While Newt Gingrich might think that Spanish is the language of the ghettos, la lengua de Cervantes is now the second most studied language in the world, after English. According to Spain’s 20 Minutos, there are now more than 14 million people studying Spanish in 90 countries in which Spanish is not an official language.

According to the Director of the Instituto Cervantes – the Spanish organization that looks to promote the language all over the world — one of the main reasons that people are choosing to study Spanish is because they believe that it will professionally benefit them in today’s global economy. He also pointed to Brazil’s decision to make Spanish an mandatory subject in schools as an example of the growing importance of Spanish in the world.

There are currently one million Spanish speakers in Brazil but

Molina estimates that in 10 years there will be more tan 30 million Spanish’speaking Brazilians, adding to the already 500 million Spanish speakers in America and Spain, making it the fourth most spoken language in the world, after Chinese, English and Hindi.

Brazil’s new Spanish initiative will call for 210,000 Spanish teachers to teach the language.

Molina, speaking at a language school conference in Coruña, Spain, also said that the United States — currently with (according to his estimate) 36 million Spanish speakers — is the frontier that must be conquered, calling it “a decisive platform for Spanish to reaffirm its role as the second language of international communication.”

Via / 20 Minutos