Here is one of the most common questions Spanish learners and
business professionals ask all the time. The answer requires some
research:
Latin American Spanish
This is the dialect of urban mainland Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and the majority of Central and South American countries. While there are differences in how Spanish is spoken between people in these countries, Latin American Spanish is usually the term used to differentiate between it and the Spanish spoken in Spain.
The difference is similar to English as it is spoken in England vs the U.S.; U.S. English speakers can understand each other with little effort even though there are differences depending on the area you live. For example, someone from the East coast speaks different from someone on the west coast. However, they can understand each other.
This Spanish was spoken in Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and was brought to the Americas by the Spanish colonists.
Castilian
The Spanish of Madrid and north of Spain, called Castilian, developed characteristics that never reached America. These include the pronunciation of "ci" and "ce" as "th." In Madrid, "gracias" (thank you) is pronounced "gratheas" (as opposed to "gras-see-as" in Latin America.)
Another difference is the use in of the word "vosotros" (plural form of "you") as the informal form of "ustedes". Vosotros is only used in Spain.
Castilian sounds to Latin Americans like British English sounds to U.S. residents.
Spanish from the Caribbean
The third major type of Spanish is spoken in the Caribbean, coastal areas of Latin America, and in some areas of southern Spain. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the accent in Seville, Cádiz, and other cities in Andalucia, south of Spain, began to change. Speakers began to drop the final "s" on words.
The settlers and traders of southern Spain took this dialect with them to the Caribbean. Today Caribbean Spanish is characterized by being informal and very fast.
Spaniards tend to be more language purists and are much more likely to be shocked at a lot of the "Spanglish" ("troque" for "truck", or "lonche" for "lunch") that is being used in Latin America.
The language area where more differences can be found between the Spanish spoken in Spain and the one spoken in Latinamercia is the technical vocabulary.
In Latiamerican Spanish you can find words borrowed from English directly without translation. This does not happen in Spain, where every word has a translation into Spanish.
One clear example is the use of the word e-mail in Latinamerica instead of the translation "correo electronico" which is used in Spain.
Despite the differences already explained, Spanish is only one language spoken by 417 million people in 21 countries. It is no surprise that there are variants based on geographical locations.
Make sure to take regional dialects of Spanish into account when tailoring your message to your Hispanic audience.
Latin American Spanish
This is the dialect of urban mainland Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and the majority of Central and South American countries. While there are differences in how Spanish is spoken between people in these countries, Latin American Spanish is usually the term used to differentiate between it and the Spanish spoken in Spain.
The difference is similar to English as it is spoken in England vs the U.S.; U.S. English speakers can understand each other with little effort even though there are differences depending on the area you live. For example, someone from the East coast speaks different from someone on the west coast. However, they can understand each other.
This Spanish was spoken in Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and was brought to the Americas by the Spanish colonists.
Castilian
The Spanish of Madrid and north of Spain, called Castilian, developed characteristics that never reached America. These include the pronunciation of "ci" and "ce" as "th." In Madrid, "gracias" (thank you) is pronounced "gratheas" (as opposed to "gras-see-as" in Latin America.)
Another difference is the use in of the word "vosotros" (plural form of "you") as the informal form of "ustedes". Vosotros is only used in Spain.
Castilian sounds to Latin Americans like British English sounds to U.S. residents.
Spanish from the Caribbean
The third major type of Spanish is spoken in the Caribbean, coastal areas of Latin America, and in some areas of southern Spain. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the accent in Seville, Cádiz, and other cities in Andalucia, south of Spain, began to change. Speakers began to drop the final "s" on words.
The settlers and traders of southern Spain took this dialect with them to the Caribbean. Today Caribbean Spanish is characterized by being informal and very fast.
Spaniards tend to be more language purists and are much more likely to be shocked at a lot of the "Spanglish" ("troque" for "truck", or "lonche" for "lunch") that is being used in Latin America.
The language area where more differences can be found between the Spanish spoken in Spain and the one spoken in Latinamercia is the technical vocabulary.
In Latiamerican Spanish you can find words borrowed from English directly without translation. This does not happen in Spain, where every word has a translation into Spanish.
One clear example is the use of the word e-mail in Latinamerica instead of the translation "correo electronico" which is used in Spain.
Despite the differences already explained, Spanish is only one language spoken by 417 million people in 21 countries. It is no surprise that there are variants based on geographical locations.
Make sure to take regional dialects of Spanish into account when tailoring your message to your Hispanic audience.
Cristina Cardona is founder and Director of Spanish Professional
Services of Oh-Lah. Cristina was born in Madrid, Spain and has an
experience of over 10 years teaching Spanish and ESL (English as a
Second Language) to companies, adults and children in South Florida. http://www.oh-lah.com
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