Spanish language; supranational language; national standard varieties; written form; unity; diversity; homogenity;

The Spanish language is today a mother tongue for more than four hundred million speakers in twenty three countries. The Spanish as a supranational language is a complex of varieties which reflect the existing diatopic, diastratic and diafatic norms. There are differences even in national standard varieties. The language has two different forms: oral and written. In Spanish speaking area the unity is kept through the written form. The existing differences in this level do not obstruct mutual understanding. On the other hand, there is no unified norm on the oral level. It is affected by sociolinguistic factors as well. The Spanish is strongly diversified but in the same time there operate homogenizing trends.