iNteReStEd iN tHe SpAnIsH LaNgUaGe?

There's this free 6-day online Spanish course that I had earlier this month, and tell ya what, it was very helpful. All I learned were the basics, coz it's the free part anyway, but it was good. Worth my while, really.

Following is an excerpt from the newsletter that the author of the site sent me. Check it out, hope it'll help.

Now, I've been getting so many questions from users of my Mini-Course that I just had to include another note for you. Have you been wondering what the difference is between Latin American Spanish and Castilian Spanish (Castellano)? You may have heard people talk as if they were two different languages, and you may be wondering whether you're learning the right kind of Spanish for your situation. In this newsletter, I'll explain why the distinction between the two can be confusing, give you some tips about the type of Spanish best for you, and explain the kind of Spanish you'll find in Rocket Spanish.

Spanish isn't a static, uniform language, anymore than English is. For example, even though people in America, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand all speak English, they do so with distinctly identifiable accents and some quite remarkable regional variations. In fact, if you're talking about cookies (biscuits), trucks (lorries), or pants (trousers), you may wonder if American English and British English aren't completely different languages. The same is true with Spanish.

Because of the number of regional variations, it may be a bit general to divide all Spanish into Castellano (spoken in Spain) and Latin American (spoken in the Americas). There are a wide variety of regional accents in Latin America, from the rich slang of Mexico and Chile to the Quechua-influenced Spanish of the Andean region.

Almost all learn-Spanish courses base their material on the most widely accepted Spanish, that is promoted by the Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española). You can go anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world and be understood if you are speaking this "formal" Spanish. At a beginner's level, you will be learning the most basic building blocks of Spanish, which won't vary no matter which variation of Spanish you're learning. The biggest difference among Spanish courses taught by Peruvians, Mexicans, Spaniards, etc., will be in the use of the 'vosotros' form (used only in Spain) and the pronunciation. Spaniards will often pronounce 'z' and the 'c' before an 'i' or 'e' as a 'th' sound (rather like a lisp), while Latin Americans will pronounce these letters as an 's' sound. Spaniards also usually pronounce 'll' as a 'y' sound, while many Latin Americans will pronounce it as a 'j' sound.

Fortunately, just as your knowledge of a particular variation of English doesn't keep you from being able to understand an English speaker from another country, so other Spanish speakers will be able to understand you no matter which kind of Spanish you ultimately learn. Spanish speakers are just as aware of the language differences among their countries as English speakers are aware of the language differences among theirs.

In fact, they'll often be able to identify where you learned your Spanish by your accent! Rocket Spanish editor Amy Waterman learned Spanish in a village in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. When she returned to the U.S., a Salvadorian friend told her that she spoke like a peasant (como una campesina). He could identify the origins of her Spanish accent ... despite the fact that her Spanish still had strong traces of her American accent! Her accent didn't keep her Salvadorian friend or Mexican friends from understanding her - they just noticed that it was unusual.

At a beginner's level, it shouldn't matter much to you which sort of Spanish you learn. However, once you advance to an intermediate or advanced level, you should have a good idea of how you're going to use your Spanish. If your goal is to study abroad in Spain or spend a lot of time in Europe, then a Castilian accent will serve you in good stead. However, if you're living in the Western Hemisphere, a Latin American pronunciation will often prove to be more useful to you than a Castilian one.

The United States has the fifth largest Latino population in the world (35.3 million as of 2000), and the Spanish you'll hear spoken in the U.S. has strong Latin American roots, driven by its mainly Mexican composition. Some believe that the influence of the Latin American accent will grow as the Latino population in the U.S. gains increased media representation.

Be wary of learn-Spanish programs that claim to be able to teach you to speak in an accent indistinguishable from a native speaker. This sort of goal is unrealistic and takes your focus away from where it should be: mastering the language itself. Often, you can listen to foreigners who are completely fluent in Spanish, who have
lived in Spanish-speaking countries for many years, and hear a trace of their native accent. This isn't undesirable; in fact, you will often find that Spanish speakers find your "foreign" accent endearing! Personally, I find foreign accents fascinating, and Spanish speakers are no different.

¡Gracias por tu tiempo, y hasta luego!

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