[Andres]

How does the Spanish spoken in different countries differ? Especially when comparing Spain to Latin America. Do Spaniards view Latinos as butchering the Spanish language? I've heard many English people say this of Americans and English.

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Name : Andres, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 25, City : Chambersburg, State : PA Country : United States, 

[ACC25106]

I'm not trying to be mean when I say this, but Spaniards, especially ones using the Castilian dialect, sound like Elmer Fudd to me. They use a 'th' sound in place of all the 's' sounds. 'Buenath diath thenor.' Sometimes it's actually hard for me to keep a straight face and not break out laughing. And yet, this dialect is considered 'correct' Spanish, even by some well-to-do people in Latin America.

Cuban Spanish sounds very staccato to my ears, and there are a few African words mixed in it that are unfamiliar to me. Some people in Peru mix in Quechua with their Spanish. Mexicans mix in Nahua (Aztec) words, especially our favorite word chingar (equivalent to the f-word in English). And U.S. Latino dialects? People in Latin America just shake their head, because we often use archaic Spanish (imagine an English speaker saying thou and thee) and conjugate English words the Spanish way, such as huachar (to watch) and rockear (to rock out).

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Name : ACC25106, Gender : M, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : Phoenic, State : AZ Country : United States, 

[JerryS]

I don't speak Spanish but have some knowledge of the situation. Spanish differs not only between Spain and Latin America but somewhat within Spain and definitely from place to place in Latin America. I used to get school notices translated into Spanish by one or another of the bilingual teachers, and it was quite clear there were differences depending on where they were from. One woman from Peru made it clear that (in her opinion) her Spanish was so superior that she didn't think Puerto Ricans would understand it.

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Name : JerryS, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : New Britain, State : CT Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Frank21710]

There is a big difference in Castillian Spanish and the various dialects in Latin America, and even within Spain. Just like in the United States with a person from New York City trying to talk to a person from New Orleans. They will be able to comunicate, but there will be some hiccups along the way. If you take those same two, though and have them speak to a Geordie from the North of England, odds are they will barely understand him, if at all. Language changes all the time and many times is influenced by the local area and culture.

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Name : Frank21710, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pagan, Age : 34, City : Denver, State : CO Country : United States, Occupation : Military, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[L26183]

There are roughly five Spanish dialects: Spanish (from Spain), Mexican/Central American, Andean, Caribbean and Argentinean. The Spanish you might've learned in high school is most likely the Mexican variety. This is a pretty basic dialect and would correspond to the Midwestern accent of the United States. The Andean dialect (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia) is vaguely similar to the Mexican, but fancier. (Think Canadians). Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic) is fast and somewhat broken, but it's also close to the dialect of Spain (kind of like the Aussie dialect). The Argentineans are the hardest to understand. This dialect contains heavy Italian and German influences. The dialect from Spain is easy to understand, but it sounds rough and aggressive. Venezuela and Colombia are somewhere between the Caribbean and Andean dialects.

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Name : L26183, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Agnostic, Age : 26, City : Queens, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Angela24961]

There are many geographical variations of the Spanish language, depending on the country and location, and sometimes things like city or rural populations. There are huge variations in pronunciation, even within Latin American countries. Unfortunately, some folks from Spain do think that Latin Americans don't speak properly. But the same thing happens within Spain. Like many languages, there are lots of colloquialisms and phrases that exist in each region/country.

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Name : Angela24961, Gender : F, City : Georgia, State : GA Country : United States, 

[Maria22231]

No, you're wrong. In the 'Castilian' dialect as you call it (though it's the most common one throughout Spain)no one says 'Buenath diath'--not only because 'dia' is *masculine* and so would take 'buenOS'--but also because the 'th' sound is ONLY used for 'z' and 'c' when followed by 'e' or 'i'. That's it. There is only one dialect, spoken by a relatively small number of people, where people use this sound for the letter 's' and that is the Cadiz dialect. NO ONE else speaks like that--in fact, in most of the rest of Andalucia, people use the 's' sound for 'z' and 'c' as well--just like most Latin Americans. And, in any case, the Cadiz dialect is nowhere near being considered 'correct' or high-status, quite the opposite in fact, as many people in Spain use it for comic effect. (Not that I'm saying that's good, mind you.) Anyway, why do presume to judge what dialect should be considered 'proper' for a language that you obviously only have a beginner's level in? Peninsular Spanish is neither better nor worse than any other variety.

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[Maria22232]

Just curious as to why you think Peninsular Spanish sounds 'rough and aggressive'?

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Name : Maria22232, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Atheist, City : Caerdydd, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Miguel V]

I don't know what do Spaniards think, but I know we Mexicans find the Spaniard Spanish funny and somewhat pedantic. I understand Spaniards particulaty dislike Mexicans' heavy use of anglicisms, and we find funny the effort they put to avoid using one anglicism even when there is no proper word in Spanish for what they are trying to say. However, I can not speak in the name of all latinos, since the Spanish spoken in a Latino country has some subtle diferences from the Spanish from another one. I.e, we also make fun of the way Argentineans speak.

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Name : Miguel V, City : Guadalajara, State : NA Country : Mexico, 

[Jade]

In Spain there a two main types of Spanish: Castilian (which they speak in Madrid and surrounding provinces) and Catalan (spoken in the south around Barcelona). And there are many other dialects. I speak Castilian and find Catalan very hard to understand. Many of my friends are South American, and when we speak in Spanish, I find them very hard to understand and they are always having to repeat themselves. Mexican is the easiest to understand. I don't think South Americans are butchering Spanish, but I find it irritating when South Americans refer to themselves as 'Spanish'. Or when I say I'm Spanish, many people ask me, 'Ohh, so what country,' or 'Where in South America?'

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Name : Jade, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Spanish, Religion : Catholic, Age : 16, City : Sydney, State : NA Country : Australia, Occupation : Student, Social class : Upper class, 

[John29256]

Only the 'soft c' (before i and e) and the z are pronounced as 'th'. The letter s is pronounced like in the Americas. So it would be Bienvenidos a Nuestro C(th)iudad and Vamos Beber Z(th)umo (Jugo). The dialect(s) of Southern Spain are quite close to the ones in the Caribbean with their silent 's' before consonants and at the end of words

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Name : John29256, City : Chestnut Ridge, State : NV Country : United States, 

[Cristina]

I am spanish and my english is so poor, therefore sorry for that. Your question is very interesting. I have friends from Argentina and Uruguay and they use different words to explain somethings. Eg. You use mouses and british use mice. Is more or less like that. I love their dialects; it is funny listen them, as happen here, in Spain, because you can find different dialects to the north and the south. Moreover, in Spain there are more languages, they are minorities, they depends on the geographical area, but they influence in the dialect. I hope that you will understand my bad english, I try to explain the best that I can.

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Name : Cristina, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : Pontevedra, State : NA Country : Spain, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[ROY SALAZAR]

GROWING UP IN THE U.S AND SEEING MYSELF LITTLE BY LITTLE BECOMING A PART OF A BIGGER POOL (SOCIETY) i WAS ABLE TO AQUIRE BOTH LANGUAGES, ENGLISH AND SPANISH. Because I was born in the U.S, i saw and recognized the difference in the latino evolution during many hispanic's migration to the U.S. Pride of nationalities was a big issue which even has led many to enter into conflict. with the experience that i have had talking to other latinos from other countries within the same latino community, I have realized that many critize each other and also use the difference in the spanish language as a means of putting down another latino. I think that no one can stop the movement of destiny. Eveything becomes defined through time. I think it is nice to hear the different spanish that latinos speak which are salvadoreans, puerto ricans, mexican, peruvians and all the other countries wich i did not mention becuase will take up space.

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Name : ROY SALAZAR, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Christian, Age : 23, City : SILVER SPRING, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : bank teller, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

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