Are there many dialects of español?

Question

I want to travel to South and Central America.How much should i expect the dialect to change, and how might i approach learning the variance in language?

Answer 1

It depends on how you define dialect, because there are many different (and mutually incompatible) academic definitions of this word. In terms of phonetics, you can differentiate the north of Spain from everywhere else, some parts of the Cono Sur from everywhere else, and a few other divisions. There are variations of pronunciation, vocabulary and even grammar in many areas even within countries, so variations could be expected every 100 miles or less (although it could be homogeneous in a much wider area). Generally speaking, the main typical distinctions are: Mexican and Central American, Castilian (north of Spain), Rioplatense (Cono Sur), Andalusian and Canarian, Andean, Carebbean and Chilean. However, in formal writing, these differences disappear to the point that it is virtually impossible to tell where a formal written document or a novel comes from.