Understanding which version of Spanish you want to learn, whether European or Latin American, can help you save a lot of time in the process of learning the language. Making this choice a priori allows you to focus on the right pronunciation. You will know how people address each other and how to conjugate verbs correctly. Finally, you will understand the accent of native speakers more easily. Let's look at some differences between European and Latin American Spanish together. If you want to learn more about the topic, we suggest you book a lesson in European or Latin American Spanish with a private teacher.
- You/Yours
If you are in Latin America, you will probably use you to refer to a group of people. When you are in Spain and you are speaking to a group in a formal way (like if you were speaking to a group of people older than you), you will still use you. But when you are speaking more informally (like with a group of your friends), then you will use vosotros.
An example:
Europe: Vosotros habláis (you speak)
Latin America: Ustedes hablan (you speak)
- The past time
The tense that is usually used to express the past tends to be different between the two versions of Spanish. In European Spanish, it is much more common to hear the past perfect than the preterite to express the past. For example, it is more likely to hear “He spoke with her (I spoke to her)” in Spain compared to “Talk to her“, which is heard most in Latin America.
- Leism
Leism It is the term to describe when the personal pronoun “le” is used inappropriately in situations where the pronoun “lo/la” would normally be used.
Normally “lo/la” is used for a person if the verb is transitive. For example, vedere (ver): “I see (I see it)”. You have leism when you use “le” with these verbs (where you normally use lo). For example in Spain, where leism is more noticeable, you might hear: “I see them (I see it)” or “I listen to you (I feel it)”.
- S aspirated
Even something as simple as “Cómo estás?” becomes something closer to “Cómo eh-tah?” in the Caribbean.
- Pronunciation of c/z
Another difference in pronunciation is the way the letters C and Z are pronounced.
In Spain the letters C and Z are often pronounced differently from how the letter S is pronounced, sounding like the sound “th" of English "thin".
In many places in Latin America, however, this distinction is not made: for example, the words marry e hunt they sound more or less the same – you just have to tell the difference from the context.
- Pronunciation of ll/y
There is not much difference between how you would pronounce LL and Y in Spain versus most Latin American countries. If you go to Argentina or Uruguay, however, it is a different story.
Depending on what part of Argentina or Uruguay you are in, these might sound like a “sh” or a “zh” instead of what you would expect from a letter Y.
- Vocabulary
Vocabulary is something that can vary greatly from country to country, even in Latin America. For example, it seems that almost all twenty Spanish-speaking countries have their own version of the word “cool” (guay, padre, chido, chévere, bacán, bacano...).
However, there appears to be an even bigger gap between Spain and Latin American countries.
In Spain it is called the computer “the computer“, but in Latin America it is “Computer“. In Spain, the car is “Car“, but in Latin America it is “the car" or "the car".
When you cross the Atlantic, there are many differences between the Spanish you hear in Spain and the Spanish you hear in Latin America.
While some of these make it harder than others to understand what you’re hearing, they’re especially important to know if you want to continue improving your speaking and sounding more native-like.
Article published on 25 February 2021 - 10:28
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