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Key Facts About Latin American Spanish
Castillian Spanish, what you might call classical Spanish, is a traditional variety of European Spanish with medieval and romance roots, originating in north and central Spain, and spoken as the standard 'official' version of Spanish for TV, radio and government purposes. Nevertheless even within Spain itself there are other competing Spanish languages and dialects, and other official languages.
In addition, being the language of an adventurous imperial superpower, Spanish has also travelled around the globe and mixed with other languages resulting in unique dialects and variations spoken in different geographic locations. Spanish is spoken by an estimated 400 to 500 million people worldwide, and more people speak a dialect of Spanish outside Spain than actually speak it in the language's country of origin.
South America is a vast continent stretching from Mexico in the North to Argentina in the South, and covering a rich diversity of landscapes and cultures. The population of the various South American countries speak their own regional variations on European Spanish. While there are some general over-arching differences between European Spanish and South American Spanish there are also some specific and fascinating differences.
Differences between Castillian Spanish and regional dialects can arise from incorrect usage or corruption of the classical language by the use of so-called loan words from other languages but they can also arise from the culture and interests of the individual countries.
For example, South or Latin American Spanish is more likely to include loan words from English, reflecting competing influences on the language. But because of geographic barriers and isolation the native languages in certain areas have retained a stronger influence, particularly when describing the natural world. This can be heard particularly strongly in the Spanish spoken in the Amazon region of South America.
Learn Bolivian Spanish for Close Connections
In other areas the regional Spanish spoken more closely resembles classical Spanish. Bolivia, for example, is a country in which not only have they kept more closely to the Spanish language, but many speakers of the old Spanish believe they have also kept a strong physical resemblance to the early Spanish colonialists.
Learn Caribbean Spanish for Cultural Diversity
The opposite is generally true of the Caribbean-influenced areas of South America, including Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and also various coastal populations and areas stretching into Venezuela and Colombia. Not only does the Spanish spoken in these areas have a base more closely associated with the Spanish of the Canaries and Anadalcia, but it also features the influence of African languages. This variation of Spanish continues to develop as a language due also to the influence of Spanish-speaking populations in the USA and other cultural influences.
Learn the Spanish and Guarani of Paraguay
Paraguay is an interesting country in terms of the development of Spanish, and perhaps it has the best of both worlds as it is the only South American country in which the majority of its population is effectively bilingual, having retained a strong native Guarani influence while adopting a more formal version of Spanish which is readily understood in other countries in the region.
Learn Buenos Aires Spanish for European Influence
The Spanish spoken around Buenos Aires and in Uruguay is a direct descendent of Castillian Spanish but enriched by native languages and also the influence of other European languages such as Italian and French.
If you want to explore the rich diversity of European languages then a school such as St Georges International London can help you make a start on any of these languages. For Spanish courses London is a great place to start as travel to both Spain and South America is easy.
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