This chapter presents arguments about why, for the items addressed in the book, Spanish employs a considerably greater number of lexemes. It also explores the significance of the number of countries in which a language is spoken, as well as the regions in which these nations are located. Furthermore, it presents a novel theory regarding the evident influence of Greco-Roman rhetorical tradition on the types of lexical variety in Spanish demonstrated in the book. Finally, also bringing the previous four chapters together is a table containing seventy of the more than 500 words analyzed in said chapters, a representative sampling of the myriad etymological routes by which they entered the Spanish lexicon.

This introduction discusses the concept of dividing the Spanish-speaking world into different dialect zones in order to facilitate a discussion on lexical variety in the language. It also addresses, broadly speaking, the different routes by which words have entered the Spanish lexicon. Furthermore, it sets forth the structure of the remainder of the book, emphasizing particularly the four categories of items whose corresponding names are the focus of the book. Finally, the manner in which this book differs from any other is described.