Would all Spanish speakers understand me if...?

Question

Hello,

If I were to learn the Spanish that is spoken in Madrid for example, would ALL people who speak Spanish be able to understand me?

Many thanks,

John.

If you learned to speak the English spoken in London would all English speakers be able to understand you ? - ray76, Feb 23, 2015

It depends what you mean by 'understand' I struggle when a cockney from London speaks his dialect , but I have a certain understanding , but when some Kiwi dags are sounding off about the cricket , no way! - ray76, Feb 23, 2015

Answer 1

Yes of course. Just like us Kiwis can understand the English spoken in the USA, that spoken in England, Canada and the East Coast of Nicaragua to mention a few (and we even understand our Australian cousins) .

There may be the odd phrase that we have our doubts about and the way certain words are pronounced might sound a bit strange to us but generally speaking we have no problem understanding and communicating

Hey dag ! I hope that we give you a spanking at the cricket now . ;) :) - ray76, Feb 23, 2015

I agree , Kiwi. - annierats, Feb 23, 2015

Answer 2

The only thing about madrileños is that they talk reeaaallly fast!

Their pronunciation, apart from the ceceo is pretty standard and easily understood by everybody. They consider their prounuciation the best. Of course there are other opinions.
If you learn their pronuciation you will be easily understood.

Some Madrileños have almost the same attitude as the Parisians do regarding their city. See below.

What a pretty map . - ray76, Feb 25, 2015

Ahahaha, awesome :) - Manity, Feb 25, 2015

Answer 3

Yes, everybody would understand you.

You might at times not understand people from other parts of Spain or indeed other countries, but they will understand you.

And if you stay in a region or country for a bit you start to understand the local variant. Besides, if you speak to what we might call ' better educated people' there is no problem wherever you are.

Agreed, better educated people are a blessing in that respect. And in so many others. - Manity, Feb 23, 2015

Answer 4

I don't like many of the accents of Spanish, like Madrid's, Chile's, Mexico city's, Bogotá's and other parts of Colombia.

I like many other accents; from Andalucía, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Canarias and other speakers of Caribbean Spanish like me (Cubans, Panama).

I understand them all the same, except for the each specific jargon and idiomatic usages.

Diagonx, I saw a film about Peruvian fishermen, I understood it 10 times better than Andaluz Spanish and I wish to visit this village. - annierats, Feb 26, 2015

I just have aniggling worry that the actors may not have been local fishermen..The film is called ' Contracorriente' and it is very good. - annierats, Feb 26, 2015

You're right about being able to understand Peruvians better, Andaluz Spanish is the basis of Caribbean Spanish and we the speakers of it tend to swallow many letters up when we speak, the most distinctive feature of the dialect. - diagonx, Feb 26, 2015

I'd already watched the movie, one of the actor's Colombian but he's not a from the Caribbean region, I recommend you Argentine cinema, tends to be good and you'll be getting used to different ways to speak Spanish. - diagonx, Feb 26, 2015

Answer 5

You might not understand other Spanish dialects but other native Spanish speakers should be able to understand you, wherever they are from.

The important thing to remember is that some things that are perfectly acceptable in one country, may be rude in another!

Very true mate and should be remembered by all members be careful that you do not offend anyone here . - ray76, Feb 24, 2015

I used to get in trouble A L L the time in Mexico. Some totally innocent words that are used frequently in Spain are "bad news in Mexico. I used to pretend that I was a Gringa so they wouldn't think so bad of me. - Daniela2041, Feb 25, 2015

Answer 6

Yes, everyone would understand you.