Has Your Society Influenced Spanish Culture?

The Spanish culture for many centuries has been known for the warmth and welcoming that many people have always enjoyed. Their wonderful generosity and friendliness what draws people to the people of the Spanish-speaking world and why learning Spanish is so popular today.

The world has also been influenced by the culture by the people in Spanish speaking countries through their culture in many ways. You can see this influence from the Spanish language in dance, art, poetry, as well as dance, architecture and food.

The culture of Spain and it's basis is very interesting and colorful. The origins of the culture of Spain can be found in the land which is in the south western part of Europe all the way across the Mediterranean to Africa in the Iberian peninsula.

Over the centuries, the cradle of the Spanish culture, the Iberian peninsula, was invaded, conquered and influenced by other many different peoples, which included the greeks, the Basque and other pre-Latin cultures. During the late 5th century AD, some Germanic influences were introduced to the area as a result of an invasion of the area by the Visigoths, plus they added some German words to the Spanish language. In addition, the Visigoths introduced some elements of architecture, which over the centuries, developed into the well-known forms of Gothic architecture which is so commonly seen in buildings throughout Hispanic cultures.

Even the Moorish culture influenced Spain during the 8th century AD, because of the conquest of the area by the Muslims. Moorish artistic influences can readily be seen throughout the country, and one other interesting contribution from the Moorish culture are the beautifully planned gardens. An Islamic garden generally includes four elements which make them unique and beautiful: shade, water, color variety, fragrance, and sound. The Spanish vocabulary was again enhanced from this period with numerous Arabic words, all of which begin with the "al" prefix.

The early part of the 11th century, brought considerable influence on the culture from pilgrims of French origin and ecclesiastics who traveled through Spain. This friendly interaction resulted in an appreciable influx of French words and phrases, as well as touches of cuisine, spiritual traditions and art.

Even the Italians shaped and influenced the culture with elements of their language and society in the 15th and 16th century. This came about because the influences of the Aragonese which dominated Italy and because of the huge popularity of Italian poetry in Spain, during this period. This influenced the Spanish language again with additional words to the vocabulary, including Spanish verbs. In addition, art, cuisine, music and thought were impacted by Italy at this time.

As you can see, over the centuries, the Spanish culture has evolved tremendously and in many ways is a mixture of many of the greatest artists, writers, musicians, architects, poets and other creators of their day. When people decide to learn to speak Spanish, they also are being given the opportunity to learn much more about their own cultural contributions to the world.