Spanish Dialects: Marketing to Latinos and Spanish Speakers

This report explains the major differences between the written and spoken Spanish dialects and varieties around the world. This was created to help individuals and organizations choose the appropriate Spanish variety for the intended targeted Spanish speaking audiences.

Spanish in the U.S.

There are now a number of varieties from the Spanish diaspora in the United States, most notably Cuban Spanish, Puerto-Rican Spanish and dialects of Mexican Spanish, as well as other varieties from disparate locations in the Spanish-speaking world. It is useful to know where the translation will be used in order to adapt terminology to a specific variant, whenever possible. If that’s not possible, your professional language translation provider should look for the most neutral option, or will choose the Mexican variant when there is no completely neutral term. When targeted for the U.S. market, the translation in Spanish does not convert numbers or dates to the Spanish system, since the audience is already familiar with the US systems.

Recommendation: When consulting with your professional language translation provider, it is recommended to request U.S. Spanish.

Spanish in Spain

Iberian Spanish

There are many elements that are distinctive in Iberian Spanish, from phonetics to terminological differences from the Latin American Spanish. (Latin American Spanish will be explained later in this report). The main aspects that differentiate Latin American Spanish from Iberian Spanish are terminological and phonetic differences and different use of pronouns.

Phonetics: Pronunciation of the letters “z” and “c”. Separate pronunciation of the letter “t” when followed by another consonant.

Diminutives: In Spain, the use of in diminutives –illo, -ete, –ín, and –ico (in some regions) are very common.

Pronouns: Use of vosotros in daily conversation, “vosotros sois amigos” instead of “ustedes son amigos,” which means “you are friends.”

Verb conjugates: There are many differences in Iberian Spanish from Latin American Spanish in verb conjugates. The simple past acquires a special value when used in Iberian Spanish, taking special consideration of the past time when the action took place. For example, “Me he levantado a las 6 am esta mañana,” which can be translated to “I woke up at 6 am this morning.”

Recommendation: Use of in country linguists is recommended. It is advisable to keep in mind that higher costs may be involved due to the fact that Spain is a member of the European Union and uses the Euro as its national currency, thus making it a comparatively more expensive location for translation production.

Castillian Spanish

Castillian Spanish usually refers to a variety of Spanish spoken in Northern and Central Spain. A peculiarity of this particular variety is the pronunciation of the letter “z” before all vowels, which is also an aspect shared by the Iberian Spanish as well.

There are some vocabulary particularities in Castillian Spanish, like zumo, guay, tío, ordenador which stand for jugo, piola, tipo, computadora respectively in Latin American Spanish and mean juice, cool, dude, computer respectively in English.

Recommendation:  Iberian Spanish will suffice in all situations.

Peninsular Spanish

The only difference between Peninsular Spanish and Iberian Spanish is based on pronunciation. This difference relays on the pronunciation of the letter “c” and “z” both as a “z”. Which is also an aspect shared by the three types of Spanish spoken in Spain.

Recommendation:  Iberian Spanish will suffice in all situations.

Spanish in Equatorial Guinea

This country achieved independence from Spain in 1968 and linguistic differences with Spain are very minimal.  Equatorial Guinean Spanish follows the model of Castilian Spanish or Peninsular Spanish explained above.

Recommendation:  Linguists from Spain are recommended for this target market.

Spanish in Latin America

As mentioned above, the main aspects that differentiate Latin American Spanish from Iberian Spanish are different use of pronouns and terminological and phonetic differences, though the use of pronouns may vary according to the different countries of Latin America.

Pronouns: Use of vos (voseo) instead of tu in some countries.

It is common in Latin American Spanish to use foreign words and their respective pronunciation, most commonly in the English language. One example is marketing. The term marketing is accurately translated into Spanish as mercadotecnia but the term marketing is universally used and understood. Another example is email which translates into correo electrónico but email is now used more often.

There are many dialects that are distinctive in the Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. These dialects are analyzed one by one below considering major differences between countries and regions.

Spanish in Mexico

The difference between Mexican Spanish and Latin American Spanish is due to the notable influence of the indigenous dialect, Nahuatl, which especially differs in lexicon and vocabulary.

Many words are similar in both Spanish types, however there are Mexican Spanish words which are completely different, such as jícara , petaca, petate, aguacate, hule, tlapalería, molcajete, which mean vasija, botella, alfombra, palta, polímero (hule), ferretería, mortero, respectively and in English, these words mean container, bottle, carpet, avocado, polymer, hardware store, and mortar. There are certain words in the Mexican Spanish variety that do not have Latin American Spanish equivalents. For example, huarache, which is the term used to describe a type of sandals and a also typical Mexican food made of cactus.

Recommendation: For cultural material, food-related texts, teen-culture, legal and marketing texts, in country linguists may be recommended, although in many cases Latin American Spanish will suffice.

Spanish in Northern Mexico

The main difference between Northern Mexican Spanish and Latin American Spanish in addition to the differences explained above is the accent.

Recommendation: In most cases Latin American Spanish will suffice.

Spanish in the Amazon

(Includes certain regions of Ecuador)

Spanish spoken in the Amazon region of Latin America has many influences from local aboriginal languages, especially for fauna and flora designations and local activities.

Recommendation: Use of in country linguists is almost never required and the extra costs rarely result in positive cost benefit outcomes for most businesses and organizations.

Spanish in Bolivia

There are minor differences between Bolivian Spanish and Latin American Spanish. In most cases these differences are due to regionalisms. A regionalism peculiarity is that the “b” and the “v” are used randomly; for example, in Bolivia, the word votar (to vote) can be pronounced “votar” or “botar” (an archaic form of to throw away).

Vowels tend to be pronounced longer than usual which creates long words when spoken. This happens particularly in the regions close to the mountains, where Spanish is very influenced by the Aymará language. Another distinctive aspect in this region is the confusion of the letters “i” and “e” and for the letters “o” and “u” which get mixed up when pronounced.

Recommendation: Use of in country linguists is almost never required and the cost is rarely justified.  Latin American Spanish will often suffice.

Spanish in the Caribbean

(Includes Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the coast of Colombia and Venezuela, and most of Panama)

There are minor differences between Caribbean Spanish and Latin American Spanish, and most of these are due to the influence of the African and Spanish antecessors, especially from Andalucía and the Canary Islands.

Recommendation: When a translation is targeted for Cuba, a native Cuban linguist would be needed for a correct localization. If the same translation is targeted for Cubans in the US, the use of Latin American Spanish will often suffice.

Spanish in Central America

(Includes Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Southern México)

There are minor differences between Central American Spanish and Latin American Spanish. It represents a mixture of different dialects, with use of particular terminology like bohío, yuca, sabana, guacamayo, nagua, enaguas which respectively stands for a type of cabin, a mandioca, flat field, a specific bird that lives in Central America, abundance of water and a special type of skirt.

Recommendation: Use of Latin American Spanish will often suffice for all of these countries.

Spanish in the Cordillera

(Includes all the Andes and part of Ecuador)

The differences between this and Latin American Spanish are mainly the result of the influence of native tongues like Quechua and Aymará. Many words from these two languages still remain in use in this region like alpaca, guano, vicuña, china which stand for an animal, accumulation of bird feces, a typical animal of the region and girl or woman, respectively.

Recommendation: There are only minor differences between the two of them. Latin American Spanish will often suffice.

Spanish in Chile

The main differences between Chilean Spanish and Latin American Spanish are centered around syntax, pronunciation and vocabulary. The distinctive aspect of this particular country is the use of the pronoun tu which differentiates it from the surrounding countries where the use of the pronoun vos is more common.

Recommendation: Latin American Spanish will often suffice, given that the written form of the language is almost identical.

Spanish in Colombia and Ecuador

(Includes part of Peru also)

The differences between the Colombian-Ecuadorian Spanish and the Latin American Spanish are due to the influence of Caribbean and Coastal Peruvian dialects and African antecessors.

Recommendation: The differences between the two of them are minor. Latin American Spanish will often suffice.

Spanish in Paraguay

The main difference between Paraguayan Spanish and Latin American Spanish is due to the influence of Guarani, an indigenous language. Paraguay is officially a bilingual country Spanish-Guarani.

Recommendation: Differences between Latin American Spanish and Paraguayan Spanish are minor, so Latin American Spanish will suffice in most cases. Translations for Guarani are more expensive and are usually quoted separately.

Spanish in Peru

Coastal Peruvian Spanish

Coastal Peruvian Spanish is different from Latin American Spanish due to the influence of agrarian habits; however they are only minor differences.

Central Peruvian Spanish

Central Peruvian Spanish and Latin American Spanish are different due to the strong Spanish influence in Lima; however the difference between the two of them is minor.

Quechua Indigenous Language

At least a third of the population of Peru also speaks Quechua on a daily basis as its primary language.

Recommendation: Latin American Spanish will suffice in most situations, except for Quechua translations, in which an in country linguist is needed and are more expensive.

Spanish in Puerto Rico

The main difference between Puerto Rican Spanish and Latin American Spanish is enunciation.

Puerto Ricans often do not pronounce the final “s” in some words like adios making it sound like “adioh.”

Another notable aspect in Puerto Rican enunciation is the substitution of the letter “r” for the letter “l” resulting in the pronunciation of words like señor and puerto like “señol” and “puelto”.

Recommendation: When written, Latin American Spanish will suffice in most situations.

Spanish in Argentina and Uruguay

Argentine Spanish, often referred to as Porteño, has many distinctive aspects that differentiate it from Latin American Spanish and these are due to the strong influence of Italian and French immigrants.

Pronoun: The use of vos (voseo) instead of “tu.”

Pronunciation: Pronunciation of “lle” and “ye” as “she” (this is called yeismo).

There are also vocabulary differences between Argentina Spanish and Latin American Spanish for example pollera, vereda instead of falda, acera which mean skirt, sidewalk in English.

Recommendation: Latin American Spanish will suffice in most situations.

Recommendations were provided above as a guide but it is advised to consult with a professional language translation services provider for a final analysis. In many cases, Latin America Spanish is adequate, although in country translation and localization are sometimes necessary in circumstances in which transcreation (marketing translation and cultural adaptation) is required. A professional translation provider will be able provide you with the best Spanish solution given the purpose of the content.

Much thanks to Cielo Banchio, Language Vendor Manager Assistant, and Silvina Masi, Business Development Support Specialist, at Translation Back Office for helping put this report together.

Translation Back Office is a professional language translation services provider and the top language service provider in Latin America. We provide English to Spanish language translation services as well as several other language pairs into Spanish. Our integrated combination of own in-house expert language translators, quality assurance and vendor managements departments along with strong strategic partnerships across the globe is what sets Translation Back Office apart. With an internationally recognized ISO 9001:2008-certified quality management system, Translation Back Office delivers top quality language translation and localization services and seamless project management in a wide range of languages and translation expertise areas. For more information please visit http://www.translationbackoffice.com or call toll free 1-888-803-4217.