scientific and artistic disciplines and eras tend to be extremely similar). While getting to understand the meaning of a term by literally translating it is not a non-valid practice, we do encourage you to guess the meaning of a word in its context rather than go for the translator right away. The translation should be the last stage of the learning of a language.

MAKE NEW FRIENDS 

Let’s accept it: now we live in a world that shrinks smaller by the second. The Internet has torn down the hurdles of distance and made possible phenomena such as remote working, online services, and, sure, social life in the cloud. And not only that: the percentage of people who meet online on chat forums and take the steps to materialize their relationship in the so-called real world is increasing. This should not take us by surprise, because, believe or not, remote acquaintances were not invented yesterday: if you are old enough, you may have had a pen pal, someone with whom you made and remained friends by becoming a familiar face at your closest post office. Broadening your social (and even romantic) spectrum will give you more reasons to learn Spanish.

THOSE LYRICS… 

Ever heard of Shakira, to name one? The best of her production comes originally in Spanish. Also, along the way of your ride through Spanish and Spanish American culture, you might encounter not a few singers or bands with lyrics you suddenly find yourself humming with no explanation. Music in Spanish can be catchy, and songs have been a very traditional method to learn and improve the language learning.

ACADEMICS 

Even though the trend tends to go the other way around, many universities and colleges in Spain and Spanish America are open to hosting students from abroad, and the condition will be that you can write, speak and understand Spanish. If you are bound to become a specialist in cultural subjects and the Spanish culture runs through your veins, you will love coming to the site where the language is spoken and experiencing it to the fullest.

AS A CONCLUSION

We hope these ten reasons to learn Spanish suffice to prompt you to seriously take the matter by the horns. Give it a thought: we know you will not regret it. Ever.

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