Differences Between American and Castilian Spanish

Fernando   Monday, August 09, 2004, 07:15 GMT
A know-it-all has said that Mexicans speak a "slurred Spanish", that Venezolanos can sometimes not understand because they speak "castilian". I know for a fact that the two pueblos have been communicating well for centuries, and that ignorant remark leaves me quite indignant ! What do you think ? If anyone would like to read the original text go to url http://www.tigritosgeo.net/hay040801.html

Message #0808-03 ,Paragraph 7
Outrageous !
Juan   Monday, August 09, 2004, 12:14 GMT
<<A know-it-all has said that Mexicans speak a "slurred Spanish", that Venezolanos can sometimes not understand because they speak "castilian".>>

I've never heard that one before. It's all relative I guess. It often comes down to an individual's perception, prejudice and bias. You'll often hear that American Spanish isn't "pure", whatever that means. You mean to tell me that Spaniards in Spain speak a "purer" form than any other native Spanish speaker? They have as many idioms, slang, colliquialism, lingo etc.., if not more, than the average Latin American speaker. Spanish was derived from Latin and later on tainted (enriched??)by influences from French, Germanic, Arabic, Jewish??? languages etc, etc, etc.
Jordi   Monday, August 09, 2004, 13:02 GMT
Beautiful and not so beautiful Spanish is spoken and heard in all Spanish-speaking countries. Living in Spain I totally agree with both Fernando and Juan. Latin American Spanish is not slurred at all and slurring goes on all over the planet and in all languages.
Xatufan   Tuesday, August 10, 2004, 16:45 GMT
Talking about enrichment of Spanish, are "burro" and "perro" Basque words?

By the way, burro means butter in Italian. That has nothing to do with Spanish, has it?
Xatufan   Friday, August 13, 2004, 00:40 GMT
Hello, hello?!
Mi5 Mick   Friday, August 13, 2004, 05:53 GMT
Burro's pronuncation would be spelt "bourreau" in French which means executioner. But I'm sure "burro" has the same Latin root as the French word "beurre" even though the pronuncation is quite different.
Xatufan   Saturday, August 14, 2004, 02:17 GMT
Mmh, interesting... But what's the relationship between donkeys and butter?
tom704   Saturday, August 14, 2004, 17:01 GMT
Jordi-beautiful explanation!
tom704   Saturday, August 14, 2004, 17:03 GMT
the " beautiful explanation" refers to a July post on " Castilian" excellent!
a   Friday, August 20, 2004, 02:36 GMT
a
Ed   Friday, August 20, 2004, 20:34 GMT
To me as a non-native Spanish speaker, the Mexican accent is the easiest to understand.
Mxsmanic   Friday, August 20, 2004, 21:15 GMT
There's a big difference between the Spanish of educated Mexicans in central Mexico and the vulgar and distorted Spanish of the dregs of Mexico near the border. I've seen the eyes nearly pop out of the head of people in the former category when hearing people in the latter category speak.
Dulcinea del Toboso   Saturday, August 21, 2004, 00:01 GMT
What kind of Spanish is typically spoken on Univision? I frequently see dramas on that channel, but can't tell whether they originate from Spain, South America, or Mexico. I'm sure Mexico and the southwestern U.S. comprise most of their audience, but, with some of the actors being blonde and blue-eyed (and apparently speaking flawless Spanish), I can't tell where they're from.
Juan   Saturday, August 21, 2004, 01:00 GMT
I would imagine standard "Mexican" Spanish, although I personally not seen any of it's content myself. Slang (of any particular variety) would be kept to an absolute minimum (if not a completely exclueded), if it's ambition is to reach a wider audience, not just Mexican nationals. Spanish among cultivated speakers is almost basically identical. It's only when slang from a particular variety is introduced that communication becomes difficult. It is usually the people at the bottom of socio-economic ladders that have a greater tendency to use idioms/lingo, people that at better-off less so.
Random Chappie   Saturday, August 21, 2004, 02:24 GMT
It appears that Spanish, like English, has class-based accents and jargon. I would presume there is also a broad spectrum of regional dialects and accents within the Mexican nation. Perhaps some of these dialects are relatively similar to Castilian Spanish (just like the Boston Brahmin accent and English RP)?