In this article, three different aspects of the Spanish-speaking community are analyzed: (1) The idiosyncratic characteristics of the Spanish language, (2) the social dimension of the Spanish speakers, and finally, (3) their cultural manifestations. Two major Hispanic subcultures are distinguished: Iberian Spanish culture and Hispano American culture. Initially, the distribution of Spanish speakers in the world and the major oral and written characteristics of Spanish language are presented. The social characteristics of the Spanish-speaking countries, including economic development, literacy, life expectancy, and Human Development Index, are later discussed. It is emphasized that they represent a group of countries with a significant degree of heterogeneity. Finally, the Iberian Spanish and the Hispano American cultures are analyzed. Five cultural elements are reviewed: (1) ethnic group, (2) language, (3) religion, (4) level of development, and (5) level of schooling. It is concluded that regardless that in Spain, there are important regional differences, it is possible to consider that there is a cultural background common to all Spaniards, which may have specific nuances in each region. Hispano America, on the other hand, from the point of view of its ethnic origin, is 50% descended from Europeans, Indians, and Africans. The other 50% represents a mixture in varying proportions of these ethnic groups and other groups. It is concluded that in Hispano America there is a “base” culture (Hispanic culture) that presents a great variability according to the particular country and region. This base culture emphasizes socially oriented values, such as solidarity, some temporary flexibility, and similar cultural values.

中文翻译：

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谁是讲西班牙语的人？他们的语言，文化和社会共性和差异的考察

在本文中，分析了西班牙语社区的三个不同方面：（1）西班牙语的特质特征，（2）西班牙语使用者的社会影响，最后，（3）他们的文化表现形式。区分了两种主要的西班牙亚文化：伊比利亚西班牙文化和拉美裔美国人文化。首先，介绍了西班牙语在世界范围内的分布以及西班牙语的主要口头和书面特征。稍后将讨论西班牙语国家的社会特征，包括经济发展，识字率，预期寿命和人类发展指数。要强调的是，它们代表了具有高度异质性的一组国家。最后，分析了伊比利亚西班牙人和西班牙裔美国人的文化。审查了五个文化要素：（1）种族，（2）语言，（3）宗教，（4）发展水平和（5）教育水平。结论是，不管西班牙在区域上存在重要差异，都可以考虑所有西班牙人都有共同的文化背景，每个西班牙人可能都有特定的细微差别。另一方面，从其族裔的角度来看，“西班牙裔美国人”有50％来自欧洲人，印第安人和非洲人。另外的50％代表了这些种族和其他种族不同比例的混合。结论是，在西班牙裔美国人中存在一种“基础”文化（西班牙文化），根据特定的国家和地区，该文化具有很大的可变性。这种基本文化强调以社会为导向的价值观，例如团结，