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By Bernd Debusmann, Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Politicians use it to win votes, the business community to boost profits and sizeable numbers of Americans see it is a threat to American culture --

Spanish in the United States.

There are more Spanish speakers in the United States than, for example, in the whole of Venezuela, according to census figures. First-time visitors to the United States are perpetually astonished by how pervasive the language has become. It is the country's unofficial second language.

Spanish dominates in Miami, is everywhere in Los Angeles and widespread along the border with Mexico. Automatic teller machines from coast to coast offer menus in Spanish, and there are few toll-free telephone lines for goods or services that do not offer a prompt for Spanish.

Despite long-running attempts to make English the official language, the influence of Spanish in the United States is likely to grow, driven by politics, money and demographics.

Statistics tell the story. In 1980, according to census figures, there were 10 million Hispanics in the United States. By 1990, the number stood at 23 million. It now is 40 million, both legal and illegal, whose disposable income is estimated at around $700 billion, expected to climb to $1 trillion within the next few years.