Spanish Dialects

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A dialect is defined in linguistic terms as a language variety which is spoken in a specific territory. In the Spanish peninsula, for example, there are different dialects of Spanish. One should not, however, mix up the different dialects in Spain with the different languages spoken in the Peninsula: Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Galician.

The existence of dialects is a natural consequence of the dynamism of languages. For example, throughout its evolution, Spanish has adopted unique characteristics in the different places where it is spoken. Some of the dialects of Spanish in Spain are canario (from the Canary Islands), andaluz (from Andalusia), and madrileño (from Madrid). The different Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America also present national and regional variations. Thus, we can speak of an Argentinean, a porteño (from Buenos Aires city), a Peruvian or a Colombian dialect, among others.

The differences between dialects are usually limited to intonation, pronunciation and isolated words and expressions. An example of word variation within the Spanish peninsula is “candle”. Candle is referred to as “vela” in the northern and center parts of Spain, but as “candela” in the South. As for pronunciation, the word “Madrid” is pronounced in the capital of Spain as “Madrith”, whereas in the bilingual areas of the East coast, and because of the contact between Spanish and Catalan, it becomes “Madrit”. In the South, however, people tend to eliminate the final consonant and say “Madrí”.

One of the main differences between the dialects of Spain and those of Latin America is the use of pronouns. Thus, in Spain, the informal pronoun that has remained for the second person singular (in English “you”) is “tú”. However, some Latin American countries, (Argentina, Uruguay or Paraguay, for example) have retained the pre-modern “vos”. This leads to unique verb forms such as “¿entendés?” for “do you understand?” instead of the peninsular “¿entiendes?” or mixtures such as “¿Vos te marchás ya?” Instead of “¿Tú te marchas ya?” (In English, “are you leaving now?”).

The plural “you” also varies, and thus in Spain people differentiate between an informal “vosotros” and a formal “ustedes”, whereas this difference does not exist in Latin America at all. As for pronunciation differences, the only country where we can find speakers who pronounce the letter “c” before “e” and “i” as the English “th” is Spain. In the rest of the countries, (and also in the South of Spain) this “c” is pronounced as an “s”. Try to pronounce the word “cenicero” (ashtray) in both ways and you´ll hear the difference!

Even though dialects are socially valued differently (Andalusian, for example, is perceived as less educated than Castilian), linguistically speaking all dialects are equally valid. What we need to remember is that everyone speaks a dialect, and therefore dialects are NOT incorrect or less valid versions of a language. If you study Spanish in Buenos Aires and interact -as you should- with locals, you will learn the particularities of that area.

How to Learn Spanish on the Internet

With the popularity of the Internet has come the opportunity to partake in a plethora of new services. Who would have imagined that you could, for example, learn the fundamentals of the Spanish language from an online course? All you need is an Internet connection and the desire to learn.

Providers of online Spanish language courses offer a number of programs from which to choose. Online language-course services not only offer fast-paced Spanish language lessons but many also try to make the learning experience a pleasurable endeavor.

Various exercises are offered to assist online students in becoming more familiar with the Spanish language. Some providers use the "natural language acquisition" method which closely resembles the way children in every culture learn their own language. With this approach, online students build the foundation, attitudes, habits, skills and learning strategies that will help them to learn quickly the Spanish language.

Online resources are available, like English/Spanish dictionaries, online translators and other learning tools, that may be downloaded from various sites free of charge.

For those who want a more traditional education, there are online Spanish courses administered by expert language tutors and self-paced independent study programs. Some Spanish courses conduct weekly online "meetings" using live voice chat to provide students with a real-time exchange of information and to help them learn proper pronunciation. Spanish courses found online include introductory and advanced level Spanish, business Spanish, health care Spanish, Spanish and Law, Spanish for Emergency Situations, and Spanish for teachers.

There are many benefits to learning Spanish online. You can study any time, from any location and most importantly at your own pace and you earn a certificate of completion that's acknowledged by educational institutions..

History of Spanish - Part 1

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Spanish is, after Mandarin Chinese and English, the third most spoken language in the world, with an estimated 400.000.000 of native speakers throughout the planet. Its origins, however, are much more reduced, both geographically and numerically.

Together with other initially European languages such as Portuguese, French or Italian, the linguistic roots of Spanish make it a Romance language. This means that Latin, or more specifically, Vulgar Latin, constitutes its most important linguistic base.

The constant contact and mutual influence of the Latin basis with other linguistic traditions and cultures has led to the formation of the different Romance languages as we know them today. In the case of Spanish, there are, for example, characteristics that come from the Iberian and Celtic traditions.

There is also a great amount of Greek vocabulary that was first adopted by Latin speakers and then brought into Spanish. Words such as “escuela” (school) or “huérfano” (orphan) all belong to this tradition. And we should not forget the seven centuries of Arab domination of the peninsula. This has left, among other things, an important legacy of lexical elements that have been incorporated into the Spanish language. A surname you probably know which exemplifies this is “Almodóvar”.

Spanish is, especially in the bilingual territories of Spain, also known as castellano (Castilian), because of its origins in the region of Castilla. Castilla is situated in the north-central part of Spain, and it was once the neuralgic center of the Spanish empire that would take the Spanish language to more than twenty other countries.

The establishment of a linguistic unity of Spanish as a common language for the state of Spain was parallel to its territorial unity. This union was only possible after the Reconquest of the peninsula from the Arab settlers, at the end of the 15th century. The kingdom of Castilla, and also its linguistic variety, expanded to the practical totality of the Iberian Peninsula. After the marriage of Isabel I of Castilla and Fernando II of Aragón, the Spanish state was born, and Castilian language and culture became its most dominant identity. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, through a series of linguistic evolutions and normalizing changes, the language of the Spanish state became what is nowadays known as Modern Spanish.

It is important to remember, however, that spoken Spanish is not identical in the different regions of the Spanish state. In fact, its pronunciation and lexical characteristics can vary to a very significant extent from one place to another. However, the maintenance of a unified, standard, version of the Spanish language and of its written form is guaranteed by the Real Academia de la Lengua Española. The Academia sets the rules to follow in order to speak and write in a way that is accepted by all the different Spanish speakers.

Why Choose Spanish?

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Why learn Spanish of all languages? Why not Italian, French, or even Mandarin? Well, mainly because it seems to be the most practical language to have these days living in the US. With an ever-expanding Latin American population, being able to speak a language that is becoming so widely used would be an invaluable asset. Schools are even becoming bi-lingual and Spanish is stressed. There are even parts of the country; Miami springs to mind, where there are most likely more people for whom Spanish is their first language than there are people who are native English speakers.

Even outside of the states, Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world; the ranking is apparently in dispute as I found numerous statistics. Most Latin American countries, those in Central and South America speak Spanish with an ever increasing amount of people in the United States. That is almost an entire hemisphere full of a language. And then there is Spain as well, while that Spanish may be slightly different than the Spanish in Latin America, Spanish it still is.

There are an ever-increasing amount of reasons why people should learn Spanish. Not only because of the amount of people who speak it but in a more selfish way it is becoming increasingly valuable to speak a second language professionally. The problem is that people in the United States tend to be more than a little arrogant in their thought that English is the most important language and they simply don’t need to speak anything else.

Being bilingual gives one opportunities to live and work outside of the country that would be unavailable otherwise. It gives one options. And given the large amount of counties in which Spanish is spoken it gives one a lot of options.

Spanish as a Second Language

So you’ve decided to learn a language – Awesome! Learning a new language is something that can have tangible effects on your everyday life, whether it makes a vacation more fulfilling or helps you find a better job. Three hundred and fifty million people in the world speak Spanish, so what better language could there be to learn?

With twenty-five countries in the world speaking the Spanish as their official or primary language, learning Spanish makes sense. While acquiring any second language has many benefits, (such as improving memory and problem-solving abilities, enhancing one’s ability in any mother tongue and improving self-esteem) choosing a language that has huge practical applications increases the value of the study involved. With the US being the third largest Spanish speaking country in the world, and this language second only to English in the frequency it is spoken in homes, learning Spanish is a wise choice.

Whether Spanish is learned as part of a school curriculum or taken up in later life, the benefits of gaining an understanding of this language in particular are manifold. A knowledge of Spanish can afford an important edge in today’s competitive job markets, particularly as an increasing number of corporations are opening offices in South America. The NAFTA treaty signed by the USA, Canada and Mexico has also increased trade and communications between these three nations, making an understanding of the Spanish language more useful than ever in the work place.

Studying Spanish is also valuable in providing enrichment at a personal level, as the countries in which the language is spoken offer a multi-layered cultural heritage that can be best explored through its native tongue. Many literary masterpieces were written by Spanish authors, and can be enjoyed to their full extent in their original language. An understanding of the Spanish language also cultivates the desire to travel to foreign lands, opening up new and fascinating worlds to the student.

Learning Spanish can open up so many avenues of exploration, from those in the business world to more personal paths of discovery. Enhance your understanding of the world around you by learning about the linguistic heritage of another culture, and see the world you live in as never before.

Should you teach Spanish to your child?

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There are many reasons for wanting your children to learn Spanish. Some parents are interested in preparing their children for life in today's world where it is important to know more than one language. This is even more important in our hemisphere where it becomes increasingly valuable to know Spanish.

Other people think of the intellectual stimulation that learning a language provides. They think that they can give their children a an additional intellectual challenge in a painless way. Researcher in London, England have determined that learning a second language boosts brain power which remains throughout life.

Learning a language can be a source of pride and self esteem for the child who is fortunate enough to be exposed to learning outside of the classroom. Of course, helping your child learn to speak Spanish is easier if you can speak Spanish yourself. For more information, see the BestWayToLearnSpanish.info.

Don't Forget Your Dictionary!

On my first trip to Peru, in my excitement I forgot to pack several things. Somehow, I made it out of my house without my toothbrush and toothpaste, but fortunately I was able to replace them as soon as I realized my mistake. Far worse than forgetting those things, however, was the realization that I had forgotten my Spanish dictionary that I had bought and practiced with just for this trip.

Many people told me that having a Spanish dictionary would be one of the best tools for living in Peru. I certainly believed it, but I had no real idea until I got here just how true it really was. I was like a lost puppy! My Spanish wasn't as good as I thought it was. I couldn't really talk with locals and could only make out the simplest words on signs or billboards.

The only way I was able to make it through in the beginning was by having my husband there to translate nearly everything for me. I eventually bought a new dictionary, and then of course became much more fluent in Spanish as time went on. However, I learned quickly that gestures and pointing can go a long way when no words can be communicated.

If you're learning Spanish to travel, you may not have the luxury of a "husband/translator" traveling with you. Forgetting your Spanish/English dictionary or phrasebook can put a big damper on your trip, and cost you the chance to really get to know the people who live in the country you're visiting.

Learning Spanish Online

Learning a new language such as Spanish can be very rewarding and it can really broaden your options. However, whether you're learning Spanish for travel or to help your job opportunities, you may find you don't have the time to attend an after work class. In that case, you have the alternative of learning to speak Spanish online

If you are looking to learn Spanish fast online then fear not - it couldn't be easier. Whilst there are many Spanish courses online which do take a long time to complete, there is also a good selection of quick lessons which you can really benefit from.

Sometimes you don't always have time to join up with long term language courses. It could be that you are going on a last minute holiday or perhaps you have an unexpected business meeting with a Spanish client. If so and you are not overly confident in your ability to speak Spanish, you may be in desperate need of fast Spanish lessons. But is it really possible to learn Spanish fast online?

Ideally when you look to learn Spanish fast online, you need to take a number of factors into account. The main one is do the lessons tell you how to say the words? Some fast track courses will only show you how the word is said and this makes it a lot more difficult to learn. So with any online quick Spanish courses, they should be interactive and you should be able to hear the word being said to you. It is a well known fact that people learn quicker when they hear and see things together. So a good fast online Spanish course will make use of these skills.

Learning to speak Spanish online can be a lot cheaper than learning in a class. You can even learn to speak Spanish online for free if you look around. The great thing about the internet is that there is always a lot of information that you can pick up for free and learning to speak Spanish is one topic you should find a lot of free information on.

How Should You Learn Spanish?

How to learn Spanish? As I am sure you know learning a foreign language is not an easy task unless you are one of those people with an “ear for language”, something I never really understood. There are many available options. The first that comes to mind is obviously taking a course in your high school, college, or other educational institution. This is a convenient and trusted way to learn, and one that has been utilized for years. However, given that most of the people that take a language in high school or college never actually become bilingual, the merits of this method seem to be suspect.

As with anything else, when deciding how you want to learn Spanish, the internet is as good a place to start as any. If you look on the internet you will find a wealth of options available to you. There are a very large amount of study systems being sold, some at reasonable prices and others for a small fortune. There are also programs for placement in Spanish speaking countries that allow you to totally immerse yourself in the language. Then there are even websites with free exercises and drills that will help you get started.

My personal opinion is that online learning is the best way to start. If I didn't believe so, I wouldn't have started this blog! There is a lot of information to be found on the internet. But you're never going to truly learn Spanish without some form of interactivity - listening and speaking, learning to follow a real conversation - and that's where the best Spanish language software programs come in. The web page in that link can help you with choosing the program that is right for you.

Learning Spanish Grammar - Verbs and Nouns and Adjectives, Oh My!

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When learning Spanish, it can be helpful to familiarize yourself with its main grammatical units. This is the first necessary step in order to understand and create meaningful speech.

Here are the main grammatical elements in Spanish and some useful information about them:

Nouns:
A noun is a word which is mostly used to refer to a person or thing. All nouns in Spanish have a gender, meaning that they are either masculine or feminine. For example, “niño” (boy) is masculine and “niña” (girl) is feminine. The best way to identify gender is undoubtedly experience, although here are some general guidelines which may be useful at the beginning: usually nouns ending in –o are masculine and nouns ending in –a are feminine. Of course there are always exceptions.

For example, “mano” (hand) and “radio” (radio) are feminine. On the other hand, words of Greek origin ending in –ma, such as “dilema” (dilemma) or “problema” (problem) are masculine. When you are learning new vocabulary, it is recommendable that you learn a noun together with its corresponding article. That will help you to remember their gender. For example “la niña”, “la mano” or “el problema” and “el niño”.

Verbs:
Learning Spanish verb forms is easily the most complicated part of Spanish. Verbs, of course, indicate actions. The basic form of Spanish verbs is called the infinitive; an example would be “hablar” (to speak). In Spanish there are three different groups of verbs, based on the spelling of the end of their infinitive form. These three different categories are called conjugations.

The three conjugations are:

• verbs that end in –ar, such as “hablar”,
• in -er “comer” (to eat) and
  
• in –ir “dormir” (to sleep).
  

Verbs in Spanish have different endings depending on who is performing the action. These endings will vary from one conjugation to the other. For example, with the verb “hablar”, the singular “you” is “(tú) hablas”, whereas with “comer” it is “(tú) comes”. This can obviously be complicated for learners at the beginning, but once you get used to it, you will have no problem communicating effectively.


Adjectives:
Adjectives are used to describe a particular noun, to say something about it. It is important to remember that in Spanish they are usually placed after the noun. Since adjectives are always related to a noun, they have to agree with them in gender and number.

This means that if you want to say something about the noun “niño”, which is masculine and singular, the adjective that you use will also have to be masculine and singular. Thus, you can say “niño alto” (tall boy), “niño pequeño” (small boy), etc. If, on the other hand, if you were talking about a girl, you would have to say “niña alta” and “niña pequeña”.

Pronouns:
Pronouns substitute for nouns. For example, you can say “la niña está aquí” (the girl is here) or “ella está aquí” (she is here). In this case “ella” is substituting for “la niña”. The subject pronouns in Spanish are “yo” (I), “tú/usted/vos” (singular you), él (he), ella (she), nosotros (we), vosotros/ustedes (plural you), ellos (they).

The singular and plural “you” are used differently depending on the dialect of Spanish that you are using. It is important to remember that subject pronouns are frequently omitted in Spanish, since the ending of the verb already makes it clear who is performing the action. Thus, native spears would say “estoy aquí” (I’m here) rather than “yo estoy aquí”.

How Hard is Learning Spanish?

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In the last article, ‘Why Learn Spanish?’ I talked about the different reasons why people might decide to learn how to speak Spanish. I also talked about the great sense of achievement that learning another language can bring you. In this article I am going to talk about the different things you should consider before embarking on such a crusade.

I think a lot of people believe that learning another language won’t actually be that difficult. Well, maybe it won’t be for some, but if like me you have never tried to learn a foreign language before then it may well turn out to be one of the most challenging things that you are ever likely to attempt. Of course I don’t want to put anybody off, after all, in my last article I said that anybody can do it. Well, I absolutely believe this, but I also believe that you should realistically think about how and when learning Spanish can be achieved for you.

Of course not everyone is the same. Some of us are better at doing some things than other people are. So, it stands to reason that learning Spanish might be easier for one person than it is for another. The truth is that learning a new language can be achieved by possessing any number of different skills. That's why the best ways to learn Spanish appeal to a broad range of learning styles.

When I first started to think about how and when I would learn Spanish I honestly thought it was going to be easier than it actually was. I think one reason was because I was comparing myself to the millions of Europeans that fluently speak English. Anyone who has been to Germany, or Scandinavia will know that pretty much everybody can speak English. I thought if so many of them can learn a new language then it couldn’t be that difficult!

Now, when I think about Europeans speaking English I realize that they are so good at it because they have been learning it practically since they started to learn their own languages. This is certainly one of the key things that you need to realize about learning Spanish. It will not happen overnight. It is a process that can literally takes years.

Some languages might be considered more difficult to learn than others but of course this is all relative. It is true however, that the structure and functionality of some languages are more similar to each other than they are to others. The structure of the French language for example more closely mimics the structure of the Spanish language than it does English.

If you can already speak another language then perhaps learning Spanish will be easier for you. Even if it isn’t then at least you will already be prepared for the learning experience that you are about to embark on.

At this stage you might well be thinking, how can I prepare myself for the learning experience that I am about to embark of if I have never tried to learn a different language before? How can I prepare myself for the challenges ahead if I don’t even know what the challenges are? The reality is that your not going to know how difficult or easy learning Spanish might be until you actually get started. All I really want to emphasize at this point is that you shouldn’t underestimate how difficult and frustrating it might turn out to be. Patience is the key!

Of course you should be very positive and excited about learning Spanish, after all if you don’t enjoy doing it then what is the point! Learning Spanish could be one of the most amazing and fulfilling experiences that you have ever had. It certainly has been for me. Believe me, learning Spanish could open new doors in your life that you had never before thought possible. Heck, if not for having learned a little Spanish before hand, I would have never met my husband in the first place!

Why Learn Spanish?

There are lots of reasons why someone might want to learn Spanish. Perhaps you're planning a holiday or business trip to a Spanish speaking country - or maybe you are thinking of moving to one. You might live in an area with lots of Spanish speakers, and know that the ability to converse in another language could help you in your job. It might even be that you don't really 'need' to speak Spanish at all - but you want to be able to say that you can. The ability to communicate in another language certainly gives you a great sense of achievement.

My reasons for learning Spanish were clear. I had always been drawn to the language, and living in Florida had picked up a bit here and there. Although I had wanted to learn Spanish for a long time, the main reason I finally decided to do something about it was because I was planning a move to Peru. I had met a Peruvian man while I was on vacation in Caribbean, and well... long story short, I was moving to Peru to marry him. :) Well that was a back in 2002, when we first met, and I've been living in Peru since 2004. Since that time, the Spanish language has literally taken me over. I wouldn’t have believed it then but now Spanish is a part of my every day life. I can speak, read and understand Spanish to the point where I rarely have to think about it anymore.

When people ask me if I can speak Spanish fluently, I am always a little hesitant to say yes. The truth is that even though I can communicate well in Spanish, I still don’t feel that I know enough. I am not really sure if I ever will! There are always new words and phrases to learn - and apart from 'regular' Spanish, there's all the delicious slang!

I think one of the biggest tests for me is being able to sit in front of the TV movie in Spanish with my family and completely understand everything that is going on. After all, if I can do that in English why shouldn’t I be able to do the same in Spanish? Well, I have to admit that although I'm not quite there yet, I DO understand enough that I no longer need to use those distracting subtitles.

So, how did I go from just knowing a few simple phrases in Spanish to being able to read a Spanish book, speak to a Spanish-speaking friend or watch a Spanish movie? Well the answer to that is what I intend to write about in this blog. The truth is that learning a new language takes time and requires a great deal of patience and commitment. However, what I really want to convey at this point is that anybody can do it easily if they really want to. I was over 40 years old when I started seriously learning Spanish - If I could do it, ANYONE can!