Regional Differences in Spanish

Regional Differences in Spanish Spanish varies significantly from country to country - but the differences arent so extreme that if youre learning a Mexican variety of Spanish you need to worry about communicating in, for example, Spain or Argentina. Questions about the regional varieties of Spanish come up frequently from Spanish students. Many have heard so much about how the Spanish of Spain (or Argentina or Cuba or fill-in-the-blank) is different than what they learned  that theyre worried their months of study wont do them much good. While the comparison isnt completely accurate, the differences between the Spanish of Spain and the Spanish of Latin America are something like the differences between British English and American English. With a few exceptions - some local accents can be difficult for outsiders - people in Spain watch movies and TV shows from Latin America without subtitles, and vice versa. There are regional differences, more so in the spoken language than in writing, but they arent so extreme that you cant learn the differences as you need them. Also, while its easy to think of Latin American Spanish as one entity, as textbooks and lessons often treat treat it, you should note there are differences in the Spanish of various countries in the Western Hemisphere. Guatemalan Spanish isnt Chilean Spanish - but residents of those two countries and many others communicate all the time with little difficulty. If your pronunciation is reasonably good, whether your accent is Castilian or Mexican or Bolivian, you will be understood. You might want to avoid slang or extreme colloquialisms, but standard educated Spanish is understood anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world. Here, however, are some of the differences you may notice: Pronunciation Differences in Spanish One of the pronunciation differences most often mentioned is that many Spaniards often pronounce the z and the c before i or e like the th in thin, while many Latin Americans pronounce it the same as the s. Also, speakers in some areas (Argentina in particular) often pronounce the ll and y like the s in measure (this is sometimes called the zh sound). In some areas, you will hear speakers drop s sounds, so est sounds like et. In some areas, the j sounds like the ch in the Scottish loch (difficult for many native English speakers to master), while in others it sounds like the English h. In some areas, the l and the r at the end of a word sound alike. If you listen to a variety of spoken Spanish, youll notice other differences as well, particularly in the rhythm in which it is spoken. Regional Differences in Spanish Grammar Two of the biggest differences from country to country in grammar are the leà ­smo of Spain and the use of the pronoun vos in some areas instead of tà º (meaning you). Another major difference is that vosotros is usually used as the plural of tà º in Spain, while in Latin American ustedes is usually used. There are also numerous small differences, many involving colloquial usage. Although it may sound unusual to Spaniards to hear ustedes used where they are expecting vosotros, you not need fear not being understood. The Latin American form will be familiar to the Spaniard even though it may seem a bit foreign. Regional Differences in Spanish Vocabulary Other than slang, probably the biggest class of vocabulary differences youll come across is in the use of suffixes. A lpiz is a pencil or crayon everywhere, but a lapicero is a pencil holder in some areas, a mechanical pencil in others, and a ball-point pen in still others. There are also a fair number of blatant differences, such as a computer being un ordenador in Spain but una computadora in Latin America, but they are probably no more common than the British-American differences. Names of foods can also vary, and it isnt unusual in Latin America for the indigenous names of vegetables and fruits to have been adopted. Travelers should be aware that there are at least a dozen words, some of them of local usage only, for a bus. But the formal word autobà ºs is understood everywhere. Of course, every area also has its quirky words. For example, a Chinese restaurant in Chile or Peru is a chifa, but you wont run across that word in many other places. Regional Differences in Spanish Just as the English of Great Britain or South Africa isnt the English of the United States, so too is the Spanish of Spain different than the Spanish of Argentina or Cuba. While the differences in Spanish from country to country arent so great as to block communication, knowing them will make life easier in your travels. Key Takeaways: Regional Differences in Spanish The most significant regional differences in Spanish usage are those between Spain and Latin America.Within  Latin America, the most significant differences can be found in Argentina and some areas nearby, which use  vos instead of tà º.Although the names of some everyday objects vary  with region, the strongest differences can be found in names of foods and in slang. In general, the biggest divisions in Spanish are those between Spain and Latin America. But even within Spain or within the Americas youll find differences, especially if you go to more remote areas such as the Canary Islands or the Andean highlands. Here are the most significant differences you should be aware of: Ustedes vs. Vosotros The pronoun vosotros as the plural form of you is standard in Spain but is nearly nonexistent in Latin America. In other words, while you might use ustedes to speak with strangers in Spain and vosotros with close friends, in Latin America you would use ustedes in either situation. Latin Americans also do not use the corresponding conjugated verb forms such as the hacà ©is and hicistes forms of hacer. Tà º vs.  Vos The singular formal pronoun for you is usted everywhere, but the informal you can be tà º or vos. Tà º can be considered standard and is universally used in Spain and understood throughout Latin America. Vos replaces tà º in Argentina (also Paraguay and Uruguay) and can also be heard elsewhere in South America and in Central America. Outside of Argentina, its use is sometimes restricted to certain types of relationships (such as especially close friends) or to certain social classes. Preterite vs. Present Perfect Tenses Both the preterite and present perfect tenses are used to talk about past events. In most Latin American Spanish it is usual, as in English, to use the preterite to discuss something that happened recently: Esta tarde fuimos al hospital. (This afternoon we went to the hospital.) But in Spain the present perfect is often used: Esta tarde hemos ido al hospital. Pronunciation of Z and C The most noticeable difference in pronunciation of European Spanish and that of the Americas involves that of the z and that of the c when it comes before an e or i. In most of Spain it has the sound of the th in thin, while elsewhere it has the sound of the English s. Spains sound is sometimes incorrectly called a lisp. Pronunciation of Y and LL Traditionally, the y and ll represented different sounds, the y being much like the y of yellow and the ll being the zh sound, something the s of measure. However, today, most Spanish speakers, in a phenomenon known as yeà ­smo, make no distinction between y and ll. This occurs in Mexico, Central America, parts of Spain, and most of South America outside the northern Andes. (The opposite phenomenon, where the distinction remains, is known as lleà ­smo.) Where yeà ­smo occurs, the sound varies from the English y sound to the j of jack to the zh sound. In parts of Argentina it can also take on the sh sound. Pronunciation of S In standard Spanish, the s is pronounced much like that of English. However, in some areas, especially the Caribbean, through a process known as debucalizacià ³n, it often becomes so soft that is disappears or becomes similar to the English h sound. This is especially common at the end of syllables, so that  ¿Cà ³mo ests? sounds something like  ¿Cà ³mo et? Leà ­smo The standard pronoun for him as a direct object is lo. Thus the usual way to say I know him is Lo conozco. But in Spain it is very common, even sometimes preferred, to use le instead: Le conozco. Such use of le is known as leà ­smo. Spelling Differences The spelling of Spanish is remarkably standardized compared with that of English. One of very few words with acceptable regional variations is the word for Mexico, for which Mà ©xico is usually preferred. But in Spain it is often spelled Mà ©jico. It also isnt unusual for Spaniards to spell the U.S. state of Texas as Tejas rather than the standard Texas. Names of Fruits and Vegetables Names of fruits and vegetables can vary considerably with region, in some cases because of the use of indigenous words. Among those with multiple names are strawberries (fresas, frutillas), blueberries (arndanos, moras azules), cucumbers (pepinos, cohombros), potatoes (papas, patatas), and peas (guisantes, chà ­charos, arvejas). Juice can be  jugo or zumo. Other Vocabulary Differences Among the everyday objects that go by regional names are cars (coches, autos), computers (ordenadores, computadores, computadoras), buses (buses, camionetas, pullmans, colectivos, autobuses, and others), and jeans (jeans, vaqueros, bluyines, mahones). Common verbs that vary with region include those for driving (manejar, conducir) and parking (parquear, estacionar). Slang and Colloquialisms Every region has its own collection of slang words that are seldom heard elsewhere. For example, in some areas you might greet someone with  ¿Quà © onda? (similar in meaning to Whats happening?), while in other areas that might sound foreign or old-fashioned. There are also words that can have unexpected meanings in some areas; a notorious example is coger, a verb that is used routinely to refer to grabbing or taking in some areas but that in other areas has a strongly sexualized meaning.