Understanding accents in Spain
Are there regions in Spain where the accent is easier for a learner to understand? I am Australian, but will be there with my Venezuelan daughter-in-law, and my son who has learned his accent from her. I have a lot of difficulty understanding spoken Spanish already, but I don't want to make it harder by going to stay somewhere with very strong regional accents. Any advice?
3 Answers
From what I've been told Spain is a little like the UK, but the other way round! What I mean by this is, in the UK (generally speaking) the further north you go the stronger and more regional the accent becomes. Try listening to a couple of drunken Glaswegians lol, even English people have trouble desiphering what they are on about!
The Andalucian accent (southern Spain) can be quite challenging to understand. Also (as you know) a few regions in Spain have their own language so if you go there you might get caught out wondering what the hell they are on about, then realise that they are not speaking Spanish at all lol.
I like to go to the Costa Blanca South (ie south of Alicante). In summer it is a mix of expat Brits and other Europeans plus lots of Spanish holiday makers too - many of them from the Madrid area. Just go into any Spanish bar and chat away - the people are really friendly.
Naturally, the many bilingual people of the autonomous regions that have their own second official language (Catalonia, Basque Country, Galicia) will often find themselves speaking Spanish with the corresponding accent. The same goes for areas that have a lot of international immigrants (f.e. from Marocco, France or Latin America)
My Catalan friends always say that Andalusian people make a lot of mistakes (my teachers would call that linguïstic variation instead) and are very difficult to understand. In my personal experience however, the people of Seville are a lot easier to follow than those in Barcelona!
I also think you can say that in general, in the big city people have a less heavy dialect or accent than on the countryside. The flipside of the coin is that some of these cities attract immigrants from far and wide, making for much more linguïstic diversity wherever you go. Bonus: you're much more likely to find an English-speaking Spaniard here if you find yourself unable to communicate your problem (Hint: look for university students and young business(wo)men).
Salamanca is known for it's 'pure' Spanish; which is one of the reasons it's university attracts so many international students each year. 
It'll also depend on what crowd you'll be hanging with: if you want to hear what some will call "correct Spanish" (the type you find in Spanish language books), it'll help to surround yourself with people who received higher education.
Either way, there are many other factors I'd consider before ever worrying about dialect or accent: climate, things to go see and do, prices..
If someone speaks with a very heavy dialect, you can always ask your family to translate, or for the native to articulate clearly. ^^
I hope you'll have a great time, don't worry too much about your Spanish and seize this chance to practise it!
I think you need to decide what you want to do and see in Spain as your first priority. Eg City/country/beach/culture - of course in many regions you can easily do a mix of things. How long are you going for and how soon? I think your ear attunes to different accents in English and as you listen more so does it in Spanish. I have had teachers from Barcelona, Valencia Madrid and Mexico. They all did their best to speak clearly though one of the ones from Madrid spoke extremely fast! Do you have a teacher or are you self taught? Has your son been to Spain? If you are going to tourist areas in the height of summer you may have trouble finding a local speaker.
Some people say the accent in Galicia can be difficult to understand - I have only been for a short visit [to Santiago - brilliant] and had no trouble but of course it is one of the areas of Spain where local people speak their own language and many signs are in it. Areas of Catalonia speak predominantly catalan but again I had no problem speaking castellano.
The first time I went to Spain I decided to do a short language course and chose Salamanca which has a good reputation for its accent but I went in November and it was very cold. The next time I did a language course in November I went to Mexico,much warmer!
As Billy says in general terms the accent in the South [Andalucia] can be difficult because they often miss out letters, but I have also read that it is an accent/dialect that many of the people who went to the Americas used.
Really it will be down to whether you understand the way an individual speaks and you are more likely to have trouble because they speak too fast or use a word you do not understand. If it is directions or something vital you can ask them to write it down. I know if you do nut understand someones accent repeating it will not always make it clearer.
Do try and listen to more Spanish - go to the RTVE website where you can watch TV online or download a few radio programmes as podcasts. Listen to Notes in Spanish or Light speed Spanish and perhaps Mi Vida Loca on BBC.
Learn how to ask someone to repeat something/speak more slowly spell it etc
Whatever your level and wherever you choose to go I am sure you will be able to communicate much better than you expect and you will soon get used to the accent of where you choose.
The only region I know little about though I hope to visit soon is the Basque region. I know someone from Bilbao and can understand his Spanish but when in class we listened to a comedy set there where they all spoke fast it was difficult.
Once you have decided where you are going because choosing the area for what you want to do is important repost and I will try and post links to things from Native speakers
You will enjoy your trip..
