Regional Zones
This zone includes islands like Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.
Zone 1 - The Caribbean
The language spoken by the Mexica (Aztec Empire) in Mexico, which gave us the word chocolate.
Nahuatl
If you order a palta in Peru or Chile, what fruit are you ordering?
avocado
Words borrowed into Spanish from local Indigenous languages are known by this linguistic term.
loanwords (or indigenismos)
Zone 2 - Mesoamerica & Central America (green)
What country is E?
Mexico
This zone encompasses Mexico and Central American countries like Guatemala and Honduras.
Zone 2 - Mesoamerica & Central America
The language family of the Inca Empire, which is still the most widely spoken Indigenous language family in the Americas today.
Quechua
The Taíno word huracán was borrowed into Spanish and English to describe this weather phenomenon.
hurricane
Roughly what percentage of Spanish vocabulary comes from Latin, and what percentage comes from other languages?
75% Latin and 25% other languages
Zone 1 - Caribbean (blue)
What country is D?
Puerto Rico
This zone includes South American nations stretching along the Andes Mountains, such as Peru, Ecuador, and Chile.
Zone 3 - The Andes & South America
The language spoken in the Caribbean islands that became inactive within 100 years of European contact.
Taíno
Borrowed from the Mapuche language of Chile and Argentina, this word describes a traditional warm woven garment worn over the shoulders.
poncho
Why did Spanish explorers adopt Indigenous words for things like canoa, papaya, and jaguar?
because those plants, animals, and items did not exist in Europe
Zone 3 - Andes & South America (orange)
What country is Q?
Chile
This European country across the Atlantic Ocean is where conquistadors and the Spanish language originated.
Spain
In 1992, this language became the first Indigenous language to gain co-official status alongside Spanish in Paraguay.
Guaraní
The word cigarro and recent archaeological evidence for cacao both trace back to this language family in Central America.
Mayan (K'iche')
Why does Spanish sound differnet in different Spanish-speaking countries?
(ex: Puerto Rican Spanish sounds differnet from Colombian Spanish)
contact with different Indigenous languages
Zone 3 - Andes & South America (orange)
What country is R?
Argentina
This unique African nation is the ONLY country on its continent where Spanish is an official language.
Equatorial Guinea
The language isolate spoken in northern Spain and France since before Latin ever arrived on the Iberian Peninsula.
Basque
Borrowed from the Fang language in Equatorial Guinea, abaá refers to this type of structure.
a communal/community house
Modern Nahuatl words ending in "-tl" often changed to these two endings when absorbed into Spanish.
"-te" or "-to" (e.g., tomate, cacahuate)
Zone 4 - Africa (purple)
What country is U?
Equatorial Guinea