Spanish dialects

List of Spanish Speaking Countries and Different Dialects

Let’s discuss in detail the Spanish speaking countries and the various dialects of the language.

Globally, more than 450 million people speak Spanish as their native language. Furthermore, around 75 million people speak Spanish as their second language. Interestingly, in the US, Spanish is spoken as the first language by more than 43 million people. As a matter of fact, Spanish translation services are very much in demand and these statistics prove it. 

What’s with Spanish & its dialects?

History says that Spanish was brought to the Latin American countries in the 15th century when Christopher Columbus discovered these lands. Since then, various dialects of Spanish have evolved and spoken widely even today.
With that being said, here’s giving you a brief overview of the countries where Spanish is spoken and the differences in the spoken variant. 

Spanish is the official language in how many countries?

There are 21 Spanish speaking countries where Spanish is the official language. In these countries, Spanish is spoken as the main language by a major chunk of the population. Also, children are taught Spanish in schools and is the main mode of communication. Importantly, all the official documents are written in Spanish only. 

– Spain                                                                 

– Cuba

– Mexico                                                             

– Dominican Republic

– Colombia                                                         

– Honduras

– Argentina                                                       

 – Paraguay

– Peru                                                                   

– El Salvador

– Venezuela                                                       

– Nicaragua

– Chile                                                                 

– Costa Rica

– Guatemala                                                     

– Panama

– Ecuador                                                           

– Uruguay

– Bolivia                                                               

– Equatorial Guinea

– Puerto Rico

Different Variants (Dialects) of Spanish

Dialects arise due to magnitude of the territory and different histories. Just like English, Spanish varies from country to country. Below are the three main different dialects of the Spanish language according to the geographic location. Have a look! 

European Spanish

Spanish in Spain, the original, comes with a few distinct and unique characteristics. The identifiable ‘lisp’ of European Spanish is the easiest to notice. Technically, this isn’t a typical lisp as there is no ‘S’ involved. A lisp, in this case, is the mispronunciation of the letter ‘z’ or ‘c’ when followed by ‘i’ or ‘e’ that makes it sound like a ‘th.’ You call this the ‘ceceo.’

Mexican Spanish

Across Latin America and Mexico, the ‘z’ sounds almost like ‘s.’ It is similar to the sound of letter ‘c’ when it goes before an ‘i’ and ‘e.’ So, there is no lisping sound like European Spanish. For example, in Mexican Spanish, ‘ustedes’ is the plural for ‘tú,’ and ‘vosotros’ is in use in Spain. It uses a different form of the past tense, and the vocabulary is pretty different, too. For example, autobús in Spain becomes the camion in Mexico.

Caribbean Spanish

Caribbean Spanish means different types of Spanish language that people speak in Cuba, Dominican Republic as well as Puerto Rico. People in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama speak different forms with distinctive pronunciation of the letter ‘r’. Thus, it sounds like an ‘l.’ Some words like ‘usted’ and ‘tú’ are used by people more frequently in comparison to other forms of Spanish.

Require Spanish translation services?

Experienced Spanish translation services have a clearer idea about these finer nuances of the language. Transcription Services US is one such translation company that has a team of Spanish speaking translators having the knowledge of different dialects of Spanish spoken in different territories. It is very crucial to understand the minute variations to come up with accurate translations.

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