One of the first decisions students who want to learn Spanish have to make is whether to study Spanish from Spain or Spanish from a Latin American country.
But are there really that many differences between the two? In this article, we’ll look at the ten main differences between Spanish from Spain and the Spanish spoken in America, both linguistic and cultural.
1. Greetings in Latin America and Spain
It is very important to greet correctly depending on where you are.
The greeting is the first difference you notice when greeting someone from Latin America or Spain. Also, within Latin America, you’ll find some differences.
The first thing we’ll distinguish is between formal and informal greetings.
In Spain
Formal greeting
- Men and women greet in the same way, with a handshake or by saying hello/good morning/ good afternoon/ good evening.
Informal greeting
- Women usually greet with two kisses, regardless of whether it’s a man or a woman.
- Men distinguish between greeting a woman and a man. When greeting a woman, they prefer to give two kisses on the cheek; when greeting a man, they prefer a handshake.
In Latin America
Formal greeting
- Men and women greet in the same way, with a handshake or by saying hello/good morning/ good afternoon/ good evening.
Informal greeting
- The main difference with Spain is that in Latin America they usually give just one kiss, instead of two. Women usually greet with a kiss, regardless of whether it’s a man or a woman.
- Men in Latin America also distinguish between greeting a woman and a man. When greeting a woman, they prefer to give two kisses on the cheek; when greeting a man, they prefer a handshake.
- The difference is in informal greetings among men in Argentina, because there they greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek, regardless of gender.
2. Accent and Pronunciation in Spain and Latin America
If you’ve ever watched a Latin American series or movie, you may have noticed they speak a bit differently than in Spanish series or movies. This is because Spanish has many accents, and pronunciation and intonation vary.
What factors influence accent differences?
Accent and pronunciation are affected by the following factors:
- Geographical area: the place
- Standard: the normative language, i.e., the one that follows spelling and grammar rules and is taught in classrooms.
- Colloquial: the language used in more informal, familiar, or relaxed contexts.
- Vulgar: where vulgarisms, incorrect, incomplete, or mispronounced words are used.
3. Seseo
This is one of the most obvious differences and helps us know if someone is from Latin America, but be careful! Seseo also exists in Spain, for example among speakers from the Canary Islands, where they also pronounce like in Latin America.
But what is seseo? Seseo is pronouncing the letter c before e and i as if it were an s. Also, pronouncing z as s. For example:
- Cero → [sero]
- Cima → [sima]
- Zapato → [sapato]
4. Voseo
The use of “vos” instead of “tú”. Interestingly, this form was once used in Spain to refer to the second person singular, but in a more polite way. Today, it’s no longer used in Spain, but in many Latin American countries it is, both formally and informally. For example:
- Oye ¿tú te vas a ver esa peli? → Oye ¿vos te vas a ver esa peli?
- Yo te quiero a ti → Yo te quiero a vos.
5. The “yeísmo rehilado”
This is the technical name, but it’s simpler than you think. It’s the pronunciation of the letters y and ll with the [sh] sound, especially in Argentina and Uruguay. This difference helps us recognize if the person we’re listening to is from this area of Latin America. For example:
- Yo → [sho]
- Llueve → [shueve]
6. Forms of Address in Latin America and Spain
In Spain, people use “tú” (tutear), that is, they use “tú” to address another person, but in Latin America “usted” is preferred. This happens both formally and informally. And when speaking in plural, there’s also a change. While in Spain “vosotros” is used, in Latin America they use “ustedes”. For example:
In Spain:
Tú eres de Colombia, ¿verdad?
Vosotros sois de Madrid
In Latin America:
Usted es de Colombia, ¿verdad?
Ustedes son de Madrid
7. Vocabulary between Spanish from Spain and Latin America
Vocabulary is definitely one of the biggest differences between Spanish from Spain and Latin America. You might find that a word or expression changes depending on the country you’re in. For example:
Bus: Spain
Bus: Colombia and Ecuador
Truck: Mexico
Guagua: Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, also used in the Canary Islands (Spain)
Colectivo: Argentina
Ómnibus: Venezuela
Another example:
Boyfriend/girlfriend: Spain
Pololo/a: Chile and Bolivia
Firme: Peru
Enamorado/a: Ecuador
Chavo/a: Mexico
Empate: Venezuela
Jeva: Dominican Republic
8. Diminutives
Diminutives can express affection or the small size of something or someone, although they can also be used in a derogatory way. Most Latin American countries use diminutives more frequently than Spain. In Latin America, they are used more, especially in informal settings.
The favorite diminutive in America is -ito, -ita, for example:
boy, girl → niñito, niñita
hat → sombrerito
people → gentecita
quite → bastantito
In Spain, the most used suffixes are:
-illo, -illa → man → hombrecillo
-ito, -ita → woman → mujercita
-ico, -ica → pretty → bonico, bonica
-ín, -ino, -ina → dog → perrín, perrino, perrina
Although Spain has a greater variety of suffixes, in Latin America they are used more frequently. Also, in Latin America, the diminutive -ito, -ita can be stretched much more, for example:
Now → ahorita → ahoritita → ahorititititita
9. Terms of Endearment
Terms of endearment are words we use to refer to someone or something affectionately to show their importance or value to us. Although everyone understands the meaning and intention behind certain terms of endearment in Latin America, the truth is that some terms may seem different or overly sweet to Spaniards. For example:
- The use of a possessive before or after a noun or adjective, for example: my heart, my love, my beautiful, my heart, my love, my beautiful one.
- Mi cielo and mi ciela are used in Latin America. Although in Spain the feminine form of this word sounds strange, cielo is used for both genders.
- Spain and Latin America also use diminutives affectionately, usually adding a suffix to certain nouns (animals or foods) and adjectives. For example: galletita, bollito, gatito, ratoncita, guapita, tontito.
- You can also add possessives before or after the diminutives. For example: mi galletita, galletita mía, mi ratoncito, ratoncita mía, mi tontito, tontito mío.
- Terms like: mi mami, mami, mamita, mi papi, papi, papito. These are used to refer to parents, but also to a partner in Latin America. In Spain, this sounds a bit strange since mami or papi are used almost exclusively to address parents.
10. Movies in Spanish from Latin America and Spain
This last difference is a curious fact. If you’ve ever seen a movie in Spanish, many times there will also be a Latin American dub. One of the first dubbed movies was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which had a rather odd mix of Latin American and Spanish accents.
Over time, dubbing has improved, and now there is good dubbing. The only detail is that the Latin version used to have a Mexican accent, which omitted accents from other countries. Although now this has improved and more voice actors from all over Latin America are included.
Besides dubbing, movies usually have two translations. Here are some examples:
Home Alone → Solo en casa (Spain)
→ Mi pobre angelito (Latin America)
The Notebook → El diario de Noa (Spain)
→ Diario de una pasión (Latin America)
After seeing all these differences, which one did you find most interesting? Did you know them all? Now you can discuss with your friends which difference you found most interesting, and ask them which is theirs.
