Can anybody tell me if the Spanish being taught on this website is Castilian Spanish???
http://www.howtospeakspanish.net/news/2/?id=Dave&ccb=15sq
http://www.howtospeakspanish.net/news/3/?id=Dave&ccb=15sq
http://www.howtospeakspanish.net/news/4/?id=Dave&ccb=15sq
Technically, I guess it's Castilian; they teach vosotros and probably the Castilian pronunciation. Still, I think there is hardly any difference between Castilian Spanish and Latin American Spanish at the level you're at right now. You shouldn't have to worry about spanish dialects at all.
shareThanks for info. Most of the learning materials out there are for Latin American Spanish and I wasn't sure.
Best movies ever!!
Rocky, The Crow, Taxi Driver, Clerks, Bubba Ho-Tep
Hi! I am from Spain and, although what the previous poster says it's true - there's not much difference at this level-, I have spotted an aspect of pronunciation that makes me think it's Latin American Spanish.
In Castilian Spanish, the following combinations are pronounced with the sound of 'th' in 'thanks':
- za ('thah'), ce ('theh'), ci ('thee'), zo ('thoh'), zu ('thoo')
- vowel + z
as opposed to Latin American Spanish, where this sound does not exist, and these combinations are always pronounced as 's'.
Here are some examples:
- zapato ('shoe')
'thah-pah-to' (Spain) vs. 'sah-pah-to' (Latin Am.)
- cereza ('cherry')
'theh-reh-thah' (Sp.) vs. 'seh-reh-sah' (Lat.Am.)
... and so on and so forth.
Of course there are a lot other differences between these dialectal varieties (as many as there may be between British English and American English), but you shouln't worry too much about them while at a basic level.
Hoped that helped! Cheers!
Javi.
Thank you so much for pointing out the above! You've given me a lot more to think about.
Again, thank you for your help!
Best movies ever!!
Rocky, The Crow, Taxi Driver, Clerks, Bubba Ho-Tep
hes exactly right.....i spent 2 years in Spain, and I find that Castilian or original Spanish is a more beautifal language. The differences are great examples
shareWell, I've given up on the original website I mentioned as a starting point since the emails stop after lesson 6! Can anyone here personally reccommend any Spanish learning materials i.e. audio learning packs, books etc....
Best movies ever!!
Rocky, The Crow, Taxi Driver, Clerks, Bubba Ho-Tep
I don't know about Spanish, and there's definately alot more to choose from than the obscure languages I'm into (I'm so jealous), but the Teach Yourself Series have always been a good starting point for me. If you want an academic, yet not completely dry approach these are pretty good and easy to find. I'm often frustrated by resources which tell you to mindlessly memorize something, but never tell you why such and such is the way it is. I looked it up and you can buy the book and CDs for Latin American or Castilian Spanish. For the audio method I saw the Behind The Wheel series was recommended by users on Amazon. I desperately hope you get better advice than my general recommendations. Just a language geek, I have no expertise whatsoever concerning Español. All I know is that it is probably better to go for this book, than pick up another which will disappoint you, when being overwhelmed sifting through the huge section at Barnes & Nobles or whatever (so jealous!). Also check out the book by Frances de Talavera Berger, if you want to know the 'other' expressions you'll never learn in a normal book. I have the German version, its invaluable!
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