Need CD/ computer learning programs in Mexican Spanish
I need to know which CD and computer programs are in Mexican Spanish. Mexican Spanish is pronounced differently than South American and Castillian Spanish, and has a considerable amount of unique vocabulary, as I explained in some length in my answer to the person who is looking for a Spanish book. The vowels are more distinct and sound closer to the way they sound in English, and the weak consonants morph differently. I am specifically studying spanish to become more employable along the Mexican/ U.S. border, and learning a different dialect won't do anything for my employability.
Mexican Spanish is NOT the version of Spanish that is customarily taught; that's Castillian Spanish, and in my direct experience it's often Argentinian Spanish pretending to be Castillian Spanish. Argentinian Spanish is characterized by the unique morph of most weak consonants into a j/ch sound that doesn't exist in any other dialect of Spanish, and I even had a UT Spanish teacher did that j/ch thing. It's terribly confusing if you aren't wise to it, and I need to be able to actually understand the Mexicans who ride the bus in Austin, who are more likely to morph consonants into silence or w's, and inexplicably pronounce their h's, and who often pronounce vowels the way they are pronounced in English, and the way they formally are supposed to pronounce e exists in no other language and no other dialect of Spanish, somewhere between French e/ English long a, and English short e.
I am particularly interested in whether any of the Barron's or Pimsleur programs are in Mexican Spanish, because they're otherwise exactly what I'm looking for.
The OnLingo program is in Mexican Spanish, or else leaves out ultra-Mexican regional idiosyncrasies of pronunciation, and is otherwise exactly what I'm looking for, but it's very expensive.
3 Answers
Found "Learning Spanish like Crazy" on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Spanish-Like-Crazy-Spoken/dp/0976666103
It's a dud. If the creator says above it teaches Mexican Spanish he's lying, because on Amazon's product description, which he also wrote, he says it teaches Latin American Spanish, AND there is no such thing as Latin American Spanish. That entire concept was created by salespeople selling Spanish language CD's. Several very different dialects are spoken in Latin America. So God knows what that program teaches but I very highly doubt it's Mexican Spanish. Of course, I could tell if I heard it, but I'm not going to without shelling out several hundred dollars, which is suspicious by itself.
There is no such thing as Latin American Spanish, whatever that is. Others write of North American Spanish, Central American dialects, and South American dialects, and whether Mexico is in north or central America would be anybody's guess, if North America is home to a form of Spanish. Three or four, maybe more, major dialects of Spanish are spoken in Latin America, if Latin America is defined as that part of the Western Hemisphere that is Spanish speaking. See "Spanish dialects and varieties" at Wikipedia, those who are interested (which I can see is not everybody). A real problem is that Mexican Spanish is seldom what is taught in these classes or by Spanish teachers, not even in Austin, Texas.
For the confused, this web site pretty much avoids distinctive forms of pronunciation unique to particular dialects of Spanish. It does pronounce ll as y, which seems to be how it's done everywhere but in Castille, even though as consonant change goes this one sounds affected. It does put far more stress on final e than Mexican Spanish does, which can confuse anyone in the southwestern U.S. trying to learn Spanish. According to Wikipedia, in Mexico final e is on its way to becoming silent (like the English final e did long ago). It is very often pronounced as a schwa, and noone on the bus has trouble understanding me when I pronounce it that way. If you want blank stares, put English -ay/ European long e on the end of every word.
In Texas Spanish has clearly been strongly influenced by English, is often called Tex-mex, and tends to be pronounced in ways that make far better sense to you and me than Castillian, Cuban and Argentinian Spanish. Large numbers of Hispanic people here have lived in Texas since it was conquered by Spain. They do not come from Mexico.
One thing nearly every language program I've encountered does wrong is to insist that a and e are respectively always pronounced one way - they are not, least of all in Mexico and the American southwest. Both have a short and long form, and e has a form in the middle, and the dialect has a definite schwa that is formally recognized by linguistic experts on the language.
So in otherwords, my query is NOT your sales opportunity.
This might be good, or might not, but I honestly don't want to hear any testimonials from someone selling his or her own product. Might be true, might not, and probably isn't. What is more, the laid on way too thick salesman language in the above post strongly suggests that this product is NOT any good. I've honsetly never seen it accompany any product that could have sold itself. It even sounds in spots like he doesn't know what he is talking about - "how do I know how to teach Mexican Spanish" is followed by a completely illogical rant.
I have an idea I flat out asked this question on the wrong site, because this one is possessed by Whole Language ---'s who really can't distinguish different dialects of a language to begin with. But if anyone does have any recommendations of programs that teach Mexican Spanish that are NOT their own, I'd appreciate it. If you're worried that suggesting programs done in a particular dialogue will attract ugly comments and unwanted arguments here, like the one that the guy who asked why this site doesn't teach Spanish phonetics got, please e-mail me at tiggernut24@yahoo.com .
Hola! I got this audio book from a website. I think you have to fill up a survey for each file, so that you can be able to download the all free. Hope this helps. 
What is Learning Spanish Like Crazy?
Actually, before I answer this question in detail, let's clarify something that is probably on your mind...
what makes me qualified to help you learn how to speak real Mexican Spanish?
Well first of all, I have something to admit to you . . . . I did not develop any of the content that you will find in Learning Spanish Like Crazy.
And I admit that I am not one of the recorded speakers that you will hear in the course.
All of the content in this course was developed by native Spanish speakers and all of the speakers that you will hear in this course are native Spanish speakers.
That's the only way that you can learn how to speak real Mexican Spanish.
So who am I? I am just the guy that discovered this crazy system or teaching method that will help you learn how to speak Spanish in record time -- quicker and easier than you ever imagined possible.
In fact, I fully credit the Learning Spanish Like Crazy method for giving me the possibility of living in this beautiful Latin American city.
With this important detail behind us, let's get to the question of what is Learning Spanish like Crazy?
It is the only learning Spanish course conceived and developed from the "get-go" to teach "real Latin American Spanish."
My goal was to learn to speak the type of Spanish I heard native Spanish-speakers use when I went to other cities in the US and whenever I traveled to Central and South America.
I also wanted to learn the type of Spanish spoken by a "college-educated" level native Spanish speaker.
No... I did not want to learn the type of Spanish spoken by a diplomat. You see, I am not a diplomat, nor did I ever play one on TV. So, the type of Spanish that diplomats speak did not and does not appeal to me...
... also, I did not want to learn the type of Spanish spoken in Spain (aka Castellano)....
.... again, my goal was to study and learn "real Mexican Spanish." The type I speak here in Tijuana every day.
It is an audio based course. In today's hectic and chaotic world, who has the time to sit in front of a computer or to be tied to a desk trying to learn Spanish? Not me, and probably not you either.
So, Learning Spanish Like Crazy was developed to help you learn Spanish while you drive, exercise, walk the dog, or have what I like to call "some down time."
Simply put the audio course on your favorite audio player, put your headphones on and instantly you immerse yourself into a practical and proven Spanish learning environment.
It is comprised of 30 lessons of an average of less than 30 minutes. Scientific studies after scientific studies have unequivocally proven that human beings learn best when we consume new information in "chunks" of 30 minutes.
It is Real, Everyday, Spoken Spanish. No "How Do you do?" type of Spanish. Instead you get the "how are you?" and "what's up?" type of Spanish.
It is a system that does not use memorization of words and phrases. There are no drills in Learning Spanish Like Crazy...
...instead you get useful and practical "Spanish speaking" techniques that have helped thousands of people around the world.
Learning Spanish Like Crazy Part 1
Learning Spanish Like Crazy Part 2
Learning Spanish Like Crazy Part 3
Learning Spanish Like Crazy Part 4
Learning Spanish Like Crazy Part 5
Learning Spanish Like Crazy Part 6
Learning Spanish Like Crazy Part 7
Learning Spanish Like Crazy Part 8
