Learning Spanish: should I learn Latin American or Spain Spanish?

[SFO-IST]

So I recently bought Rosetta Stone, which has a Latin American Spanish set and a Spain Spanish set. I told the salesperson, who identified himself as Mexican - American, that I was buying the set so that I could use it as a physician in California. I will also be traveling to Spain for a couple of weeks this summer. I was on the fence for which set to buy and he recommended the Spain Spanish set, saying it would seem more "distinguished".

Can I get some more opinions from people out there? Are there any fluent Spanish speakers out there who can weigh in on this issue?

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[RogueUnicorn]

thpain thpanish is terrible, hombre

 

[juliedi]

In the US, or at least in California (where I live), I think Latin American Spanish would be most useful. I studied abroad in Spain for a couple of months, and my California-gringa Spanish was more than enough to get by. If you learned the Spain Spanish you'd be ok here in the US, but I think you might get a bit confused with the vosotros verb tense, since it's not used in Latin America or the US.

So I think either one would be fine, but Latin American would be easier/more relevant. Just my two cents.

 

[Barcu]

Latin American for sure. That will be the majority of your patients.

You really do not need to sound "distinguished."

 

[tlaloc87]

Latin American for sure. That will be the majority of your patients.

You really do not need to sound "distinguished."

You also probably won't want to sound distinguished. As a native speaker, I would recommend Latin American. But can't go wrong really -- any Spanish knowledge will be a benefit.

 

[BAMF]

Calling Spain Spanish "more distinguished" is so hater, yo. Anyway, the point of learning a language is to use it, is it not? I would study Latin American Spanish because you'd probably be using it more.

 

[SFO-IST]

Thanks everyone. This is what I was thinking and it seemed weird to learn a form of Spanish different from what my patients speak. Maybe the fact that I briefly mentioned that I'd be in Spain for a couple of weeks threw the guy off.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

The main difference would be slang that each one uses in colloquial language. Maybe some words will be pronounced a bit differently as well. Then there's the vosotros and nosotros thing-a-ma-jig and some other differences like that. Learn which ever one; you'll be able to learn the differences in the other really easily. It makes more sense to learn Latin American Spanish given your location.

 

[texahn]

you should learn catalan instead

 

[Perrotfish]

I was on the fence for which set to buy and he recommended the Spain Spanish set, saying it would seem more "distinguished".

A native speaker of Spain's Spanish dialect probably does sound more distinguished to a South American, not unlike how an English accent sounds distinguished to an American ear. However in a Rosetta stone educated American physician it will sound stupid, not unlike a Chinese TA trying to fake a distinguished English accent when he talks. Also you will need to learn an extra tense and a number of colloquialisms that your patients won't recognize, which will make getting your point across that much harder. Finally all of the resources that you can use to accompany Rosetta Stone (books, TV, and pop music) are pretty much in Mexican Spanish, so you're going to need to start importing media from Spain if you really want to go through all the trouble to sound old world.

Your goal is to get a minimum level of proficiency that will let you act as a translator when there is no better option available. The most efficient way to get there is to study the dialect your patient population speaks. Go with South American Spanish.

 

[theWUbear]

torrent it bro...and then why not give me 50 dollars of your 300 dollars saved...

 

[music2doc]

So I recently bought Rosetta Stone, which has a Latin American Spanish set and a Spain Spanish set. I told the salesperson, who identified himself as Mexican - American, that I was buying the set so that I could use it as a physician in California. I will also be traveling to Spain for a couple of weeks this summer. I was on the fence for which set to buy and he recommended the Spain Spanish set, saying it would seem more "distinguished".

Can I get some more opinions from people out there? Are there any fluent Spanish speakers out there who can weigh in on this issue?

Hey. My experience has been that going to the country will get you a lot further. We have Rosetta Stone at my university and it doesn't seem to do much good for people. I speak Spanish semi-fluently and learned it by studying abroad -- one of my best academic experiences, for sure.

 

[WingedOx]

torrent it bro...and then why not give me 50 dollars of your 300 dollars saved...

👍

 

[BrainBuff]

A native speaker of Spain's Spanish dialect probably does sound more distinguished to a South American

Says who?? And by the way, Spain's Spanish is not a dialect. It's Spanish

Spanish is just Spanish and different countries will have idioms and slangs that other countries do not use. Only practice and exposure to "local speakers" will let you establish the differences.

ANY Spanish language course will allow to communicate with a Mexican, Spaniard or Argentinian.

 

[tanay]

Latin American! You will be able to understand "Spain Spanish", and it will be more useful since you plan to practice in the US. I'm central American and I don't really have any issues understanding Spaniards (though I'm not a huge fan of their accent, but then again they aren't too fond of mine haha).

Buena suerte!

 

[ILikeDrugs]

This is a great explanation:

[youtube]spfGeGlz4C4[/youtube]

 

[LadiiKay]

Latin American Spanish!! Although, vosotros is used in Latin America as well so be sure to pay attention to that. I grew up speaking it, and learned Spain Spanish in HS, Spain Spanish really isn't much use unless you plan on living in Europe, it'll cause a lot of confusion between you and your patients.
Speaking Spain-Spanish and Latin-Spanish is like a Brit. person talking to someone with a strong southern drawl. You can understand each other, but it takes a while to get used to and is a lot of work.

 

[Barcu]

Came back to check on this, and I agree with everyone: Latin American is the way to go.

And it will be extra fun when you go to Spain this summer talking like a Mexican. Spaniards will actually call you out for doing so. I studied in Spain and found it hilarious because Mexicans are way cooler anyways 👍

And I'm not forgetting about other Latin Americans. I just have not had too many encounters with them. Except I do know that Chileans are super-difficult to understand.

 

[theWUbear]

vosotros is used in Latin America as well so be sure to pay attention to that.

only in argentina...right?

 

[DancingThruLife]

You definitely want Latin American Spanish. European Spanish has an extra form of conjugation (vosotros) which is pretty useless unless you are actually in Spain. Even there, you can get away with the Latin American conjugation (ustedes) and everyone will understand you. There really shouldn't be that much of a difference between the two except for that (besides slang, which can vary immensely across Latin America anyway).

"Vosotros" does not exist in Latin America to my knowledge. In Argentina and Central America, "vos" is used, not "vosotros" which is a different way of conjugating/referring to someone informally (equally as/more informal than "tu").

South/Central American "vos" =/= European Spanish "vosotros"

 

[Dianyla]

You also probably won't want to sound distinguished. As a native speaker, I would recommend Latin American. But can't go wrong really -- any Spanish knowledge will be a benefit.

True. I learned Spanish while living in Spain and I have to be very sensitive to perceptions of class/socioeconomic status. Some people will like it, thinking that you must be more educated and knowledgeable (like a proper received pronunciation British accent just "sounds smarter" than a Texas Twang) while others will despise you for sounding like an aristocrat.

Also, a good point to consider regardless of what dialect you learn, be very careful about slang/names for body parts as well as specific verbs that may be innocuous in Spain but quite offensive in parts of Latin America. For example, asking "?por donde puedo coger el autobus?" may be met with an answer like "por el tubo de escape".

1. Save for their oddball game shows that are pretty awesome to watch, 99% of Spanish tv sucks and would only be worth watching for you to learn the language.

So true!

 

[SFO-IST]

hmmm. I'll have to visit this thread in 6 months to understand some of these references. Yaaay exciting! 👍

 

[slatermd]

hmmm. I'll have to visit this thread in 6 months to understand some of these references. Yaaay exciting! 👍

Let me break it down for you, cause it's funny.

In some places, "coger" = take/catch, like to catch the bus, take a cab, etc.

In Mexico and some other places, "coger" = f**k, in a very lewd, profane sexual way.

Ask someone how you can f' the bus, they might tell you to stick it in the exhaust pipe.

You should understand this ahead of time, so as not to learn it the offensive way.

 

[SevoInduction]

I speak Castellano (the "Spain" Spanish), and as some people have pointed out, some words are different, we use the tu and vosotros forms almost exclusively (instead of usted and ustedes), and of course there is the "ce ceo" way of talking, and the accent is completely different from Latin American Spanish.

That being said, I have never had trouble understanding someone from Mexico, Puerto Rico, or Cuba. They've never had trouble understanding me either...

It's almost like saying Americans can't understand British English.. Sure, the words are different and so is the accent, but we understand each other just fine.

 

[StudyShy]

Latin American although really either or will probably be good! 🙂

 

[quiltlady]

Face it, you are going to have an American accent regardless of which verb forms you use, and no one will confuse you with a native.

 

[addo]

if youre fluent in spanish youll understand both, same as if you are fluent in english youll understand both brits and americans.

Sure there are words here and there that are exclusive to each, but thats true even among all the latin america countries. Take a spaniard, mexican, argentianian, nicaraguan, and colombian in the same room and theyll be able to chat just fine. The traditional words to each will be no problem to learn and actually quite fun to know.

 

[StudyShy]

Face it, you are going to have an American accent regardless of which verb forms you use, and no one will confuse you with a native.

LOL

Personally, I always sound like a Miami drag queen when I attempt Spanish!

 

[Signifier]

Learn Latin American Spanish. Particularly Puerto Rican Spanish, cabron!

Or Mexican Spanish, güe.