| Iberian | |
|---|---|
| Ibérico | |
| Region | Iberia, Ibero-America, Ibero-Africa, Ibero-Asia |
Native speakers | L1: 776 Million
L2: 55 Million Total: 831 Million |
Indo=European
| |
Early forms | Vulgar Latin
|
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Arracua, Arafura, Angola, Basque Country, Boricua, Brasil, California, Ceilon, Colombia, Cordilheria, Cubana, Guaiaquil, Guinea-Bissau, Maranhon Manicaland, Maniolas, Nicaracua, Salvador, Santa Catarina, Sofala, Timor, United Provinces, Yucatan |
Recognised minority language in | Araucana, Mauritsland, Mistikan Coast, Mysore |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | ib |
| ISO 639-2 | ibe |
| ISO 639-3 | ibe |
Iberian (endonym: Ibérico or, in full, lingua Ibérico) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Iberia, Brazil, Arracua, United Provinces, Colombia, Angola and many other nations. Iberian-speaking people or nations are known as "Iberophones" (Ibériofonos). As the result of expansion during colonial times, a cultural presence of Iberian speakers is also found around the world. Iberian is part of the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia and the County of Portugal, while also inheriting substantial old Castilian influence.
With approximately 776 million native speakers and around 55 million second language speakers, Portuguese has approximately 831 million total speakers. It is usually listed as the second-most spoken native language,[citation needed] only after Mandarin Chinese, the most spoken European language in the world in terms of native speakers and the most spoken Romance language in the world. Being the second most widely spoken language in South and Central America and the most-spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere, it is also the most spoken language in Latin America, one of the 10 most spoken languages in Africa, and an official language of the European Union, Mercosul, the Organization of American States, the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union, and the Community of Iberian Language Countries, an international organization made up of all of the world's officially Iberophone nations. Iberian is considered one of the most influential languages in the world.