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/kasteˈʎano/ ES
/kasteˈʝano/ MX
Translation
(Castilian) Spanish
Word origin
From Castilla ('Castile'), the medieval kingdom whose dialect of Latin-derived Romance became the basis of standard Spanish. The -ano suffix marks origin, as in mexicano or peruano.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- Castella
Grammar
Examples
España .
In many parts of Spain, Castilian Spanish and another local language are both spoken.
Madrid Barcelona.
She learned Castilian Spanish in Madrid before moving to Barcelona.
"" "".
In Argentina people usually say "castellano" rather than "español".
Castellano and español both mean "Spanish", but they are not always interchangeable in use. Within Spain, castellano is the more precise term: it names the language of Castile specifically, as distinct from the country's other official languages - Catalan, Galician, Basque - so a Catalan speaker is more likely to say castellano than español for that reason. Across most of Latin America, by contrast, castellano is simply the everyday word for "Spanish", used more or less interchangeably with español and often preferred in official and educational contexts, including in the names of school subjects.
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castellano: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Spanish word "castellano" ((Castilian) Spanish): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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