The relationship that United States-born Latinos and Latines have with Spanish has always been complex. Scores of immigrants have arrived in the U.S. and focused on assimilating to the local culture to survive.
Thankfully, this sentiment has changed, and many are not just embracing Spanish but also recognizing its rich cultural heritage and global significance.
The word nerds at WordTips recently published a study analyzing the most in-demand languages worldwide. English has taken the top spot in many places, as it’s considered the “de facto global language,” according to University College London.
Spanish, on the other hand, has not only taken the top spot in several capitals across the globe but has also established its popularity globally.
The Spanish language reigned supreme among ten global capitals
WordTips conducted their study using a robust methodology. They leveraged their language-learning platform, Conversation Exchange, to analyze the language preferences of a substantial user base of 283,425 individuals worldwide, including 47,547 U.S.-based users.
This comprehensive approach allowed them to determine the top languages people wanted to learn globally.
It is no surprise that, given the Latino and Latine migration to the U.S., the nation’s capital, Washington D.C., would make the list as one of the global capitals with many Spanish-language hopefuls.
Along with Washinton, D.C., Spanish was a favored language in a few European capitals. The British and Irish Isles also showed a desire to learn Spanish. London, England, and Dublin, Ireland, showed the most significant willingness to learn Spanish.
In continental Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark, Oslo, Norway, and Stockholm, Sweden, showed the strongest desire to learn Spanish. Cape Town in South Africa also demonstrated a Spanish-focused attitude.
Kingston, Jamaica, and Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago round out the list, where Spanish is the top language they sought to learn.
Despite not being their first choice, Spanish was the second language 14 additional capitals were learning
Much like the top ten capitals learning Spanish, the list of cities interested in learning Spanish is equally impressive.
In Europe, Spanish was sought after by folks in Paris, France; Brussels, Belgium; Vienna, Austria; Warsaw, Poland; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Athens, Greece. Over in Scandinavia, Helsinki, Finland, also showed interest.
In Africa, language aficionados in Abuja, Nigeria, and Nairobi, Kenya also wanted to learn Spanish.
Rounding off the list are Brasília, Brazil; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Wellington, New Zealand; and Moscow, Russia.
WordTips also found that it ranked as the top language across the different generations within the U.S.
Spanish reigned supreme in a list that analyzed the top ten languages learned by U.S. English speakers.
So, while Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z may not agree on much, they all agree that learning the language is worth all of their collective time.
Another language all four generations agree on? French. Qui le savait?
The list begins to diverge for the generations when it gets to the third language they want to learn. While Millennials and Gen Z look to take on Japanese (we’re looking at you, anime), Gen X and Baby Boomers want to mangia on some Italian.
Additionally, WordTips found that among the rest of the U.S. capitals, English speakers in New York and Los Angeles were most focused on learning it.
About 28.12% of New Yorkers wanted to learn the language, while about 28.24% of people from Los Angeles did. In London, about 29.25% of people were also taking it up.
