The Spanish word for Spanish is "español", and the Spanish word for Castilian is "castellano". In the other Romance languages spoken on the Iberian Peninsula, such as Galician, Catalan, Asturian, and others, Spanish is usually called "Castellán" or "Castellà" instead of "Spanish". In Spain, the name of the subject in schools is "lengua castellana" (Castilian language). However, in the regions of Spain in which people speak only Spanish, people call their language Spanish.
In Portuguese, the word "castelhano" is common to mention Spanish, however, in informal language, the most preferred name for the language is "espanhol". Portuguese, which is spoken in Portugal and Brazil, has many similarities to Spanish.
In 2009, for the first time in history, Spanish was the most common "mother tongue" language of the western world, more than English. It was also the second most common language on Earth, after Chinese. As of 2016, the three most common languages in the world are:
Nahuatl
The Nahuatl language is a language spoken by 1.5 million people, mostly in Mexico.
Nahuatl has existed since the 7th century CE.
The first people to speak Nahuatl were indigenous peoples in central Mexico. The Aztecs and the Toltecs spoke an early form of Nahuatl.
The people of Teotihuacan may have spoken Nahuatl.
Nahuatl has changed since the end of the Aztec Empire. Over time, many different dialects of Nahuatl have developed. Today, people who speak different Nahuatl dialects do not always understand each other.
The words "Mexico," "Guatemala," and "Nicaragua" all come from Nahuatl.
Today, most people who speak Nahuatl live in central Mexico. but A few live in other parts of Mexico or in the United States.
Nahuatl is one of the official languages of Mexico. However, most people who speak Nahuatl now also speak Spanish.
Many phrases that are unique to Mexican Spanish come from Nahuatl, according to John Lipski. The unique phrases are called "Mexicanisms." An example is "ándale, "which often means "let's go." Another example is the word "Bueno?" and is used by many Spanish-speakers when they answer the telephone.
Some English words from Nahuatl origin are:
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) was a British theoretical physicist and mathematician. He was born in Oxford. In 1950, he moved to St Albans, Hertfordshire. He was one of the world's leading theoretical physicists. Hawking has written many science books for people who are not scientists.
Hawking was a professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge (a position that Isaac Newton once had). He retired on 1 October 2009.
Hawking had a motor neurone disease related to his dyslexia, and because of that he could not move or talk very well. The illness worsened over the years and he was almost completely paralysed. He used a wheelchair to move, and an Intel computer to talk for him. He died on 14 March 2018.
Hawking went to St Albans School, a local public school in Hertfordshire. At 17, he passed an exam to study at Oxford. He studied physics and chemistry there. Because he found it really easy at the beginning, he didn't study a lot for the final exams.
In October 1962 he started his graduate course at Trinity Hall. It was at this time that his illness started to show up. He had difficulties in rowing and then even simply in walking. However, he finished his PhD and wrote about black holes in his thesis. He then got a fellowship (a job as a university teacher) at Gonville and Caius College in 1965.
Hawking was a cosmologist—someone who studies the structure of the universe (stars and space). He invented important theories about the Big Bang (the start of the universe), black holes and how they work.
Stephen Hawking predicted that black holes eject some radiation (energy), even though they normally swallow everything. That kind of radiation is named "Hawking Radiation."
Hawking also worked on the problem of quantum gravity. Quantum gravity tries to explain how gravity works with quantum mechanics (physics of tiny things.) That is a hard problem that scientists have not solved yet.
Hawking also wrote popular books about science for non-scientists. His first book, "A Brief History of Time," sold over ten million copies. Hawking had many other jobs as well. He was an Actor, Mathematician, etc. More info on the official site
Hawking died on 14 March 2018 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire of complications from motor neuron disease at the age of 76. His ashes are buried in Westminster Abbey in London near Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic (, ) is a country in Central Europe. As of 2 May 2016, the official short name of the country is Czechia (). The capital and the biggest city is Prague. The currency is the Czech Crown ("koruna česká" - CZK). €1 is about 25 CZK. The president of Czechia is Miloš Zeman. Czechia's population is about 10.5 million.
The local language is the Czech language, a Slavic language related to languages like Slovak and Polish.
Czechia has no sea; its neighbour countries are Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Poland.
Its history dates from the 9th century AD, for a long time it was one of the most powerful countries in Central Europe. Later on it was the biggest, most populated and richest country of the First Reich, where many Emperors started their career. Under the conditions of the Treaty of Vienna 1515 parts of Czechia, then in the Kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary, came under Habsburg rule after the death of Louis the Jagiellon in 1526. They stayed a part of the Habsburg dynasty rule until 1918.
The area of the today's Czechia was a part of Czechoslovakia (current area of Czechia and Slovak republic) from 1918 to 1992. Czechoslovakia became independent in 1918 from Austro-Hungarian Empire. The first Czechoslovakian president was Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. In February 1948 the Communist party took over the country and for the next 41 years Czechoslovakia was a Socialist state with a rule of one (Communist) party. In 1968 there was a reformation movement (Prague Spring) within the Communist party, but reforms were stopped by the invasion of Warsaw pact armies. In November 1989 Czechoslovakia returned to democracy through the peaceful "Velvet Revolution".  Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two countries (Czechia and Slovakia) in 1993.
Czechia has been a member of the European Union since May 1 2004, and a member of NATO since March 12, 1999.
The highest point in the country is Sněžka at .
There are four national parks in Czechia. The oldest is Krkonoše National Park. The others are Šumava National Park, Podyjí National Park, Bohemian Switzerland.
In 1949 the communist government created 13 centralized regions instead of historical countries. In 1960 the regions changed leaving only 8 regions. In 2000 14 regions were formed with their own regional self-government.
Czechia has one of the least religious populations in the world. According to the 2011 census, 34.2% of the population stated they had no religion, 10.3% were Roman Catholic, 0.8% were Protestant (0.5% Czech Brethren and 0.4% Hussite), and 9.4% followed other forms of religion both denominational or not (of which 863 people answered they are Pagan). 45.2% of the population did not answer the question about religion.
Flag
A flag is a piece of coloured cloth with a special design that is put on a pole as a symbol.
Flags first appeared more than 2000 years ago in China, and in Europe under the Roman Empire.
There are many types of flags:
Karaite Judaism