There’s a famous saying in Hindi directed towards the richness of Indian culture, “kos kos par paani badle, char kos par vaani” implying that, the taste of water changes every mile and the language of people, every four miles. This proverb quite suitable for Spanish language. For this reason CMM Languages has European and Latin American Spanish translator in India.
Colonization by Spaniards for various reasons, led to an extensive spread of Spanish language throughout the Americas. Spanish is spoken in Spain and entire Latin American except few countries.
Why does CMM Languages have European & Latin American Spanish translator in India?
There exist some differences in the way Spanish is spoken in Spain and in the Latin American region. This is mainly due to loss of contact with Spain after the respective countries achieved independence, geographical and cultural reasons. Another reason for difference is owing to the fact that there was amalgamation of Spanish with the local languages.
These differences although noteworthy, may not have dire consequences. Spanish spoken in Latin America and in Spain is mutually intelligible, despite the existing differences, which have been listed below :-
1. Vocabulary
This one is a bit tricky as there are differences in vocabulary not just between Spain and Latin America, but also within them. One object could be addressed with two different words; even so, one word could have multiple meanings. Eg: Computadora and Ordenador for Laptop, Celular and Movil for mobile phone, etc.
2. Pronunciation & Accents
This depends much on geographical factors and no pronunciation or accent could really be considered right/wrong/better/worse, as their progression depends on conditions which are not related to each other. Eg: ‘Z’ in Latin America is pronounced as ‘s’ and as ‘th’ in Spain. Gracias in Spain is pronounced as graTHias, whereas in Latin America, it would be graSias. The same goes for Zapato, which would be pronounced as THapato and Sapato.
3. Grammar
The most common variation is in the usage of plural pronouns corresponding to the English ‘you all’, that is while speaking to two or more people. ‘Vosotros’ is used in Spain, whereas ‘Ustedes’ is used in Latin America, irrespective of whom it is you’re conversing with. However, in Spain, ‘ustedes’ could be used for more formal occasions.
4. Dialects
This refers to the way in which a language is spoken in a specific region, which is a result of several factors like exposure to the language itself, influence of existing social groups, etc. The Spanish dialects spoken in Spain include Andalusian, Castilian, Murcian, Galician, etc. In Latin America, there are variants of dialects spoken in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Sometimes, the difference could merely be in the accent, nothing more.
These variations become important while partnering with Spanish Companies or when you want to localize your website in Spanish. Apart from the existing Spanish Companies in India there are others, which are keen to make an investment in areas like technology, water management and infrastructure. It is therefore advantageous to study these differences, so as to better foster business ties.
Team at CMM Languages would be happy to support you for all Spanish and Latin American translation and localization projects. Learn more about the comprehensive list of languages we translate. Send us your translation requirements at request@cmmlanguages.com