Spanish English

Welcome to our Spanish English page.

This page contains a growing list of resources regarding Spanish English; how Spanish English has influenced international English and how English is spoken in Spain.

Please leave any suggested links in the comments section.

Our blog posts on Spanish English

Had enough anglicisms?
So, what exactly is the problem with (what appear to be) so many anglicismos in Spanish? Well, I say nothing! The issue is that many people don’t know just how common and natural it is for words to travel across languages, and they worry that their language is being invaded by foreign words.

But it’s English!
As everywhere, English has had a huge influence on Spanish, with many words entering the language, despite the losing battle waged by the Real Academia Española. These words have been Hispanicised, which is perfectly natural. The problem arises when Spaniards use them in English.

Do Americans have an inferiority complex? (Part one)
In Argentina people occasionally ask me if I teach British English or American English. My response is that most EFL textbooks are produced by British publishers (which I assume is because, in the recent past, the British empire was so big that the sun never set on it.) Then, while pretending I’m cool with the issue(!),  I explain …

But what do we mean by Spanish English?
According to 2008 statistics, Spanish is spoken by a whopping 452,480,979 people across the world in 21 countries (including the USA and Equatorial Guinea). Spain itself accounts for ‘only’ 8.95% of this (40,491,051 speakers.) So obviously, just like English, Spanish has very many national and regional varieties.

Language identity crisis
Needless to say, after over twenty years away from a native English speaking environment, I can definitely say that I suffer from a Language Identity Crisis.

Do Americans have an inferiority complex? (Part two)
In Mexico I lived with a man named Alberto who claimed that his Spanish should be called español, not castellano. According to him, people in Mexico stopped speaking castellano about 212 years ago. Alberto told me this about 12 years ago. By contrast, many people in Argentina insist that they speak castellano, and that real español is spoken in countries like Spain or Colombia.

Other links

False Friends between Spanish and English
As many books and websites for learners of Spanish quite rightly point out, it is easy to see the similarity between Spanish and English words if you train yourself to make certain orthographical conversions. … This is certainly a useful starting point which will reassure and encourage any newcomer to either language. But unguarded application of these guidelines could lead to an awful lot of confusion. Similarities in appearance are not always reflected in similarities of meaning.

Other regional English pages

Scottish English
Irish English
Brazilian English
Japanese English
Chinese English
Russian English
South African English
American English
Indian English
Australian English
Mexican English
Canadian English

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