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.
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Created by Philip Norton