Visual Link Spanish Newsletter (V:1; I:5)

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Spanish Culture ----- Spanish from Spain or Mexico?

A lot of people have the mistaken idea that the Spanish language that is used in Spain is completely different from that spoken in Mexico. They also believe that if you speak in Mexican Spanish, they won't be able to understand you in Spain. I don't know where people get this idea from, but it is simply not true. As I mentioned in last week's newsletter, some individual words may vary region to region (especially slang or swear words) but the core language spoken in each country is still the same. It is still Spanish!

There is a very close correlation between English from the United States, England, and Australia and Spanish spoken in Spain and Mexico. For example, if someone from England or Australia talks, I, as an American, can understand them just fine and they can understand me. Sure we have different accents, some of their swear words are different, and I may not understand many of their slang words but we can understand each other. It is the same with Spanish in Spain, Mexico, and *Latin America. They have different accents and their regional uses of some words may vary but they can understand each other just fine.

As I previously mentioned, the average person thinks that Spanish is completely different in Spain and Mexico, but now you know better.

I would like to thank Maria in Australia and an anonymous e-mailer in New Zealand who answered our newsletter from a couple of weeks ago and let us know that they do throw things like keys and other small objects to each other in those countries. I haven't heard from anyone in England yet and would still like to hear from you. (For more details on this story, see Newsletter Volume 1 Issue 3).

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¡Qué pasen una buena semana! (Have a great week!)


David S. Clark -- President
U.S. Institute of Languages
dave@spanishprograms.com
http://www.spanishprograms.com

* By way of information, Latin America comprises all the countries from Mexico, through Central America, and down to Chile at the southernmost tip of South America.