Grammar in <i> espanol</i>

Regarding “Studying Spanish in Los Angeles: A Not-so-Foreign Experience” by Elizabeth Hartigan, April 8: “El Espanol se ha convertido en la segunda idioma . ...”

One sentence, two mistakes. Contrary to English, nouns or adjectives designating a nationality or country are not capitalized in Spanish. It should have been espanol.

Although idioma ends with an a , it is a masculine noun. Correctly: el segundo idioma.

Luis M. Rodriguez-Villa

Santa Monica