habla

Habla is a Spanish term with multiple grammatical and semantic senses. As a verb form, habla is the third-person singular present indicative of hablar (he/she/you formal speak) and also the affirmative tú command (speak). As a noun, la habla denotes speech or the manner of speaking, and it can be used in linguistic or descriptive contexts to refer to language use.

Etymology: Hablar derives from Latin fabulari, meaning to speak or tell, and is related to fábula, the word for a fable. The connection reflects the historical development of speech and narrative in the romance languages.

Usage: In ordinary sentences, habla marks speaking activity: “Él habla español” means he speaks Spanish. “Habla más despacio, por favor” means please speak more slowly. As a noun, la habla refers to the act or style of speaking; for example, “El lingüista analizó la habla de la región” notes the regional speech patterns. The form also participates in Spanish mood and tense conjugations for other tenses (hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan).

Variants and related terms: The root form hablar yields related words such as hablante (speaker), habla (speech) as a noun, and palabras about speaking. The term is core to discussions of phonology, sociolinguistics, and discourse in Spanish.

Other uses: In addition to its linguistic senses, Habla may appear as a proper noun in place names, organizations, or media titles in Spanish-speaking contexts. In such uses, capitalization marks the distinct entity rather than the verb form.