Questions on dialect

Question

Why is it that words in Spain are pronounced different than words in Puerto Rico which are pronounced differently than in Mexico. They have different words like there are at least two different words for ketchup. Is it the specific type of ketchup or the dialect.

Welcome to the forum , we want to help you so fill out your profile If you have a problem PM a mod Bienvenido al foro. Queremos ayudarle, entonces hay que llenar su perfil. Si hay un problema, envíe un mensaje personal (PM) - ray76, Mar 22, 2016

Why are words in Birmingham pronounced different that London or Sydney or anywhere ? That is the nature of linguistics dialects - ray76, Mar 22, 2016

Please do not answer your own statement with another post , you have no question mark here, so just carry on , but tell us first your languages and their levels. - ray76, Mar 22, 2016

No reason "why" it just happens. That's why they say that Aussies and Yanks are separated by a common language. - Daniela2041, Mar 22, 2016

Answer 1

Spanish or Castilian originated in Spain. Then through trade and colonization, it came to Central and South America, along to many little islands. The Spanish there mixed with many of the native languages there. Since Latin America is made up of many hills and mountains, there were many colonies that spoke a dialect of Spanish specific to them (that was a mix of Spanish and the original native language to the area). When the highway system was put in place, all of these colonies merged. Merging many different dialects of Spanish to create more different dialects. It gets complicated, but this did not happen in Spain. So, many Latin-American ways to say things are completely different than the Spain way of saying things because, while having the same basic linguistic structure, they are not the same. Not even close.

Answer 2

Hi, Alejandraymaria. This is a very good question. I would like to say that the different sounds corresponding to the letters in the alphabet are the same all over the Spanish speaking world except for the letters C, Z, and S, that have 2 (maybe 3) slightly different interpretations, and the J, which has various levels of strength when pronounced. Usually what overall change are the terms used (mainly slang) and the accent. On the other hand, remember that the word ketchup is not Spanish. Note that different Spanish speaking regions follow different manners or philosophies when foreign terms are incorporated. That's why the several results. i.e. To park - Parquear, aparcar, estacionar Ketchup - Ketchup, catchúp, cachú

also: salsa de tomate (tomate sauce which is what Ketchup really is!) - FELIZ77, Apr 22, 2017

Answer 3

Why is a carbonated beverage a "soda" on the east coast of the U.S. a "pop" in the Midwest and a "coke" in some parts of the deep South? Yes, even an orange soda can be referred to as an "orange coke" even though in the Midwest this seems really, really strange.

And what about submarine sandwiches, hoagies, grinders, heros, Italian sandwich, footlong, etc? There are lots of words that are used regionally even within one country.

In terms of pronunciation, it can be very hard for people in the U.S. to understand each other if their dialect is not "middle of the road." I remember watching the great TV series, The Wire, for example, which was based on drug trade in Baltimore and they used many local actors. I could only understand about 20% of what was said unless I put on the captions...and then I could "only" undertstand 90% because of the different lingo.