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Step 1
First, you need to realize that Spain is made of diverse regions. These regions each have their own cultural identity and language. For example, the Basque people of northern Spain speak a language that is not at all like Spanish.
When we speak of "Spanish", we are actually referring to the dialect from the region known as Castilla-Leon. So what most people think of as "Spanish" is technically called "Castillian" in English. -
Step 2
The word for "Spanish" in Spanish is "español". However, the word for "Castilian" is "castellano".
If you are talking about something of or related to the entire country of Spain, you should say "español". If you are referring to something of or related to the region of Castilla, you should say "castellano".
Keep this in mind. -
Step 3
Technically, if you want to talk about the language you should refer to "castellano" instead of "español", because it is not spoken in all parts of Spain.
For example:
Hablo castellano = I speak Spanish
¿Hablas castellano? = Do you speak Spanish? -
Step 4
However, in most cases you will be understood if you just use the word "Spanish", or "español".
For example:
Hablo español = I speak Spanish
¿Hablas español? = Do you speak Spanish? -
Step 5
It's a bit more complicated than you may of thought, but that's how you say "Spanish" in Spanish. Good luck!
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Step 6
If you would like to read more articles like this, click on the "Learning Spanish Links" in the resource section of this article.
