Difference Between Spanish Spain and Latin America, and Between English and American: General Considerations and Tests. Differences between Spanish in Spain and Latin America Spanish in Spain and Latin America

Nineteen Latin American countries, seventeen regions of Spain - in each zone, the language has features that depend on linguistic and non-linguistic circumstances. In this article we will take a look at the Mexican variant Spanish and designate the features that distinguish it from other variants and dialects.

Reasons for the emergence of Mexican Spanish

Mexico is home to many ancient civilizations, some of which still retain languages ​​and dialects. In addition, Mexico is the northernmost country in Central America, bordering the United States. These two circumstances have a strong influence on the Mexican version of the Spanish language. When the conquistadors, led by Fernando Cortes, conquer the southeastern territories of Mexico in the 16th century, they encounter hundreds of tribes, each of which speaks a local dialect with individual phonetic and grammatical features. The current sociopolitical situation in the country is directly related to the English language, which also influences the speech of Hispanic Mexicans.

Since the ancient languages ​​were the basis for the "introduction" of Spanish at all levels, and with English language Spanish in Mexico touches only phonetically and lexically, it is logical to consider the features of the Mexican version separately at each linguistic level in order to understand the Mexican features and where they come from.

Phonetic level of the Mexican variant

Let's start with phonetic features common to Latin American countries. Due to the fact that Spanish on the American continent did not develop naturally, but was brought and introduced artificially, simplifications took place in it that were common in all Latin American countries. The most important ones are:

fusion of sounds: interdental sound / θ / (letters c, z) and sound / s /, pronounced as / s /;
fusion of sounds: into a single / ʝ / (pronounced like Russian / y /), the semi-vowel / y / and the sound denoted by the fusion of consonants / ll / are merged.

V scientific field these phenomena are called seseo and yeismo... The result of such changes is the merging of words. casa(house) and caza(hunting), llanta(bus) and yanta(afternoon snack). However, this does not cause any difficulties in the Spanish understanding of the speech of Latin Americans.

The phonetic feature of the Mexican version, as we noted above, is sounds, borrowed from English, contact with which has been maintained in Mexico for several centuries. In large cities, as well as in the north of the country, Mexicans use the Americanized non-vibrating sound / r / instead of the Spanish sounds / r / and / rr /:
merging sounds into one borrowed one: / pe§o / instead of / pero / and instead of / perro /;

Thus, having arrived in Mexico and speaking Spanish with the local population, you will immediately feel (or rather hear) the closeness of the United States.

Another phonetic feature of Spanish Mexico is variety of intonations in the regions. They are studied by the special science of dialectology, since we are talking about various regional dialects of the Spanish language in Mexico, associated with the dialects of the ancient Indians. When America was conquered by the Spaniards, the indigenous peoples adopted the new language, but assimilated it with the languages ​​of their ancestors, which is why Spanish sounds different in the south of Mexico, where the Mayan Indians lived, or in the north. It happens that northern Mexicans come to the south and hardly understand their compatriots, although here, most likely, lexical features play a greater role, which we will discuss below.

Morphology and grammar of the Mexican variant

It is believed that neither English nor Native American languages ​​have had a strong influence on the morphology of the Spanish language of Mexico. Despite this, we can talk about simplification changes in the Mexican version, related to the fact artificial development Spanish in Latin America. So, in the ancient Indian languages ​​there were many consonant sounds (by the way, close to the Russian sounds / h /, / w /, / u /), due to which the difference between the post-stressed vowels in the Mexican version ceased to be bright. If a Spaniard pronounces, pronouncing each vowel, the Mexican will say, "eating" the endings, as Americans "eat" the endings of English words:

vowel reduction: instead of ;

Another trend is related to creating analogies in verb conjugations... During the development of the Spanish language in Mexico, the final consonant / s / in the form of a 2nd person verb singular present tense (tu hablas) has established itself in the same position in the simple past, whence the forms estuvistes, hablastes, etc.

making an analogy: instead of, instead of;

In connection with grammar, the features common to Latin America are also important:
using the Ustedes form instead of vosotros: “- ¿Adónde van? ¡Esperenme! "Instead of" - ¿Adónde vais? ¡Esperadme! ";
widespread simple past tense(Pretérito Perfecto Simple) and its widespread use instead of the composite past (Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto): "Hoy estuvimos en casa" instead of "Hoy hemos estado en casa";

These features do not distinguish the Spanish language of Mexico from variants of other Latin American countries, but are important due to the strong bias in Spanish Spanish norms.

Lexical features of the Mexican variant

The most striking features of Mexican Spanish are associated with the most mobile and changeable layer of the language - vocabulary. Here again, the influence of neighboring English and ancient Indian languages ​​is important. Mexico's Spanish vocabulary is full of borrowings from English:

shorts- shorts (instead of the Castilian pantalón corto);
rentar) - rent / rent (instead of Castilian alquilar);
checar (English check)- check, find out (instead of Castilian investigar);
lunch- afternoon tea, lunch (instead of Castilian almuerzo), etc.

A considerable number of different countries have spread through the Mexican version in Spanish. indichenisms(indígena from Spanish - native, aboriginal):
Avocado, сhocolate, сhile etc.

Indian words associated with Mexican realities have survived only in the Mexican version:
Pozole(corn dish), jícara(painted bowl), turush(dishes of the Mayan tribes), etc.

At the same time, the colloquial speech of Mexicans is also rich in spontaneous innovations that are not associated with the influence of other languages. The most popular expressions in Mexico:

buey- analogue of the Spanish colloquial address tio: “Buey ¡espera!”;
¡A poco!- "Oh well!", As a natural reaction to new information: "-La biblioteca está cerrada. - A poco buey, por qué estará cerrada a esta hora ";
¡No mames!- "oh well!", Similar to the previous expression: "¡No mames buey, como puede ser posible!"
¡A huevo!- analogue of the American colloquial exclamation "yes!", "Uhu!" (Russian colloquial “yuhu!”), used by Mexicans in joyful situations: “¡No hay clases mañana! ¡A huevo! ";
chin- the use of which coincides with the use of the Russian word "devil": "Chin, vamos a llegar tarde por el tráfico ..."

Such colloquial addresses, phrases, interjections and curses develop uniquely in each country and for the youth of Latin America they seem to be the most curious and significant in the context of linguistic self-determination or the definition of residents of other regions. Hispanics, like Spaniards, pride themselves on the colloquial features of their variant. So, when you are going to go to Mexico, do not forget to learn a couple of such phrases in order to immediately make friends. ¡A huevo!

Text: Anastasia Lukyanova

Differences between Spanish from Latin America and Spain

We are often asked about the differences between Spanish spoken in Spain and Latin America. However, even if there are small differences in the types of Spanish, it is necessary to emphasize the fact that all Spanish speakers understand each other, no matter where they come from: from Cadiz or Cusco, Salamanca or Buenos Aires.

As mentioned above, there are differences between Spanish from Spain and Latin America. There are even subtypes of Spanish depending on the regions of Latin America or Spain!

First, let's think about the origin of the name of the language itself. In Latin America, it is often called Castilian (after the Castile region) instead of Spanish. At the same time, in some regions of Spain, where other languages ​​are also spoken, such as Galician and Catalan, Spanish is considered the official language.

Why are there differences?

When the Spanish conquistadors traveled around the world with the aim of spreading "Catholicism" in exchange for precious metals, they carried with them the language, which later underwent changes in their homeland.

A linguist named Marquardt coined the term "retraso colonial" or "colonial delay" to describe the phenomenon in which the language in the colonial countries remained the same as opposed to the language in its country of origin. An example is the use of the word "Fall" in the US and "Autumn" in the UK. When British colonists went to the United States, "Fall" was more common than the Latin version of British English. Some time later, the word "fall" became obsolete in the UK, but it still continues to be used in the United States. This process takes place not only with the vocabulary of the language, but also in grammar.

Later, groups of immigrants from different parts of Europe brought their linguistic traditions to Latin America. In turn, these groups encountered local linguistic characteristics, which combined to create local dialects.

Pronoun vos

The colonies were formed by groups of Spaniards from different regions of Spain. In addition, they all spoke the howling dialect itself, which was passed on to the colonies. Over time, due to the limited connection with Spain (the invention of the telephone took several centuries), the language began to develop and acquire the characteristics of local colonists. Some elements of the imported "original" Spanish have been preserved, others have changed.

One notable example of this process is the use of the pronoun vos, especially in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Originally, vos was a plural second person pronoun ("you"), but it came to be used as a polite address in the second person singular ("you"), and then as an address among close friends ("you"). This pronoun was widely used in Spain when the language came to South America. However, after a while, it went out of the use of the Spanish language, but still remained popular among the inhabitants of the Rio de la Plata. Today, as well as 150 years ago, in a noisy cafe, for example in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay or Uruguay, you will often hear “¿de dónde sos?” instead of “¿de dónde eres?” (where are you from?)

The use of vos and its various forms of conjugation in some places in Latin America is gaining in popularity thanks to its use among small groups of people in Bolivia, Chile, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

It is important to emphasize that both forms of the pronoun tú or vos (you) will be understood by Hispanic people around the world. Choosing one pronoun or the other will only indicate your country of origin or Spanish study.

You are ustedes

Another difference between Spanish in Latin America is instead of the pronoun vosotros (you, plural, informal) use of the form ustedes (more formal). This means that when they come to Spain, students must remember one more form of the verb conjugation.

For example, in Spain, you might say, ¿Cuál fue la última película que visteis? (what was the last movie you watched) to your friends, but you will probably tell your grandparents ¿Cuál fue la última película que vieron? (What was the last movie you saw?) In Latin America, the second form is used in both cases.

Ustedes (you) is also used in the Canary Islands. Only the Balearic Islands and Spain use vosotros (you). If you only use the Latin American version, you will be perfectly understood in Spain too. And they will even consider you very polite!

Special words

Computadora (computer in Latin America) - ordenador (computer in Spain)

The vast majority of Spanish words are universal. But there is also special cases, for example: teléfono móvil / celular (mobile phone) and ordenador / computadorа (computer), in which the second word is taken from Latin American Spanish. There are also many other words that are used in different ways depending on the dialect. For example, in Spain they say bolígrafo (pen), in Chile lápaz pasta, in Argentina lapicera, and so on.

In general, the difference in vocabulary is no greater than that between British and American English.

However: some words are best used with care. For example, in Spain, the verb coger means to take, to catch, to bring. In Latin America, coger is a colloquial term often used to describe ... an act of love.

Pronunciation

The biggest differences in Spanish are pronunciation, but even they are not that fundamental. For example, in many parts of Central America, the letter s is not always pronounced at the end of a word, and some other syllables may be omitted. In Argentina, the double l (ll), which is usually pronounced ya, has a sh sound.

Perhaps the most significant difference between pronunciation in Spain and Latin America is the concept of ceceo (interdental pronunciation), which is common in Madrid and other parts of Spain. According to legend, this manner of pronunciation was copied by the Spanish nobility from King Fernando. As is often the case, the legend remains only one of the guesses. Another explanation for this may be the origin of these sounds from ancient Castilian.

However, this does not explain why these elements of pronunciation did not come to the colonies. Not all changes in the language lend themselves to logic ... the same as in the English language.

Naturally, you will absorb the accent of the region in which you are studying Spanish, but this will absolutely not be a problem for mutual understanding. We all have our own pronunciation patterns, and they can't get any better or worse! If you acquire a special accent while learning Spanish or any other language, it becomes part of your personality and reflects your experience and lifestyle. Which Spanish is the best to learn: from Spain or Latin America?

Some people believe that Spanish is the purest and most beautiful in Colombia. Others say that Spanish is the sexiest in Argentina. And still others believe that Spanish in Madrid is the most correct, because it is there that the center of the Royal Academy of the Spanish language is located. Therefore, when choosing a place to study Spanish, you need to consider where you would like to live, what places to visit and, of course, your budget. ... Rest assured that any variant of the Spanish language you speak will be understood throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

Recently, I said to myself that I am very clearly aware of the difference between Spanish in Spain and Spanish in Latin and Central America. Apparently this is due to the fact that at the university the main emphasis was on the Pyrenean version, and the dialects of Spanish in Latin America were a separate subject in one of the senior courses. This is where my acquaintance with overseas Spanish practically ended. I do not rush to Latin America, therefore I did not devote time to studying any country and the peculiarities of Spanish on its territory. From time to time I come across words from South America, but with them there is always a note that they are used here and there, so nothing gets confused in my head; As I studied Pyrenean Spanish, so I am doing it.

And not least because our textbooks are all from Spain. And even if you are going to Chile, Peru, Paraguay or somewhere else in the same region, you can safely continue studying with Spanish textbooks. Why? Because you will speak in simple sentences, actively accompany your speech with gestures and try in every possible way to convey your thought to the interlocutor. Even if he does not know a word, he will guess about it from the context. And you are unlikely to use any such word that, say, a Peruvian will not understand you. You won't talk to him in Andalusian youth slang;)

I see no reason to learn, for example, the Argentinean version of Spanish, in which it plays an important role. Moreover, this is what I say, “Argentinean version”, but Argentina is very large, so there will be some words in the north, others in the center, and others in the south. Big cities have their own slang. And which option to teach?

Vocabulary difference? And God is with her! As a rule, some common things and concepts are called differently, for example, in Spain, a peach - el melocotón, in Lat. Am. - el durazno... When you come to the market in Peru, you will see that el durazno is written on the plate, and ask them for them! No problem!

I would like to talk about an interesting phenomenon in the layer of the Spanish vocabulary of South and Central America. The words- pseudoarchisms- These are words that were once used in Spain in the same sense in which they are now used in South and Central America. But in reality now the meaning of the word (in Spain) has become more specific. Better to look at examples.

Cuero used to denote any skin, both human and animal. Now in Spain cuero is only animal skin; human skin on the Pyrenean Peninsula is called la piel... And in LA everything remained the same as it was before in Spain and cuero denotes both types of leather *.

Or it could be like this: the word took on a specific connotation in Spain. For example, in Spain yacer- “lie down, rest in the grave”, and in LA - just “lie down”.

I also promised a test:

Try to determine where, in Spain or Latin America, the word is used. You can write the answers in the comments, and then I will write the correct options.

peach - el melocotón, el durazno

potatoes - papa, patata

fruit juice - zumo, jugo

food - almuerzo, comida

meat products - fiambres, carnes frías

jacket - saco, chaqueta

zipper - cremallera, zipper

sweater - sueter, jersey

car roof rack - cubo, balda

cartridge - zócalo, portalámparas

car trunk - maletero, baca

suitcase - maleta, petaca

tank (for gasoline) - depósito, tanque

bus - bus, camión

ticket - billete, tiquet

In the wake of this post, I wrote Spanish to Spain and ... any other Spanish

Now about English

All our lives we have been studying according to British textbooks, and films, TV shows and music were much more often American. Therefore, I can honestly say there is a little mess in my head. If you strain, then I will remember that lift used in Britain, and elevator in the USA, but I'm not sure if I can only use British words in a conversation with a Briton. But, I must confess, I will not say that it greatly upsets me. It's all about practice, in constant communication with native speakers. You will communicate a lot with Americans - without noticing it, you will begin to copy their pronunciation and use the words you heard from them.

It seems to me that the problem "and which version of English should I learn?" should be easier. Learn from the existing textbook, and then, if anything, they will correct you. And again, all these differences are related to everyday vocabulary. When you arrive in the USA, you approach Starbucks and see that take-out is written on the door or on the window, and that's it, you will never get out of your head that coffee is a take-out with you!)) And also with everyone the rest of the words. Everything is learned "on the spot", so to speak)

But if you really want to check whether you can distinguish American words from British ones - here are some tests.

By the way, I came across here that modern British schoolchildren use more and more Americanisms in speech and writing.

The first mentions of the Spanish language date back to the II century BC and it appeared on the Iberian Peninsula and by now has spread to several continents. It is spoken by over 400 million people in different countries the world. Such a phenomenon as Latin American Spanish appeared thanks to the arrival of the conquistadors in America. Then the conquered countries began to speak the language of the invaders, mixed with local dialects. This is the same Spanish language, it is not singled out separately, but is called a dialect or “national variants of the language”.

About 300 million Spanish-speaking people live on the territory of 19 countries of Latin America, for half of them it is a second language, there is also a local one. There are many Indians among the population, there are Uruguayans, Guarani, their number ranges from 2% (in Argentina) to 95% in Paraguay. For them, Spanish has not become their native language, many do not even know it at all. In some countries, archaisms have survived - words, addresses and turns of speech that have not been used for a long time.

Today, in addition to Spain itself, Spanish is spoken in Mexico, the countries of Central America - Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua. The Antilles have 3 states with the predominant use of the language - Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rico. On the mainland of South America, there are also countries that use Spanish as the main or second language - Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia. The Rioplata region of the mainland is occupied by the states: Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, on their territory there are a lot of Spanish-speaking people (more than 90% of Argentines speak Spanish).

The reasons for the differences in language in different countries of Latin America

For a long time, the territory of modern Peru was inhabited by colonizers, mainly of noble origin, therefore the Spanish language in this country is closest to the original. At the same time, laborers and peasants lived in Chile and Argentina, who spoke more without complicated phrases and words, just like a worker. Therefore, the Spanish language in Chile, its Chilean version, is very different from the classic pure one.

In countries where the Guarani Indians lived predominantly, the original Spanish strongly mixed with the local language, borrowing from them the features of colloquial speech, pronunciation and vocabulary. This option was most evident in Paraguay. But on the territory of modern Argentina lived both Spanish colonialists and local residents, as well as immigrants, who accounted for up to 30% of the total population. So the pure language was diluted both with the dialect of the locals and with the peculiarities of the conversation of visitors, in particular Italians.

Lexical features

The vocabulary of the Spanish language has undergone changes since the beginning of its existence, borrowing words and meanings from different languages ​​and dialects. The conquest of the territory of modern Latin America was no exception. When the Spaniards came here, the bulk of the population were Indians and local tribes with their own linguistic characteristics. The colonialists, in turn, brought their families, black slaves and their own peculiarities of speech. Thus, all changes in vocabulary that happened to Spanish in these countries can be divided into 2 main groups:

• Local words that entered the Spanish lexicon, denoting some features of the life and life of the indigenous inhabitants of the mainland, as well as Anglo-Saxon, Italian or American concepts;
• Spanish words that have undergone changes in the process of life in the territory of Latin America.

A separate category of words - archaisms, or "Americanisms" appeared due to the transition of some concepts into the vocabulary of local residents from the Spanish language. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that in Spain they have not been used for a long time or have been greatly modified, turning into a new word.

For example, the word “pollera” used in Latin America means “skirt”, but in Spain it is not used at all. This also includes prieto (black) and frazada (blanket), which in Spanish will sound like negro and manta, respectively.

Thanks to the Indians and other peoples living on the mainland, many words came into the Spanish language, hitherto unknown to the Spaniards.

• Scientists call them indichenisms.
• For example, papa (potatoes), caucho (rubber), llama (llama), quina (hina) and tapir (tapir) were not known to the Spaniards at all until they came to South America.

And from the territory of modern Mexico, from the Nahuatl Aztec language, came the concepts used by the Mexicans today - cacahuete (peanut), hule (rubber), petaea (snuff box). Many words came from the need to denote objects and plants previously unknown to the Spaniards.

Phonetic differences between languages

In the pronunciation of some words and letters, you can also find differences between classical Spanish and its Latin American version. Their appearance is due to the same reasons as new concepts - some sounds were simply not in the language of the indigenous people, they did not hear them, and some were pronounced in their own way. In general, the pronunciation in the American version is softer and more melodic, the words are pronounced less harshly and more slowly.

Jorge Sanchez Mendez, linguist and scientist, gives characteristics of the general sound of the Spanish language in different countries of Latin America:

• Catalan (classic) - sounds harsh and imperious, words are pronounced hard, firmly;
  In the Antilles on the contrary, all sounds are pronounced softly, speech is fluid, pouring;
  Andalusian variant- brighter, more sonorous and lively;
  In Mexico speak softly and slowly, speech is unhurried, careful;
  In Chile and Ecuador- melodious, melodic, sounds soft and calm;
  but the conversation on the territory Rio de la Plata seems slow, calm and unhurried.

The main differences in pronunciation are recorded by the Language Studies Institutes, have their own names and are as follows:

1. Same pronunciation of the letters "r" and "l" if they are at the end of a syllable. This feature is typical for the population of the countries of Venezuela and Argentina, some regions of the states - Puerto Rico, Colombia, on the shores of Ecuador. For example, calamares in transcription looks like -, soldado sounds, and the word amor reads like.
2. Yeismo Phonetic Phenomenon- the sound of the letters ll in combination, like "y", or like "f" - in Argentina. For example, the word "calle" is translated as "street" and is pronounced in Spain - in Latin American countries and - in Argentina. Found in Mexico, Colombia and Peru, Chile and western Ecuador, as well as on the Caribbean coast.
3. Changing the pronunciation of the letter "s" if it is at the end of a syllable, this feature is called aspiration. As for example in words: este (this) will sound like mosca (fly) is pronounced. Sometimes the letter is simply lost and not pronounced - from las botas (boots) are obtained.
4. Seseo - phonetic feature b, found on the territory of almost all Latin American countries and it consists in pronouncing the letters "s" and "z", and sometimes "c", like [s]. For example, pobreza sounds like, zapato -, and entices would be pronounced like this -.
5. Transferring stress in some words to an adjacent vowel or another syllable: pais is read as in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries.

These are the most common differences, there are many more minor ones that involve different pronunciation of the same word. Despite these differences, representatives of states in South America easily understand the Spaniards and each other.

Word formation

Latin Americans are more likely than Spanish to use suffixes in words, the main ones being –ico / ica and –ito / ita. For example, platita (money) comes from plata, ranchito (ranch) comes from rancho, ahorita (now) comes from ahora, and prontito (soon) comes from pronto. In addition, some nouns have a different gender than in classical Spanish. For example, the word actor in Spain is masculine and pronounced comediante, and in Latin America comedianta is feminine, in Spain la lamada is feminine, in Latin American countries ell lamado is masculine.

The same applies to animals, for which in the Catalan language one word is used and most often it is masculine. And in Latin America, women were added to them: tigre, husband. - tigra, wives. (tiger), caiman, husband. - caimana, wives. (caiman), sapo, husband. - sapa, wives. (toad).

Basically, new words are formed by using a root of non-Hispanic origin and adding suffixes and prefixes to it. The basis is taken by common American concepts, adapted to a specific situation and nationality. Word-building particles, or suffixes, are added to them, which give them a completely different meaning: -ada, -ero, -ear, -menta.

They all have their own history, "nationality" and meaning. For example, the –menta suffix is ​​actively used in the derivation of the Venezuelan dialect; it has a generalizing meaning: papelamnta - a pile of papers, perramenta - a pack of dogs. The suffix -io has the same meaning for the countries of Uruguay and Argentina - tablerio - a pile of stones.

In the words picada (path), sahleada (saber strike), nicada (company of children) "-ada" has a collective meaning or defining belonging to something. Other examples are gauchada (an act characteristic of a gaucho), ponchada (the amount of things conventionally fit on a poncho), and so on.

But the suffix -ear creates new verbs or American nouns: tanguear - to dance tango, jinitear - to ride a horse, and other examples. Spanish in South America is more mobile, lively and developing than its European counterpart. Here there is a constant replenishment of vocabulary, the formation of new concepts and turns, due to the movement of the population across the mainland and the arrival of immigrants.

Grammatical differences

Features of grammar, characteristic of Latin America, have their own system and are the result of many years of language evolution. The Spaniards have a concept of "grammatical gender" applied to inanimate objects.

In the Latin American version, there are words with the same meaning, but strictly the opposite kind. In Spain - el color (color), el fin (end), la bombilla (light bulb), la vuelta (surrender), and in South American countries - la color, la fin el bombillo, el vuelto.

The plural endings are also systemically different in different countries: café (1 cafe) - cafes (several cafes), te (tea) - tes (several types of tea), pie (leg) - pies (legs), and in Latin America they will be called: cafeses, teses, pieses, respectively.

• Peculiarities.
• Words that have only plurals (scissors, trousers, pincers) in the South American version are also used in the only one: tijeraz - tiera (scissors), bombachas - bombacha (trousers) and tenazas - tenaza (tongs). If a noun ends with the letters -ey, then according to the rules of the Spanish language, their plural is formed by adding the ending "-es", while in Latin America the ending is simplified: buey (bull) - bueyes / bueys, or rey (king) - reyes / reys.

In addressing people, the Spaniards use the pronoun "you" - vosotros, in Latin America they address strangers - ustedes. And the pronoun "you" sounds like "vos" in South America and like "tu" in Europe.

As a conclusion

The result of the comparison is the understanding that the Spanish language is lively and spoken, therefore it develops, breathes and absorbs new words, concepts and phrases. It depends on the national, territorial, cultural characteristics of the people who speak it. All differences are the result natural process evolution and in no way affect the understanding of the representatives of different countries of the Spanish dialect.

If you decide to learn a language, then you do not need to know these features and memorize them in order to travel to any country in Latin America. The classic version of Spanish is enough, you will be able to communicate with the locals, and the presence of "own" words is characteristic for each language, Russian is no exception. In each region of our country, there are several dozen phrases and concepts used only within a small territory, but this does not at all prevent us from understanding each other, living even in different regions of the Russian Federation.

Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages ​​on the planet. Today, it confidently takes its place in the top three languages, and it is quite possible that in the foreseeable future it will receive even more new native speakers. The "fault" of this in the past is the Spanish conquistadors and conquerors, in the present - the active increase in the number of the population in the states of Latin America, speaking Spanish.

All about Spanish

If you start learning, be careful about whether you are actually learning Spanish and the literary version of it. It would never even occur to the Russian-speaking language that only in Spain itself this language has several dialects, which differ quite seriously among themselves. Only in the North of the country there are three accents and one adverb, which also has its own characteristic differences, especially phonetic ones.
We are talking about Aragonese, Leonese and Castilian dialects, as well as Asturleonian dialects. Each of the dialects has its own geographically localized dialects. In the southern part of this state, the Andalusian dialect is widespread.

Mexican Spanish

The capital of the Mexican dialect, as, in fact, of Mexico itself, is Mexico City. In other regions of the country, the dialect is close to the metropolitan, but only some lands have their own characteristics. For example, the dialects of Yucatan and Chiapas are somewhat different, but not so much that residents of different regions do not understand each other.
Note also that it is the Mexican version of the Spanish language that is the basis for the replication of Spanish in the United States of America. One of the main differences of such a dialect is the firm pronunciation of consonants and the reduction of vowels, which is not observed in any other variant of Spanish.

Argentinean dialect of Spanish

Do not know, ? Don't forget that Argentinean is much simpler than classic Spanish. Argentine Spanish is called casteshano. Its progenitor was the Castilian dialect, which was noticeably simplified. Phonetics has changed. The Argentine dialect is much more like Portuguese than Spanish. It is the language of immigrant workers, which over time has taken over the rest of the population. In Argentine, j is pronounced like [w]. This applies to all words, including names or titles.

Peruvian Spanish

The Peruvian dialect has such characteristics: The [z] sound is mixed with the [s] sound, which is a cross between the two. Some consonants are pronounced softer than traditional Spanish.

"Neutral" Spanish - what is it?

Non-literary Spanish is considered neutral. The phonetic features of "neutral" Spanish were taken from the Colombian pronunciation, which is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful. However, native speakers were confused only by the rate of speech, too fast in the "Colombian original" and not always understandable for speakers of other dialects. Therefore, the phonetic features of the Caribbean dialect were also used, which can be safely called relatively measured for Latin America.
"Neutral Spanish" completely lacks Mexican and Argentine intonations, words, speech rate and other signs. They can only be used if it is necessary to emphasize the origin of a particular person. All the series, songs and other cultural product of Latin America today is delivered to the world through the use of this "neutral Spanish", in fact, adapted so that all Hispanics and foreigners can find a common point of contact and understand each other.
What should a Russian-speaking student do who has decided to get to know the Spanish language better? Experts advise starting with a literary standardized language that will allow you to conduct business negotiations, correspondence, and so on. Learning a particular dialect depends on your goals. If you are planning a trip to the countries of Latin America, then ask for help directly from a native speaker who will devote you to all the intricacies of the dialect of interest.