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I am finally getting serious about learning Spanish, and I was just wondering if Latin American Spanish is closer to the type spoken in Andalusia, or whether to get the Spain version of programs such as Fluenz etc.
Or does it matter at all? I am thinking of taking a course this summer, but it would be nice to get started asap!
Thanks!
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"I'm just a poor crazy man in love with his art." Santos Hernandez
Posts: 42
Joined: Jun. 9 2011
From: Granada, España
RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Harry)
Hello Harry. Written spanish is the same all over the world as the rules concern spanish language as a whole. Spoken spanish is another issue. You will find differences between the spanish spoken in Latin America and the one spoken in Spain. You will find differences at all levels. By that I mean that inside Latin America a Mexican for example will use different expressions than an Argentinian. Inside the same country, for example, in Spain, you will find differences between a guy from Madrid and a guy from Seville. And inside a region from Spain, like Andalucia, you will also find differences between how the speak in the West and how they speak in the East. How people from the coast speak and how people from the interior speak.
What I'm trying to point out is that gramma and written spanish is one thing and then spoken reality another...I don't think it really matters what you choose, until you come to Andalucia and start listening how people speak in the streets, in the bars, etc you wont get familar with the accent. Even spanish people that come from the north have some times difficulty understunding a very regional andalucian strong accent.
The closest accent to the Latin American spanish that we have in Spain is the one they speak in the Canary Islands, it is very similar to how they speak in Venezuela. Personally I don't think that the spanish spoken in Andalucia is similar to the one in Latin America generally speaking. You may find it a bit more similar than how people from the North of Spain speak, definately, but is not that similar from my point of view.
RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Pingaloka)
quote:
You may find it a bit more similar than how people from the North of Spain speak, definately, but is not that similar from my point of view.
Thanks very much for your advice! this is basically what I was wondering because I am worried that the Spain Spanish softwares will actually be less close to the Spanish spoken in Andalusia than the Latin American Spanish softwares. I am inclined based on your thoughts to get the Latin American software.
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"I'm just a poor crazy man in love with his art." Santos Hernandez
Posts: 2697
Joined: Jun. 7 2010
From: The South Ireland
RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Harry)
As to the spanish language it is divided up into different "languages the main one being ( what you need ) Castellano, this is used all over latin america. Andalu" is a regional dialect of Castellano , Everyone will understand this as many programs on TV are from South America anyway , mainly Telenovelas or Mexican stuff like "El Chavo del ocho " ..etc... As to dialects there are many ,, just consider them as they are i your English world , so you have english spoken in the USA is a bit different to , Australia and New zealand , or Canada..also South Africa, and within England there are the dialects of different cities , north south , Scotland , Wales etc..
But communication is clear , I suppose .. Anyway just stick to Castellano and you will be fine .
Se aprende Hablar , Hablando ..( One learns to speak , Speaking.)
RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Harry)
Harry, you should also consider that not everyone you meet over there will be speaking heavy Andalú dialect. Also you may want to go to Madrid where lots of flamencos live and perform, and which is a great place in its own right.
From my own small experience of travelling in South America and Spain, I definitely recommend that - for your purposes - you study Spanish Spanish. Of course, as Pingaloka says, in different parts of Spain itself you will find different expressions for the same thing, but the differences (generally speaking) are greater between Spain and Latin America, so if you learn the Spanish style there will be less confusion and less to re-learn. It's not just a question of different vocabulary for a lot of ordinary items, but also an element of grammar. That is, the second person plural verb form is just not used in Latin America, but it is very common in Spain so it would make life easier for you if you learned it right from the start.
Posts: 3497
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Harry)
Harry,
You definitely want to learn Spanish that is spoken in Spain. There is not only a large difference between Spanish spoken in Spain and that spoken in Latin America, there is a large difference in Spanish spoken in different Latin American countries. For example, Spanish spoken in Argentina has different expressions, and a very different pronunciation in some cases, than that spoken in Colombia. Stick to Spanish as spoken in Spain and you will be just fine.
Cheers,
Bill
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RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Harry)
I graduated from the university with a 3 years Spanish degree. I´ve lived in Andalucia almost 11 years and my wife is Spanish.
In Andalucian villages, the accent is so strong that its very often very difficult for me to understand. They speak very fast and articulate very poor. My wife is from north Spain but she has lived in Andalucia 30 years, so she understands, but when her brothers or sisters from north Spain come to visit us, they have problems with understanding the locals.
When in noisy environments, things get worse and the fact that andalucians have a tendency to speak everyone at the same time and they are also very noisy, doesnt help understanding.
For me, even though I´ve lived here for such a long time, its 10 times easyer to understand most Latinamerican accents except maybe argentino and when they speak slang.
Posts: 1812
Joined: Nov. 8 2010
From: London (living in the Bay Area)
RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Harry)
Yes, Latin American Spanish is quite a bit different from national Spanish, and you should definitely learn the latter if your purpose is to further your flamenco studies.
Destinos
In the US there is an excellent full-length video course that includes an exploration of the different national Spanish dialects: it's called Destinos. It's shown on Public Television occasionally, but my wife and I got it from the library and worked through it. It takes the form of a soap opera, starting with very simple Spanish and working up from there.
It seems to be hard to find on DVD now, although Amazon US lists it on VHS tape:
Another point is that you should figure out your own best learning mode: is it analytical or imitative, i.e. do you learn best by having the grammar and vocabulary explained to you, and then trying to synthesise them into sentences? Or do you prefer immersion and imitation? Depending on what your preference is, some courses may be wrong for you.
If you’re analytically inclined like me, I recommend the original version of Teach Yourself Spanish by N. Scarlyn Wilson, which you can pick up for a penny plus postage
• Almost nobody uses the Castillian lisp taught in foreign schools; you’ll feel a fool saying "Paco de Loo-thee-a" when everyone else is saying "Loo-see-a". So it’s best to drop that from the start.
• Speaking of dropping things: Andalusians are famous (as has been mentioned) for dropping consonants; so that (for instance) "Cádiz" becomes "Cai". It takes time to adjust to this.
RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Paul Magnussen)
quote:
Almost nobody uses the Castillian lisp taught in foreign schools; you’ll feel a fool saying "Paco de Loo-thee-a" when everyone else is saying "Loo-see-a". So it’s best to drop that from the start.
This, as a generalization for Andalucía, is simply not true.
There are areas where the "th" pronunciation is used, and others where it isn't. One of the characteristics of broad Andalú - as exemplified in the excellent and hilarious Curso d'Andalú video above - is the tendency to use the "th" sound not only for 'z' and 'ci/ce', but for 's' as well (in those positions - initially or between vowels - where it actually is pronounced rather than aspirated or dropped altogether).
RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Harry)
Paul, What you describe is called seseo. Only using s sounds and no lisping (th). Just like in Latin American Spanish. Its typical for Sevilla and its province. But pretty rare elsewhere in Andalucia.
On the other hand you can find a lot ceceo, only using lisping (th) in s, c and z. This is typical of Cadiz and its province but can be found everywhere in Andalucai especially in villages. The guy in the video is typical ceceo.
Also final S is not pronounced, but its not cut away totally instead its replaced by an expiration so that Andrés becomes more or less Andréh. Cosas > cosah, España > Ehpaña
Posts: 2697
Joined: Jun. 7 2010
From: The South Ireland
RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
quote:
Its typical for Sevilla and its province. But pretty rare elsewhere in Andalucia.
Its typical in a lots of Andalucia , parts like Cordoba and Jaen although in Jaen they dont eat the last "s" as much ., and another common thing is that almost everything is diminutive..Cerveza,(Ser-bay-sa) is Cervezita , cañita , tubito, and many many things...cositas,,,
RE: Spanish Language in Andalusia (in reply to Harry)
Harry:
I'm a big fan of learning a language in its most original accent/context (ie, French from France, Spanish from Spain, English from England). Unless, of course, you can't help it (like in how we speak a Canadian English dialect). I recently dusted off a Spain Spanish course pack I bought a few years back, published by Oxford. I would have said let us get together and study/practice, but we haven't even found the time to get together to practice Flamenco, so fat chance!
I should mention that meetup.com has a local Spanish language group that meet regularly for practice and outings. I'm sure there are ones in all major cities that one can use as a good auxiliary resource.
¡Vivan los flamencos que no hablan bien el español!
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