Concept in Definition ABC

When a language you can speak in different ways using the term macrolanguage. In other words, this term refers to all variants of a language. The linguistics is the discipline academic who studies languages, both in their internal structure and in their evolution over time.

Contrary to what might appear at first glance, the term macrolanguage does not refer to a language with a large number of speakers or to the idea of ​​a territory broad associated with a language. It is actually a category linguistics that refers to the set of dialect variations of the same language.

Spanish as an example of macrolanguage

It is estimated that Spanish is spoken by 400 million people around the world and it is estimated that in 2030 the figure will exceed 500 million. Although it is a language with a solid idiomatic structure, it is evident that it presents multiple variants. In other words, it is a standardized language and, at the same time, with a great diversity of linguistic modalities.

Identifying varieties of Spanish

Linguists affirm that there are three varieties in Spain: the Castilian, the Andalusian and the Canarian. One of the most curious variants of the Spanish language is the Judeo-Spanish or Sephardic language, which is the modality still spoken by Jews who descend from those who were expelled from Spain in 1492.

With respect to Latin America, there are five varieties: Chilean, River Plate, Mexican-Central American, Caribbean and Andean. Each of them has its peculiarities. Thus, River Plate Spanish is located in the territory of Argentina and Uruguay and stands out for the use of voseo, some singular verb modes (instead of using the preterite perfect the past simple is used), a particular intonation and rhythm and a clear influence of the Italian language and to a lesser extent the Portuguese.

Despite their different dialects, Spanish speakers can communicate fluently regardless of their geographical origin.

The Nahuatl language spoken in Mexico is also a macrolanguage

Although Nahuatl is spoken by a million and a half people and Spanish has more than 120 million speakers in Mexico, this pre-Hispanic language is in the category of macro tongues. In this sense, there is a classical Nahuatl and a series of dialect variants, such as Central Nahuatl, Tlaxcala or Durango.

These variations sometimes make it difficult for speakers who share the same language to communicate.

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