A brand new year has arrived, and with it, a fresh list of resolutions and life goals.
The most obvious, perhaps, would be physical changes. This would normally include losing extra pounds (especially the ones gained during the Holiday break), striving for a healthier lifestyle, or engaging in a new sport or physical activity. Others set for themselves career or academic targets, and even spiritual or emotional goals.
A great addition to any New Year’s list is to learn Spanish.
Learning a new language is a good mental health exercise and an excellent personal investment.
But why Spanish?
For starters, it is one of the world’s most widely spoken languages, with almost 550 million speakers globally. It is also one of the United Nations’ six official languages, and is used as an official language by 20 sovereign states, and international organizations such as the European Union, the Organization of American States and the Union of South American Nations.
Given this scope of language usage, speaking the Hispanic language naturally comes with many opportunities especially where professional and business growth are concerned.
In addition to being better able to enjoy and experience the Hispanic culture, learning the Spanish language can also pave the way for new revenue or income streams.
For instance, the demand for professional Spanish translation services is on the rise, and in fact, according to the Latino Post, translators and interpreters are among the most in demand (and consequently, with the most competitive pays) jobs last year. With more businesses and organization going international, and with boundaries becoming more porous, thanks to the Internet and globalization, a strong grasp of the Spanish language will always be an advantage.
In California, The Spanish Group is a hub for some of the country’s most trusted providers of professional Spanish translation services. The group provides professional Spanish translation services for those who need official documents, such as birth, death and marriage certificates, translated. The group also provides Spanish language lessons.
According to Alfonso Martinez, general manager of The Spanish Group, Spanish is one of the fastest growing and most enduring languages in the world. “There will always be a need for a professional Spanish teacher or translator, or even just someone who speaks the language” he said. “In fact, at The Spanish Group, we focus only on Spanish to English and vice versa because we want to focus on the quality of our services, and because there really are a lot of opportunities in Spanish alone.”
Lorenzo Saavedra is a San Francisco-based Colombian writer. He has a degree in Journalism and Economics from the University of Miami where he graduated with Latin honors. He is fluent in Spanish, English, Italian, and also speaks “some Arabic.”
During his time in the university, he wrote about Cuban-American population and relations, and the incorporation of Cuban-Americans into mainstream American society.
Lorenzo juggles his time between working as a freelance writer and travelling which is also a source of inspiration for many of his works. His favorite topics are politics and social issues, literary and film criticism, and business.
Lorenzo enjoys going to the beach and learning about new languages.