Latin American Spanish or European Spanish?

Differences in the Spanish Languages Spoken in Various Countries

Aug 7, 2009

The Spanish language is complex in that there are differences between many Spanish speaking countries; is the language being spoken Latin American or European Spanish?

Like many languages, the origin of the Spanish language is derived from Latin; however, other languages have also influenced the Spanish language including Arabic and French. When Spanish explorers "discovered" Latin America, the European form of the Spanish language was used by early settlers who merged with local cultures of Latin America; the result was yet another form of the Spanish language, broadly categorized as Latin American Spanish, although not all countries of Latin America today speak exactly the same form of Spanish.

Countries Which Speak Spanish

Spanish is the official language of many countries in the world; Spanish is also the unofficial or second language of parts of many countries too. Although English is the official language of the world, Spanish is spoken by many people throughout the world and, in the USA alone, the Spanish language is increasing rapidly in many areas. Spanish is the official language of:

The Origin of European Spanish

Spanish is one of the romance languages; today, in Europe, Castilian Spanish is widely spoken throughout Spain, although in the far north east corner of Spain (including Barcelona) the Catalan language is spoken too (a mixture of some 'form' of Spanish and French). European Spanish was initially derived from a mixture of Iberian and Celtic languages, which was introduced into the Latin language, when the country came under Roman rule.

Later, as the Arabs invaded Spain, there was the emergence of both Latin and Arab languages; Spain was taken over by different rulers who each fought to preserve the domination of either the Latin or Arab language. It was only in the 13th century that Spain began to adopt a formalized version of Castilian Spanish under King Alfonso X; Castilian Spanish prevailed in the following centuries and today is the accepted form of European Spanish.

The Origin of Latin American Spanish

Castilian Spanish made its way to Latin America in the fifteenth century as the Spanish explored and colonized Central and South America, and parts of North America. Castilian Spanish merged with local dialects and languages to form what is known today as Latin American Spanish. However, some forms of Latin American Spanish are more closely assimilated with European Spanish than others, depending on the country.

The Differences Between European and Latin American Spanish

The written form of Spanish in both European and Latin American Spanish is generally the same; however there are differences in the pronunciation of different words in Latin American Spanish and European Spanish. Some of the differences between Latin American Spanish and European Spanish pronunciation are similar to the differences between American English and British English pronunciation.

Country Variations in Usage of Spanish Words

Even though written Spanish is generally the same, regional variations (as in American English and British English) can have different meanings; in some parts of South America, using a common European Spanish word can cause offense or confusion and similarly vice versa. For example:

Tu, Usted and Vos are all various forms of you in Spanish; the various forms of you are used in different contexts and different situations depending on if the language is Latin American Spanish or European Spanish. The variation of the form of the pronoun you can also take different forms to agree with the Spanish verb formation.

The Use of Latin American Spanish and European Spanish

European Spanish does not formally recognize variations of language in Latin American Spanish; however, both Spanish Europeans and Spanish Latin Americans can understand the variations in the different Spanish languages, although it is not normal to adopt Latin American Spanish in Europe and vice versa.

The copyright of the article Latin American Spanish or European Spanish? in Learning Spanish is owned by Sharon Falsetto. Permission to republish Latin American Spanish or European Spanish? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.