FLVS Spanish 1 1.01
How many countries use Spanish as the official language?
21
Paraguay
La capital: Asunción Datos importantes: Paraguay's first language is not Spanish. Guaraní is its first language and Spanish, its second. It is also one of few South American countries to retain its native tongue as an official language.
Colombia
La capital: Bogotá Datos importantes: Although Colombia is known for coffee, which I love, we are also the second largest exporter of flowers in the world.
Argentina
La capital: Buenos Aires Datos importantes: This is the birthplace of the tango, Lionel Messi, Che Guevara, and animation. Yes, you heard that correctly. The very first person to use animation was an Argentinian, Quirino Fernando.
Venezuela
La capital: Caracas Datos importantes: There is a persistent storm at Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. Lightning storms last for about 10 hours, 140 to 160 nights a year. That accounts for about 1.2 million lightning discharges per year, called Catatumbo Lightning.
Guatemala
La capital: Ciudad de Guatemala Datos importantes: Do you love chocolate bars? Thank a Guatemalan. The Maya people first invented the chocolate bar. They were also the first to use the concept of zero.
Panamá
La capital: Cuidad de Panamá Datos importantes: Panama hats are originally from Ecuador. However, they were often sent to Panama before being shipped to the rest of the world. The sale of these hats funded a revolution in Ecuador.
México (North America)
La capital: La Ciudad de México (CDMX) Datos importantes: Did you know CDMX was built on a lake and is said to sink about half a foot each year?
Cuba (The Caribbean, Europe, and Africa)
La capital: La Habana Datos importantes: Cuba is the hometown of salsa—the music, not the sauce. Recently, a rare form of an ancient fish called the Manjuarí (the Cuban Gar) was found here. This is not to be confused with the Cuban cigar.
Bolivia
La capital: La Paz/Sucre Datos importantes: Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America. But that doesn't mean there isn't cool stuff here. We have many natural wonders to enjoy.
Perú
La capital: Lima Datos importantes: The potato is originally from Peru, and there are over 3,000 different varieties. Proud Peruvians use the phrase "Soy más peruano que la papa" (I am more Peruvian than the potato).
España
La capital: Madrid Datos importantes: Welcome to the motherland of the Spanish language. Madrid, and more specifically, La Puerta del sol, is the heart of Spain.
Guinea Ecuatorial
La capital: Malabo Datos importantes: This is the only country in Africa that has Spanish as a national language. Its capital is on a volcanic island.
Nicaragua
La capital: Managua Datos importantes: Be careful in Lake Nicaragua; it's the only place in the world with fresh water bull sharks.
Uruguay
La capital: Montevideo Datos importantes: Soccer fans, did you know that Uruguay hosted the first World Cup in 1930 which it won? They almost went to war with Argentina over it.
Ecuador (South America)
La capital: Quito Datos importantes: Mount Chimborazo, Ecuador's highest mountain is the point on Earth closest to the sun.
Costa Rica
La capital: San José Datos importantes: Costa Rica is the hummingbird capital of the world; 52 different species live in Costa Rica.
El Salvador
La capital: San Salvador Datos importantes: El Salvador is home to Joya De Cerén which is called the Pompeii of the New World. It is a pre-Hispanic farming village that was covered by a volcano eruption around 500 A.D.
Chile
La capital: Santiago Datos importantes: Did you know that llamas are not the only camels in Chile? There are three types of camels related to the llama: vicuña, alpaca, and guanaco.Chile is home to them all.
La República Dominicana
La capital: Santo Domingo Datos importantes: This island nation shares Hispaniola with Haiti. It is a nation of firsts. It was first encountered by Christopher Columbus, and it was the first country with the first capital, cathedral, and university in North and South America.
Honduras
La capital: Tegucigalpa (Tegus) Datos importantes: Tegus is over 3,000 feet above sea level!
How many people speak Spanish world-wide?
Over 400 million people
Romance languages:
Romance languages are rooted in the language of the Roman Empire, Latin—hence the name Romance. These languages are so similar that sometimes they are mistaken for one another.
Polyglot:
a person that speaks several languages.
Immigration:
moving outside the country
Migration:
moving within a country
