European Spanish?
I just played the first video of the first lesson and it was immediately apparent that it was Latin American Spanish, not European Spanish.
I find this daunting enough without having to work out which aspects are Latin American and which parts are European.
Before I continue with the lessons, has anyone else here used SpanishDict to help them learn European Spanish? If so, how did you identify and avoid Latin American words and phrases?
Thanks.
4 Answers
My wife is from Virginia. She went to college in Atlanta, Georgia. She had to translate for two classmates, one from Long Island, New York and the other from Charleston, South Carolina.
Yes, there are some regional differences in vocabulary, slang and pronunciation between peninsular Spanish and Latin American Spanish, but it's about like the difference between English English and American English. They are (for the most part) mutually understandable, and it's easy to adjust to the differences.
One tip, though. If you plan on using the distinción pronunciaiton of the soft C and Z that is prevalent in parts of Spain, practice that. That's one thing that's a little harder to change later on.
Hi Phil,
I sincerely doubt that this an issue at your level.
There are minor vocabulary differences,
*papa* for *patata* .......*enojado* for *enfadado* for example.
Seriously, at your level these are minor problems, what you need and will get in abundance on this site is a good grammatical base laced with useful idiomatic phrases in easy helpful stages.
Heidita, based in Madrid, (according to rumour 
) has the European angle covered anyway.
You really don't need to worry about the distiction. If somebody spoke to you in English as a second language and you could spot the odd "americanism" or "tomato tamayta" moment you'd be more likely to be impressed by the persons fluency rather than focus on which accent or idiomatic origin it might be based on.
Anyway the best of luck, have fun and welcome to an addictive and pleasurable learning site. You'll get plenty of help.
Enjoy
I've used mostly Latin American resources simply because there are more of them. I live in Spain. It has never once been a problem. Even Bueno Entonces which was one of the first things I used uses "Vos" all the time but it was not difficult for me to pick up "tú" instead.
Yes, vosotros is a little harder for me to remember than the other forms and yes I know 4 different ways of saying "fridge" but I can honestly say I don't feel like I would have learned Spanish Spanish better if all the resources had been in Spanish.
When you're starting out it really doesn't matter. You're having a chat with your friends and you say frigorífico instead of nevera and she corrects you and that's it.
Yup, no worries. Apart from finer niceties and certain differences in pronunciation, there is no massive difference between Spanish in Latin America, and Spanish in Spain.
Just focus on grabbing the basics for now. ¡Buena suerte!
