Spanish in Eorzea?

[Chewy2nd]

This has always kind of puzzled me, how come we have examples of Spanish in Eorzea, when everyone speaks only Eorzean? For example, Costa Del Sol and Senor Sabotender.

[Canadane]

Probably the same reason we have bits of Japanese from Doma.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

Costa del Sol specifically is an FFVII reference, as well.

To piggy-back of Canadane's answer, the world we're playing in will frequently use real-world languages/imagery as a short-hand for geographical similarities between it and Earth (particularly with Doma, but Thanalan and Garlemald do it as well, and I'm sure there are others). But speaking of Thanalan, I actually find the Spanish naming a bit curious too; Thanalan generally seems to pay homage to Africa and its neighbouring countries, but the Spanish gives it a Mexican vibe as well, which is sort of strange considering that Hydaelyn has a Western "New World" that presumably corresponds with the Americas. It's probably best not to read TOO much into it all, since Hydaelyn is only geographically similar to Earth in the vaguest of ways anyhow.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Well, if you build on the basis that Thanalan is inspired by the savannahs and deserts of North Africa, it's not hard to imagine a city like Ul'dah (and its predecessors, Sil'dih and Belah'dia) being based on the Arab cities of the same region during Earth's Middle Ages (Muslim conquest of North Africa).

And if you go from there, you'd also note that large swathes of Spain used to part of the Muslim empire in the Mediterranean as well. Spanish cities like Cordoba, Seville and Granada (home of the splendid Alhambra) still retain a great deal of their Islamic heritage.

Now, take note that Costa del Sol did not exist in Ver1.0 of Final Fantasy XIV. It was added only after the Calamity. The lore reason is that Admiral Merlwyb tried but failed to establish agriculture in the area: the soil was simply too poor to support crops. So, she did the next best thing and sold the land to Gegeruju, a wealthy merchant from Ul'dah. And it was Gegeruju who turned the place into a beach resort, and presumably called it Costa del Sol.

And hence, that's my best stab for why Costa del Sol has a "Spanish" sounding name. It was founded by an Ul'dahn entrepreneur, and Ul'dah itself is inspired by the Islamic cities of mediaeval Spain.

(But, really, the easier explanation is simply that Costa del Sol is a reference to its FFVII namesake. )