Well I have an MA in the language, so I could write a lot of guides on it, but for the most part the internet is full of them and there are tons of really good grammar books out there. This one is really useful and was pretty easy to write. No one really seems like they need Spanish help here, but I wrote this guide for a friend and figured I'd post it.
VERY informative and useful. I have a fetish of sorts for detailed grammar breakdowns, especially of Spanish. I think I'll need to change my underwear. Thank you, fanglekai!
I'm really glad you guys liked this. It's something that most native speakers of the language don't know about, so if you learn how to tell where to put the accent mark, you'll instantly improve your writing ability. The accent is often required to distinguish between words.
For instance: hablo vs habló. I speak vs. he/she/it/you(formal) spoke. Huge difference.
If you memorize the rules and know how to pronounce a word, you'll always know if it needs an accent mark and where to put it.
I'm really glad you guys liked this. It's something that most native speakers of the language don't know about, so if you learn how to tell where to put the accent mark, you'll instantly improve your writing ability. The accent is often required to distinguish between words.
For instance: hablo vs habló. I speak vs. he/she/it/you(formal) spoke. Huge difference.
Does the accent mark change with nationality? My step dad is from Argentina and claims that Argentine spanish is completely different from Mexican or Salvadorian etc. But there cocky bastards so I dont know if it's true or not./
Does the accent mark change with nationality? My step dad is from Argentina and claims that Argentine spanish is completely different from Mexican or Salvadorian etc. But there cocky bastards so I dont know if it's true or not./
Nope, accent marks are a feature of the language that must follow the rules I wrote. That's the great thing about the written language. It's very regular once you understand it.
However, there is sooooooooooooo much fucking Spanish slang and so much regional variation that it's just ridiculous. The mexicans who work in the kitchen where I work sound NOTHING like the spaniards I met in grad school, the Costa Ricans or Panamanians or even mexicans I met who were in college. Their vocab is completely different. It's a huge pain in the ass learning all the slang and phrases that everyone uses. It's basically like us being from the US going to Australia or the UK. Huge differences in the language. Spanish has tons more, though, because there's less unification between all the countries. They've all had centuries of exposure to the Spanish language, whereas the US only broke with England a couple hundred years ago when contact between the countries was pretty good.
Nope, accent marks are a feature of the language that must follow the rules I wrote. That's the great thing about the written language. It's very regular once you understand it.
However, there is sooooooooooooo much fucking Spanish slang and so much regional variation that it's just ridiculous. The mexicans who work in the kitchen where I work sound NOTHING like the spaniards I met in grad school, the Costa Ricans or Panamanians or even mexicans I met who were in college. Their vocab is completely different. It's a huge pain in the ass learning all the slang and phrases that everyone uses. It's basically like us being from the US going to Australia or the UK. Huge differences in the language. Spanish has tons more, though, because there's less unification between all the countries. They've all had centuries of exposure to the Spanish language, whereas the US only broke with England a couple hundred years ago when contact between the countries was pretty good.
Thats what I always heard. Like how some Scottish might as well be speaking a different language the same goes for different country's and spanish. Thanks for the clarification.
I kind of exaggerated. If you speak a very neutral, "standard/newscaster" Spanish, everyone will understand you, but you might not (probably won't) understand their vocab. However, they might not understand your vocab, even if you speak a "neutral" Spanish, because words vary based on region. In Spain soy is soja. It's soya in Latin America. Shit like that makes the language a huge pain in the ass.
Comments
I'd say more, but I don't know Spanish
For instance: hablo vs habló. I speak vs. he/she/it/you(formal) spoke. Huge difference.
If you memorize the rules and know how to pronounce a word, you'll always know if it needs an accent mark and where to put it.
Does the accent mark change with nationality? My step dad is from Argentina and claims that Argentine spanish is completely different from Mexican or Salvadorian etc. But there cocky bastards so I dont know if it's true or not./
Nope, accent marks are a feature of the language that must follow the rules I wrote. That's the great thing about the written language. It's very regular once you understand it.
However, there is sooooooooooooo much fucking Spanish slang and so much regional variation that it's just ridiculous. The mexicans who work in the kitchen where I work sound NOTHING like the spaniards I met in grad school, the Costa Ricans or Panamanians or even mexicans I met who were in college. Their vocab is completely different. It's a huge pain in the ass learning all the slang and phrases that everyone uses. It's basically like us being from the US going to Australia or the UK. Huge differences in the language. Spanish has tons more, though, because there's less unification between all the countries. They've all had centuries of exposure to the Spanish language, whereas the US only broke with England a couple hundred years ago when contact between the countries was pretty good.
Thats what I always heard. Like how some Scottish might as well be speaking a different language the same goes for different country's and spanish. Thanks for the clarification.