Which Spanish should you learn?
Today’s blog posting is from Eleena de Lisser, an American who has a very serious case of Spanish envy. She’s fairly obsessed with the language, but in a good way. She must’ve been Spanish in another life. In any case, Eleena will be posting here weekly, ojalá, on Wednesdays, with various thoughts and tips related to learning and using Spanish from the perspective of an English speaker who has studied the language for years. Without further to do, take it away, Eleena….
Which Spanish should I learn?
It’s a perennial question that beginning students of Spanish frequently ask. Which Spanish should I learn? Spanish spoken the way it is in Spain? Or Spanish the way it is spoken in Latin America?
First of all, let’s set the record straight. The beautiful language called castellano that is spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe is the same Spanish language spoken in Latin America. Speakers’ accents and some vocabulary are different, of course, but the nuts and bolts of the Spanish language are the same regardless of whether you’re chilling in Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico or Spain.
Consider the example of two native English speakers — one from the United Kingdom and the other from the United States. Do they sound the same when they speak English? Definitely not. But can they generally understand what the other person is saying without any difficulty? Generally, (hopefully) yes. 
It’s pretty much the same way with Spanish speakers.
That said, there are some important differences between castellano or Castillian Spanish (Spanish spoken in Spain) and the Spanish spoken in North, Central, South America and the Caribbean. They are:
• Vosotros y Ustedes: Both of these pronouns are the plural “you” in Spanish. However, vosotros, is used only in Spain, whereas in Latin America only the ustedes form is used.
• Pronunciation: In Spain, the the letter z and the letter c before i or e, are pronounced like the “th” in “that”. (To English speakers, it sounds kind of like a lisp, but it isn’t. Trust me, once you get the hang of saying your words that way, it really sounds rather cool. ) In Latin America, the pronunciation of those same letters would sound more like an English “s.” Another major difference, primarily found in Argentina and Uruguay, is the pronounciation of the ll and y like the “s” in the English word “measure.” In some parts of the Spanish-speaking world, native speakers routinely drop the “s” from their words, so a simple greeting like ”¿Cómo estás?” sounds more like “¿Cómo etá?”
So which Spanish should you learn? Well, it all depends on what your future holds. If you wish to work or study in Spain, you must learn the vosotros form, otherwise your Spanish will sound extremely formal if you constantly use ustedes. But if your plans are to work or live in Latin America, there’s little need for you to concentrate on vosotros. That said, it would be a good idea to at least be familiar with the vosotros form so that you can recognize it when you encounter it.
The bottom line is that as long as you’re learning a grammatically correct Spanish, you will always be understood and be able to communicate with Spanish speakers regardless of nationality.
What are some of the notions (preconceived or not) that you have (or used to have) about Spanish? What are some of the ideas or expectations you currently have (or used to have) about the language? Share your thoughts with us. Don’t be shy, post below in the comments section. Thanks!
-By Eleena de Lisser
Eleena is a self-described Spanish language fanatic who came to Madrid a few years ago to study the language and basically never left. She spends her spare time filling the content pipeline of her three blogs, two of which are at Voices en español and the other is Cody’s Cuentos.
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Great question! I can tell you that after taking 1st Level Spanish three times (I kid you not), I thought you had to be a rocket scientist in order to put a simple sentence together. Past perfect, the present continuous, and the subjunctive tense all seemed like gibberish to me -oh wait, they still do – but after living here for quite some time, one begins to learn that it is a fight or flight situation. Either I learn how to order bread, get medication or find my way from A to B, or I sit in my house all day hoping for a miracle. Clearly I prefer the previous of the two
Now, it’s come to a point where the language doesn’t frighten me, but I do see the value in all those classes I failed to take seriously at one time. But life is always filled with 20/20 hind sights and without the proper motivation, it all seems pretty meaningless. If I hadn’t come here and struggled the way I have, I doubt I would value the information I had at my fingertips. But with your help Eleena, maybe we can gain from those fabulous classes once again
My Spanish teacher said even in Spain, the “vosotros” form is less and less used. People in Spain are gradually vhanging their speaking habits to using “ustedes”. Is that true?
Hi Ziv,
Thanks for your comment. I respectfully have to disagree with your Spanish teacher. The “vosotros” form is alive and well in Spain. In fact, it is the “ustedes” form that is hard to find in conversations among friends, or in wide use on the radio, television, movies, etc. in Spain.
Outside of political speeches and professional/formal settings, the ustedes form is not widely used in everyday situations in Spain.
If you have plans to spend any length of time in Spain, whether it be for study, to live, or just to visit for a while, you’ve got to know the “vosotros” form if you want to fit in.
When I first came to Spain I didn’t know how to conjugate verbs in the vosotros form because I never learned it when I was studying Spanish in the U.S. It took me a loooong time to get used to conjugating (and pronouncing!) the vosotros verb forms correctly as a result.
Take my advice…if you’re studying Spanish, spend a little time getting acquainted with the vosotros form of some basic Spanish verbs, so that you can at least recognize it when you see or hear it.
Take care and thanks again for commenting!
I do have to say that in some parts of México the “vosotros” conj. is still used. But for the most part of the territory of México “ustedes” is used. If you read the Mexican National Anthem, the “vosotros” form is still found, within the words: Apretad and Empalpad. So “vosotros” is not completely absent within Latin America. Plus, I grew up knowing the vosotros form from my parents who are from México. Everytime we go to church, we also read out of the Versión Reina-Valera 1960. Which we are used to reading. In few parts of Guanajuato, La Ciudad de México, Chiapas, and even in the peninsula de Yucatán, “vosotros” is still used. España did conquer México for a pretty long time, so portions of Mexicans still use vosotros. In my perspective, people have not recognized México for using the “vosotros”. In books, I have read that it is totally absent in Hispanoamérica, which is not true. Few still use it, it may not be used in majority part of América Latina, but it’s still used.