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109-711: The Cuban thaw ( Spanish : deshielo cubano , pronounced [desˈʝelo kuˈβano] ) was a normalization of Cuba–United States relations that began in December 2014, ending a 54-year stretch of hostility between the nations. In March 2016, Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. The normalization of relations lasted from July 2015 to June 2017, with relations further deteriorating under Presidents Donald Trump , and later, Joe Biden . On December 17, 2014, U.S. President Obama and Cuban leader Raúl Castro announced
218-671: A global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and
327-597: A Cuban who had worked as an agent for American intelligence and had been in a Cuban prison for nearly 20 years. Additionally, in early January 2015, the Cuban government began releasing a number of imprisoned dissidents, as requested by the United States. On January 12, 2015, it was reported that all 53 dissidents had been released. The prisoner swap marked the biggest shift in White House policy towards Cuba since
436-488: A DGI agent convicted for espionage in 1995, Sarraff was the only known prisoner matching the description. Following news reports about Sarraff's likely release, his family complained they had not heard from him and were left without any official information on his whereabouts. Almost four weeks after he had been moved from his last prison cell in Havana, Sarraff's sister Vilma informed media he had called her and let her know he
545-636: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Rolando Sarraff Trujillo Rolando Sarraff Trujillo (born 22 August 1963)
654-605: A US commercial flight landed in Havana. By November 2017, however, several airline companies had quit doing flights to Cuba. President Obama arrived in Cuba for a three-day visit on March 20, 2016. Obama headed a delegation of between 800 and 1,200, including businesspeople and congressional leaders who had helped in establishing the 2014 normalization deal. Obama was the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928 . Obama said that he would only visit Cuba if he could meet with Cuban dissidents : "If I go on
763-628: A ceremony at which the flag of the United States was raised over the US Embassy in Havana. Cuban dissidents, however, were not invited to attend the flag raising ceremony. In September 2015, Cuban diplomat José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez was appointed the first Ambassador of Cuba to the United States in 50 years. On January 28, 2015, while attending a meeting of Latin American leaders in San José, Costa Rica , Cuban leader Raúl Castro asserted that
872-603: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
981-582: A degree in journalism before joining the Interior Ministry. Sarraff worked for the Cuban Dirección General de Inteligencia , where he rose to the rank of first lieutenant. There are conflicting reports about the nature of Sarraff's intelligence activities. According to a biography published by his relatives during his time in prison, his work at the secret service was merely that of a journalist. According to sources quoted by
1090-522: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
1199-482: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
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#17327730046221308-415: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
1417-483: A new market in Cuba. By July 20, 2016, US companies Airbnb and Netflix were operating in Cuba as well. The United States sought to increase revenue from tourism in Cuba by lifting traveling restrictions which can be used for purchase of American agricultural and manufacturing exports to Cuba. On March 20, 2016, Starwood became the first US company to sign a deal with Cuba since the 1959 revolution and agreed to manage two Havana hotels which had formerly been owned by
1526-605: A precondition to reopening embassies. A third round of talks were held in Havana from March 16–17, 2015. However, the talks ended abruptly after just a day, without any public comment. Obama and Castro themselves met at the Summit of the Americas in Panama on April 10–11, where Castro delivered an address praising Obama and apologizing for blaming his government for the ongoing U.S. embargo. After meeting with Obama, Castro called for
1635-508: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
1744-617: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
1853-531: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
1962-481: A thaw in the relations between the United States and Cuba led to a swap of three Cuban spies (of the Cuban Five ) in exchange for Alan Gross and an unnamed spy. Without identifying Sarraff, Obama said that the freed spy is "one of the most important intelligence agents that the United States has ever had in Cuba, and who has been imprisoned for nearly two decades". Various commentators immediately noted that, as
2071-468: A type used by CIA agents, which are designed to evade detection, in addition to computer equipment, satellite phones, and internet access to Cuba's Jewish community. Despite initial U.S. refusals, the prisoner swap eventually took place in December 2014 following the President's announcement of intent to move towards normalized relations. In addition to Gross, the swap included Rolando Sarraff Trujillo ,
2180-527: A visit, then part of the deal is that I get to talk to everybody. I've made it very clear in my conversations directly with Cuban leader Raúl Castro that we would continue to reach out to those who want to broaden the scope for, you know, free expression inside of Cuba." On April 22, 2016, it was announced that travel restrictions on U.S. commercial vessels had been lifted and that the Carnival Cruise Line could travel to Cuba. On May 1, 2016,
2289-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
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#17327730046222398-436: Is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish
2507-673: Is a Cuban intelligence officer who was convicted for espionage for the United States Central Intelligence Agency . Sarraff worked for the Cuban Directorate of Intelligence in Havana and acted as a mole , providing classified information on Cuban spies in the United States to the CIA. He was arrested by the Cuban authorities in November 1995, and sentenced to 25 years. He was released to
2616-589: Is acting like an isolationist", and that, "The 50-year embargo just hasn't worked. If the goal is regime change, it sure doesn't seem to be working." Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is
2725-399: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
2834-761: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
2943-844: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
3052-813: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
3161-488: Is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on the other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by
3270-486: Is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian),
3379-578: Is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
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3488-633: The New York Times Pulitzer Award-winning journalists, Mark Mazzetti and Michael S. Schmidt , collaborated on a front-page profile of Sarraff. José Cohen , who the New York Times described as Sarraff's co-accused, and had successfully defected to the US, said he would not discuss the allegations against Sarraff, until he knew he had left Cuba, as Cuban authority had never had any proof of their guilt. He said he
3597-492: The 1959 revolution . In addition to Cuba's concern over U.S. migration policy, the Cuban delegation assured the U.S. that normalization talks would not yield significant changes unless Cuba is removed from the U.S. State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism . Cuba was one of four countries on the list, the other three being Iran , Sudan , and Syria . The U.S. government said that it had begun an intelligence review in order to evaluate whether Cuba can be removed from
3706-599: The Cuban Adjustment Act . A second round of talks took place in Washington, D.C. , late in February 2015. Negotiators described the talks as productive and said several issues were close to resolution. However, the issue of Cuba's listing among state sponsors of terrorism by the U.S. government remained a significant sticking point, although Cuban diplomat Josefina Vidal said its removal was not strictly
3815-667: The Cuban Revolution . But despite his prior backlash against the United States, Castro summarized his speech by praising the recent improvements in American-Cuban relations, and wondered why "the countries of the two Americas, the North and the South, fight together against terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime, without politically biased positions." The Cuban thaw has received a mixed reception among politicians in
3924-690: The Cuban armed forces and interior ministries on November 9th. President Biden initially eased U.S. restrictions on family remittences and visa permits in 2022, but similarly levied multiple sanctions against Cuba thereafter. The U.S. government retaliated against the Cuban government for protest crackdowns and human rights abuse in 2021 and again in 2024 for similar protest crackdowns . Relations have materially cooled due to continued differences on immigration , counterterrorism , civil and political rights , humanitarian aid , trade policy , fugitive extradition and politics in and around Cuba. In May 2012, it
4033-585: The Cuban financial system , and the reopening of the U.S. embassy in Havana and the Cuban embassy in Washington , which both closed in 1961 after the breakup of diplomatic relations as a result of Cuba's close alliance with the USSR . On April 14, 2015, the Obama administration announced that Cuba would be removed from the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list. With no congressional action to block this within
4142-701: The MV Adonia , a cruise ship operated by Carnival subsidiary Fathom Travel , departed from Miami and docked in Havana Bay , marking the first time in nearly 40 years that a U.S. passenger ship sailed from the U.S. to Cuba. Carnival said that the Adonia would go from Miami to Havana every other week. Two other Miami-based cruise lines, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian , were interested in running cruises to Cuba and sought Cuban government authorization. A number of Florida ferry companies received authorization from
4251-629: The McClatchy's Washington correspondent, he was part of the Department M-XV, which was in charge of encrypted communications with the Cuban agents. The same sources claim he provided information about secret operations to another Cuban who was spying for the United States, Jose Cohen, who passed it on to the CIA. Media reports quoting U.S. government sources that portrayed Sarraff as an expert in cryptography were disputed by Cohen. According to unspecific statements from White House officials,
4360-492: The Minnesota Orchestra performed several concerts in Havana, the first professional U.S. orchestra to play in Cuba since 1999. Major League Baseball (MLB) held talks about playing spring training games in Cuba in 2015, but lacked time to arrange them. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said on March 19, 2015, that the league would likely play an exhibition game in Cuba sometime in early 2016 and on March 22, 2016,
4469-568: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
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4578-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
4687-697: The Tampa Bay Rays played an exhibition game against the Cuba national team at Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana with Presidents Obama and Castro in attendance. Sun Country Airlines began operating charter flights between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Havana's José Martí International Airport in March 2015. On May 5, 2015, the United States granted approval to four companies to offer chartered ferry service between Miami and Cuba. In March 2016, Carnival Cruise Line received permission from Cuba to resume cruises from Miami to Havana for
4796-474: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce would likely apply pressure on congressmen to accept the diplomatic thaw, and Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona , a supporter of the shift, predicted many congressmen would come around. Like Senator Flake, Senator Rand Paul , a Republican from Kentucky, supports the thaw on the grounds that increased trade relations will benefit both Cubans and Americans. Senator Paul, in response to Senator Rubio, argued that "Senator Rubio
4905-687: The U.S. Department of the Treasury to begin service to Cuba, but the companies were waiting on Cuban government permission. In June 2019, the Trump administration made a policy reversal by banning cruise ship travel to Cuba. Raúl Castro , the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba , served as the leader since 2011 and one of the leaders of the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s, declared in 2013 that "a slow and orderly transfer of
5014-547: The Wasp Network of 40 Cuban spies in anti-Castro groups in Florida. Former US Army counterintelligence officer Chris Simmons said that Sarraff was caught after his associate, Cohen, indiscreetly spent the large amount of money he received from the CIA. After noting he was under surveillance, Cohen signaled the CIA station in Havana for an "emergency extraction". Sarraff was supposed to be taken out of Cuba as well, but it
5123-432: The naval base is not something that we wish to be closed." This issue has yet to be resolved. The United States government stated specific goals in improving trade with Cuba. Roberta Jacobson , an American diplomat, suggested bolstering Internet access and mobile phone service in Cuba to help its integration into the world economy . This provided American telecommunication companies including Verizon and Sprint with
5232-580: The " U.S. interests section " in Havana being upgraded to embassies. A ceremony was held at the Cuban Embassy to raise the flag of Cuba , with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla holding a joint news conference afterward at which they emphasized both the step forward in bilateral relations and the remaining political differences between the Cuban and U.S. governments. Kerry flew to Cuba in late July for
5341-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
5450-595: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
5559-508: The 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary
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#17327730046225668-544: The Cuban Five in the United States and urged a comprehensive exchange including all prisoners convicted for espionage in Cuba. He called for general support in preparing public opinion for such an exchange and suggested a focus on humanitarian considerations, especially with respect to those convicted spies—like himself and the three Cubans arrested in Miami in 1998—who had already spent more than 15 years in prison. In 2014,
5777-421: The Cuban government. The first of these hotels opened three months later on June 27. A number of American companies support further economic ties with Cuba, as do advocacy groups like Engage Cuba . On December 11, 2015, the United States and Cuba agreed to restore postal service between the two countries for the first time since 1963. A week later, on December 17, 2015 – the first anniversary of D17 – an agreement
5886-654: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
5995-552: The House of Representatives: Albio Sires and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz . Congressional opponents of the new Cuba policy vowed to try to block its implementation, with Rubio announcing he would hold up the confirmation of any U.S. ambassador to Cuba whom Obama might nominate. Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas described the policy as a "tragic mistake." However, the Associated Press reported that business groups like
6104-577: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
6213-424: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
6322-443: The Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn,
6431-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
6540-450: The United States in a prisoner swap on December 18, 2014, coinciding with a thaw in diplomatic relations between the two countries. Sarraff's parents are Rolando Sarraff Elías and Odesa Trujillo, both living in Havana. Sarraff Trujillo has a son who was seven years old when his father was arrested. Rolando's two sisters, Vilma and Katia, left Cuba and emigrated to Spain shortly after their brother's arrest. There are conflicting reports on
6649-415: The United States should return the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and lift the embargo on Cuba if relations were to be considered fully normalized. The White House responded the next day, saying that it had no intention to return the base. White House spokesman Josh Earnest indicated any such move is out of the question. "The President does believe that the prison at Guantánamo Bay should be closed down, but
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#17327730046226758-428: The United States' "most important intelligence asset" referred to by President Obama, Sarraff's father said he had always believed in his son's innocence. In April 2014, Sarraff wrote an open letter from his Havana jail, which was published by the Cuban Human Rights Observatory. He referred to international media speculation about a possible exchange of U.S. citizen Philip Gross in Cuba for the remaining three members of
6867-438: The United States. Prominent critics include Senator Marco Rubio of Florida . Rubio, a Cuban-American Republican , said that "diplomatic recognition [would] provide legitimacy to a government that doesn't deserve it." The 2014 congressional elections were a month prior to the announcement of the thaw. Senator Bob Menendez , a Cuban-American Democrat from New Jersey and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
6976-399: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
7085-429: The beginning of the process of normalizing relations between Cuba and the United States . The normalization agreement was secretly negotiated in preceding months, facilitated by Pope Francis and largely hosted by the Government of Canada . Meetings were held in both Canada and Vatican City . The agreement would see the lifting of some U.S. travel restrictions, fewer restrictions on remittances , U.S. banks' access to
7194-566: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
7303-446: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
7412-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
7521-546: The end of the Cuban embargo . Fidel Castro appeared to welcome the thaw between Cuba and the United States in a statement published by Granma on January 26, 2015. Despite saying that he "does not trust United States policies", he stated, "We will always defend cooperation and friendship with all the peoples of the world, among them our political adversaries." However, later in 2016, Fidel Castro asserted his criticism of Obama, acknowledging his own anger with Obama's March trip to Cuba in which he called for Cubans to look toward
7630-420: The first US commercial airline in more than 50 years to land a plane carrying US passengers at a Cuban airport when Flight 387 took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and landed in Santa Clara, Cuba . More flights have since followed, and two planes from JetBlue and American Airlines also made history by landing in the capital city of Havana on November 28, 2016, marking the first time in more than 50 years that
7739-455: The first day of closed-door talks in the capital's Convention Center. The talks reportedly centered around migration policy. In particular, Cuban representatives urged the U.S. to end its immigration privileges to Cuban refugees, also known as the wet feet, dry feet policy , which allows any fleeing Cuban citizens U.S. residency and citizenship , as long as they are found on U.S. soil and not at sea. Reuters reported that civilian uncertainty about
7848-509: The first time in fifty years. Cuba, however, still prohibited the Cuban-born from returning by sea, and Carnival therefore refused to accept reservations from the Cuban-born. Following public protests against such an exclusionary policy, Carnival told the Cuban authorities it would not sail unless the policy was changed, the Cuban government relented, and the first Carnival cruise sailed from Miami on May 1, 2016. Between January and May 2015,
7957-683: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
8066-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
8175-532: The future. A week after the trip, Castro wrote a sternly worded letter admonishing Obama to read up on Cuban history, and declaring that "we don't need the empire to give us anything." In December 2014, Raúl Castro publicly thanked Pope Francis and the Catholic Church for their role in the secret talks that led to the U.S.–Cuban prisoner exchange. According to Church officials within Cuba, several plans to build Catholic churches, which have been blocked since
8284-459: The government of Cuba, however following the oil price drop resulting from the 2010s oil glut , could no longer afford to do so. (see also Pink tide#Decline ) On January 21, 2015, the United States and Cuba began bilateral talks in Havana to discuss further normalization issues. The U.S. delegation led by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roberta S. Jacobson , and Josefina Vidal Ferreiro , Cuba's head of North American affairs, sat down for
8393-604: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
8502-512: The history of Cuba's foreign relations. Throughout the speech, he condemned the United States' history of manifest destiny , detailing a basic history of American and Cuban relations. After talking about the United States' policy in Cuba, he went on to condemn the United States' assistance in installing the "terrible dictatorships in 20 countries, 12 of them simultaneously", referring to the United States' supporting of Latin American dictatorships. Following that, Castro detailed Cuba's history following
8611-508: The import and export of goods between each country. In his 2015 State of the Union Address to Congress , Obama called on lawmakers to lift the embargo against Cuba , a message he reiterated in 2016 . In February 2015, Conan O'Brien became the first American television personality to film in Cuba after the thaw, and only the third in more than half a century, culminating in the first Conan Without Borders special . In May 2015,
8720-506: The imposition of the embargo in 1962, and removed a key obstacle to bilateral relations. Since the exchange, Gross has become a vocal advocate of the normalization of relations, even offering to visit Cuba again in support of such a result. Although the Cuban trade embargo can only be ended by the U.S. Congress, the Obama administration took executive action to ease some restrictions on travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens, as well as restrictions on
8829-476: The information provided by Sarraff helped the exposé of Cuban agents who infiltrated a variety of US-based organizations, including Military intelligence, the State Department and anti-Castro groups in exile. Newsweek reported this led to the conviction of Ana Montes (Defence Intelligence Agency analyst), Kendall Myers (US Department of State official) and his wife, Gwendolyn Myers, as well as
8938-684: The language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of the whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian
9047-549: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
9156-474: The leadership of the revolution to the new generations" was already in progress. Castro pledged not to seek reelection in 2018. In announcing the agreement in December 2014, Castro struck a balance between praising the Marxist revolution that brought him and his brother Fidel to power almost 60 years prior and extolling the benefits that would be brought about by improved relations with the United States, namely
9265-543: The list. On April 14, 2015, President Obama informed the U.S. Congress that he had decided to lift the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism because "the government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period", and it "has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future". The U.S. Congress could have blocked this by passing legislation within 45 days, but no member of Congress even introduced such legislation, and Cuba
9374-694: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
9483-734: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
9592-547: The number of Americans visiting Cuba who had no family ties there was 36% higher than during the same months in 2014. A report by the Pew Research Center found that the number of Cubans entering the U.S. in 2015 was 78% higher than in 2014. It has been said that the United States–Cuban thaw was spurred by Cuba's main international partner, Venezuela, experiencing sharp economic decline. Venezuela subsidized
9701-479: The parents' professional backgrounds: Reuters reported Sarraff Elías had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel (in the Cuban armed forces), but that both he and his wife were retired journalists. According to the Spanish newspaper ABC , both parents are retired intelligence officers who had attended a KGB academy. From 1985 until 1990 Sarraff Trujillo attended the University of Havana, where he earned
9810-647: The permitted time period, Cuba was officially removed from the list on May 29, 2015. This marked a further departure by the U.S. from the Cold War conflict and its strain on Cuba–U.S. relations. On July 20, 2015, the Cuban and U.S. " interests sections " in Washington and Havana were upgraded to embassies . On June 16, 2017, President Trump indicated a reversal of multiple policies easing the U.S. embargo against Cuba , while expressing an interest in further dialogue. Select restrictions on travel to and from Cuba reactivated on November 8th, with new restrictions imposed on "direct financial transactions" with businesses linked to
9919-481: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
10028-411: The reopening of the embassies, while both presidents said they were looking forward to more direct engagement between Cuba and the United States despite their differences. The Vatican and Pope Francis played a symbolic but substantial role in helping facilitate the normalization of diplomatic relation between the U.S. and Cuba. The Catholic Church has remained in close cooperation with Havana even after
10137-490: The revolution in 1959, are being processed. The first church is to be built in Sandino . It will be the first Catholic church to be built in Cuba since 1959, when the communist Castro regime declared the country an atheist state. At a CELAC meeting in 2015, Raúl Castro gave a speech claiming "Cuba will continue to defend the ideas for which our people have assumed the greatest sacrifices and risks." In that speech, he detailed
10246-458: The status of U.S. immigration policy following the thaw was promoting a surge of emigrants fleeing Cuba for the U.S. In regard to U.S. interests, the U.S. delegation made it clear that "improved human rights conditions, including freedom of expression and assembly", remain a central element of U.S. policy in normalizing U.S.–Cuban relations. Furthermore, despite Cuban objections, the U.S. stated that it will stand by its Cuban migration policy under
10355-610: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
10464-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
10573-768: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
10682-457: The trial, and the judge did not accept any evidence or witnesses in his favor, resulting in an "arbitrary" criminal case. Newsweek reported that Sarraff's betrayal was considered so damaging he would have faced execution had it not been for his parents being loyal senior Cuban intelligence officials. According to his family, Sarraff had consistently denied all charges during his time in prison. After learning about media reports naming his son as
10791-596: The world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in
10900-485: Was an early critic of Obama's decision to normalize relations with Cuba. Writing in USA Today on December 17, Menendez criticized Obama "for compromising on bedrock U.S. values", charging that the Obama administration "has wrongly rewarded a totalitarian regime and thrown the Cuban regime an economic lifeline". Among the few other Democrats who have criticized Obama over the shift in relations with Cuba are two members of
11009-634: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
11118-622: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
11227-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
11336-404: Was now in the United States, "free and doing fine". Although DIA officials wouldn't describe his role in detail, Brian P. Hale said that the information provided by him were "instrumental in the identification and disruption of several Cuban intelligence operatives in the United States and ultimately led to a series of successful federal espionage prosecutions". On December 18, 2014, two of
11445-406: Was officially removed from the list on May 29, 2015. On May 20, 2015, the Cuban government opened a bank account in the United States, enabling it to do non-cash business in the United States for the first time since the embargo began. Cuba and the United States officially resumed full diplomatic relations at midnight on July 20, 2015, with the " Cuban interests section " in Washington, D.C. , and
11554-620: Was reached to re-establish regularly scheduled flights between the U.S. and Cuba for the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis . The agreement, which allows for 110 flights a day, took effect on February 16, 2016. Mail service between the two countries resumed on March 17, 2016. On July 7, 2016, it was announced that eight US airline companies had been given tentative approval to fly to airports in Cuba and that flights, which would be limited to educational trips, would begin as early as September. On August 31, 2016, JetBlue became
11663-406: Was reported that the U.S. had declined a "spy swap" proposed by the Cuban government, wherein the remaining three of an original group of Cuban prisoners the U.S. had convicted of espionage known as the Cuban Five , in prison in the U.S. since the 1990s, would be returned to Cuba in exchange for USAID contractor Alan Gross . Gross had been imprisoned in Cuba for providing illegal cellphone chips of
11772-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
11881-513: Was too late for him: he was arrested on 2 November 1995 and in September 1996, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for passing state secrets to the US government. However, Cohen provided a different account to The Miami Herald , saying that he had fled Cuba on a raft, without CIA assistance. According to Sarraff's sister Vilma, an active campaigner for his release, the prosecution did not present "a single piece of evidence" against him during
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