Castilian Spanish
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Is the Duolingo Spanish course more focused on teaching Latin America Spanish or European (Castilian, right?) Spanish??? I want to learn the language, but I want to learn Castilian form of it. If Duolingo does not have the European Spanish at all included, can anyone recommend another website that does teach it? (preferably for free) Thanks! :)
9 Comments
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It is focused on Mexican Spanish. In a course like this, it means around 1% of words are not used in Spain. On pronunciation, 2 letters have a different pronunciation in Spain (c and z sound like an English th in "thanks"). On grammar, the course doesn't teach a dialectal pronoun from Spain: vosotros and its conjugations, but it accepts them in answers.
There are two groups of dialects in Spain, both "European Spanish": 1) Central and Northern group (maybe "Castilian" in English, in Spanish "castellano" is a synonym of "español"), basis of the prestige dialect of the whole country. 2) Southern group (Andalusian + Canarian), main source of all Latin American dialects and with the same key features ("seseo", no "vosotros").
Summary: 99% of this course is just Spanish, not specifically Mexican, Cuban or from Spain. It's up to you.
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Okay! Thank you! I am just picky and I want to learn the older form (even though I know there is not that big of a difference) before learning the changes that have been made, mainly because French is my second language and Italian/German as my third and fourth, I think it would be easier to do something more similar to those languages.
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The older form is dead, all modern dialects are equally "new". Dialects from Spain are veeery innovative, even the most innovative: "Castilian" has a new sound for c/z, a new system for past tenses and leismo; in the South there are extreme changes in consonants and more than 5 vowels. Mexican Spanish and other dialects from "Highlands" are more conservative, excepting local vocabulary (not taught in Duolingo).
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Latin American. The system, however, generally recognizes the pronouns and conjugations for "vosotros" and regionally-appropriate vocbulary for Spain.
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personally, i never really understand this type of post, before you reach upper C1/C2, any type of spanish is fine, if you are learning to put a sentence together it really wont matter what "type" you use
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There is really not that much of a difference between the Spanish in Spain and Latin America countries, as taught in Duolingo, or the schools in most of these countries. If you like the Duolingo game-like method for learning/practicing, I still would think it would be worth your while to use it, whether you are interested in the Spanish of Spain or Mexico or other variations. Duolingo is just one method for learning that tries to make learning fun and engaging. To become fluen, you'll still need to complement your learning with other methods and stays in these countries, at which time, your accent/expressions will rather automatically adjust to what you hear.
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I have never heard emparedado before. Is that really how they say sandwich in Mexico? or Spain? or where?