How many types of accents are there in Spanish?

Spanish is a beautiful and rich language. Nowadays is an amazing tool to connect with more people, travel to many different countries and interact with locals. Knowing a culture and traditions is very important too, and if you travel to South America, for example, speaking Spanish will help you to truly understand the culture. 

In this post, I’ll write about accents, dialects and what matters when learning Spanish. 

There are 577 million Spanish speakers which represents 7.6% of the world’s population!!  From that: 480 million are Spanish native speakers. According to Cervantes Institute, there are more than 21 million people learning Spanish and more than 75 million people that manage to speak the language  with limited competence. Impressive, right?

Furthermore, in an article published by The Guardian newspaper, in 2015 USA had more spanish speakers than Spain! And they also estimated that by 2050 the US will have 138 million Spanish speakers. 

Spanish speaking countries

The countries listed below have Spanish as an official language: 

Argentina

Bolivia

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Guatemala

Honduras

México

Nicaragua

Panamá

Paraguay

Perú

Spain

Uruguay

Venezuela

worldatlas.com 

Andorra – Belice – Gibraltar – United States Spanish has no official recognition but the language holds a special status and it’s spoken by a large portion of the population. 

Accents and dialects what’s the difference?

As you know all the languages in the world have different accents, and Spanish – being the second language most spoken in the world – is no exception! So if you travel to Mexico or Cuba or Spain you’ll hear different accents, some easier to understand than others. 

What’s an accent in Spanish? 

When learning a language you have to remember that an accent is a way of pronouncing words. We all have an accent, when you are speaking Spanish you may pronounce the words with your accent (Spanish with a French or English accent) but that doesn’t mean people won’t understand what you are saying. Only if you are a perfectionist or you want to take an exam, or maybe you want to have a proficient level in Spanish, accents don’t really matter. 

Some people are concerned about accents when they are learning Spanish.I personally believe that if you want to communicate, it doesn’t matter if you learn Spanish spoken in Chile, Perú or México. When your goal is to able to communicate clearly, accents won’t make a difference. The important thing is to feel confident, use the right expressions and be polite!  

You may have your preferences as regards learning certain accents and that’s great! In that case, identify the accent you like and talk to people that speak with that accent. Be in contact with it as much as possible, by watching videos about topics you like and by listening to music or podcasts. Practise using it, and get feedback in order to pronounce it better. However, I recommend to listen to people with different accents because it’ll give a wider perspective and knowledge. 

What’s a dialect in Spanish? 

A dialect is a form in which we speak a language in a particular part of a country or by a particular group of people and it contains some words, grammar, or pronunciations (= the ways in which words are said) that are different from the forms used in other parts or by other groups. 

Cambridge English Dictionary 

Now this is important when you are learning, there isn’t a correct or proper one! Spanish dialects can be grouped in the following way: 

• El español del norte de la península ibérica – Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and Castilla and León, Cataluña, Valencia and Baleares the Spanish from El País Vasco and Navarra
• El español en el sur de la Península Ibérica – Extremeño, castellano-manchego, andaluz and murciano
• El español de América – Mexican, Central American, Caribbean (Cuba, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Panama, Caribbean Colombia and Caribbean Mexico and Gulf Coast Mexico), Andean-Pacific (Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, West Bolivian, and Andean Venezuela), Rioplatense (Argentina, Uruguay, East Bolivia and Paraguay) and Chilean (Chile, Cuyo) Spanish. 
• El español de Guineas y Filipina. 

This means that not only the accent (pronunciation) will be different but also words, and some grammatical forms (as in vosotros sois y ustedes son)

Why does this matter when learning Spanish? 

Accents and dialects should not be the only focus when learning Spanish but you should be aware that they exist. Being exposed to different Spanish dialects is the best way to understand the language and also to be conscious of cultural differences. 

If you like travelling, try to understand the language of the place you are visiting, its traditions and ways of communication. Locals will appreciate it and you feel a sense of reward and confidence!

What kind of accent do they have in Buenos Aires?

My accent is the Rioplatense. I use “vos” instead of “tú” and many times I say “¡Che!” during the day. A few years ago I made a FB live about my accent and Spanish, you can find it here!

Remember, set your goals as regards the accent and dialect you want to practise but be exposed to all kinds so at least you will get an idea of the different varieties!

For further reading I recommend: 

El país: “Number of Spanish speakers tops 577 million”

This article is in Spanish, but is worth having a look at it! Very informative!