The differences between European and Latin American Spanish came about simply due to distance and time. As the Spanish began to set out and colonize the west, cultures collided and certain expressions, words, and phrases began to mix with other linguistic influences. Over time, this evolved to create permanent changes in the way the language is expressed, both in speech and in writing, creating distinct Spanish variations.
Spanish Variations Between Spain & Latin America
Posted by Dynamic Language April 10, 2017
Microsoft Uses Neutral Spanish to Sell Their Products
Posted by Dynamic Language February 13, 2017
Because Spanish is spoken so widely across the world, there are actually several standardized Spanish variants. Some of the most common include Latin American Spanish, US Spanish, and European Spanish.
Neutral Spanish
Neutral Spanish (as used by Microsoft) can be compared to ‘universal’ Spanish, in that it is designed to be understood by all Spanish speakers worldwide. The term doesn’t refer to any one specific dialect, but instead refers to the process of finding terms or expressions that would be best suited to a multinational audience. This means it lacks all the regionalisms, colloquialisms, and grammatical quirks that characterize a dialect and connect it to a specific culture or nation. The idea behind this neutral Spanish is commercial and not linguistic: as Microsoft products are marketed globally, it is cheaper to produce only one version of the product in Spanish.
Topics: Translation, Spanish
Translating Latin American vs European Spanish: Top 10 Differences
Posted by Dynamic Language November 30, 2016
The most striking differences when comparing Latin American vs European Spanish come down to accent and pronunciation, but vocabulary and even grammar can be very different between the two. Here is our top ten list of the main differences.
Topics: Translation, Spanish
How to Reach a Broader Audience with “Universal” Spanish
Posted by Dynamic Language March 24, 2015
Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. The native language of around 470 million people and spoken in more than two dozen countries, Spanish is only second behind Mandarin in total number of native speakers.1 Spanish speakers represent a very large, and very geographically diverse group of consumers, and one of the biggest challenges in reaching these potential customers is finding a way to effectively communicate with the largest possible audience. Because each country and region has its own Spanish dialect, many terms aren’t likely to sound natural across different groups of speakers. Of course, there are general terms that are understandable and acceptable throughout the Spanish-speaking world and are considered “Universal” or “Neutral” Spanish. Communication in “Universal” Spanish addresses the vocabulary discrepancies which would be found in Spain (Castilian) and the Americas.
Topics: Localization, Spanish, Marketing
One size does NOT fit all when translating for Spanish market
Posted by Josh Kroman November 10, 2011
Many companies have capitalized on this already by addressing this growing segment of the population, and evidence suggests that more companies are looking to direct marketing campaigns toward US-based Hispanic audiences.
Topics: Localization, Spanish, Marketing, Globalization
Monroe firefighters take Spanish classes
Posted by Audrey Dubois-Boutet January 27, 2011
Responding to an emergency can be tough when you can't understand the person who's injured or in peril.
Topics: Language Learning, Spanish
Android features English to Spanish "Conversation Mode"
Posted by Audrey Dubois-Boutet January 13, 2011
New to Android phones is the Conversation Mode feature, where users can speak with their foreign-speaking friends in real time. Conversation Mode uses Google’s machine translation technology to convert the spoken word from English into Spanish, and vice versa.
Topics: Spanish, Mobile Application
A New Way to ‘Unify’ the Spanish Language
Posted by Audrey Dubois-Boutet December 16, 2009
Can we all speak the same no matter what region we’re in?
Topics: Spanish
Spanish Translation: The Need of Neutral Language
Posted by Audrey Dubois-Boutet May 14, 2009
The Hispanic population has grown significantly within the last couple of years and so has the need for Spanish translation. However, meeting the needs for language translation in Spanish is a trickier process than one may think. According to an article put out by Chief Marketer, Chanin Ballance points out that “[s]poken in some 23 countries by more than 450 million people, the language we know as ‘Spanish’ is in truth really more a family of closely related languages. […] If you have visited Madrid and Mexico City you know this firsthand. The idioms, slang, pronunciation and even grammar in one differ noticeably from those in the other.”
Topics: Spanish
Garfield Goes Bilingual
Posted by Audrey Dubois-Boutet May 14, 2009
Topics: Spanish