Spanish (Miami, Key West, Century: living in, island, accent)

[Tiger Beer]

I've lived in both Spain and South America.

I MUCH prefer the Peru/Ecuador SPANISH...easy to understand!

When I lived in Spain, I HATED their Spanish. I know its the origin, but I am not that fond of it. For that matter, I've never been that fond of British English either.

I MUCH prefer the Spanish and English of the Americas.

[gymbuff]

The English spoken in Miami is quite poor I will agree. However, I have not seen, heard, or experienced English speakers saying that Aussies don't speak coprrectly, or that New Yorkers chop off letter, etc. It must be that latin nationalistic thing, in addition to the latin sensibilities, that makes the whole Spanish debate somewhat of a personal and touchy subject.

[vpcats]

Well, I think it's darn hard to understand the Aussies AND the British. It's the accent. And whoever heard of an apt. being called a "flat"? The elevator is a "lift". C'mon. It took me 2 trips to finally train my ears and figure out their local terminology.

I undertand French better.

It doesn't matter anyway. Like I said before, I speak more like a Peruvian and not like a typical Cuban although in Peru they will ask me where am from and here I also get asked. Poor me. I also have a heck of a New Yok accent (that was not a typo btw).

Chop, chop, chop.

[Moderate Guy]

Originally Posted by vpcats

Well, I think it's darn hard to understand the Aussies AND the British. It's the accent. And whoever heard of an apt. being called a "flat"? The elevator is a "lift". C'mon. It took me 2 trips to finally train my ears and figure out their local terminology.

Lol, vpcats. I guess if my car gets a flat tire on a London highway, I'd better not yell out to anyone, "Hey, can you give me a lift to fix this flat!"

[Eduardo983]

The proper English language is the one spoken at England and U.S. Americans speak English with an accent. (That's what British nationals say... interesting huh...he he). They invented the language. Most European Schools hire only English teachers who are British nationals.

Same thing happens with the Castilian (Spanish) language, Spaniards invented the Castilian language (Spanish) and the European schools only hire Spaniards to teach it in their schools (Italy, France, Portugal, Germany, etc) because the Spaniard accent is the proper one.
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Spanish or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade. It was taken most notably to the Americas, and also to Africa and Asia Pacific with the expansion of the Spanish Empire between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Today, about 400 million people speak Spanish as a native language, making it the world's second or third most spoken language, depending on the sources. Mexico contains the largest population of Spanish speakers.

Spanish is growing increasingly popular as a second or third language in a number of countries due to logistical, economic, and touristic interest towards the many nations which chiefly use Spanish as the primary language. This phenomenon is most notable in Brazil, the United States, Italy, France, Portugal, and much of the Anglosphere in general.

Spaniards tend to call this language español (Spanish) when contrasting it with languages such as French and English, but call it castellano (Castilian), that is, the language of the Castile region, when contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician, Basque, and Catalan. The reason that people from Spain, unlike Latin Americans, talk with a lisp is because the first king of Spain, Rey Fernando, had a clinical lisp. Because he was embarrassed, he decreed that all of his subjects speak with a lisp as well. And thus the language proliferated as such. This reasoning also holds true for the language's preferred name in some Latin American countries. In this manner, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of the whole Spanish State, as opposed to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. the other Spanish languages). Article III reads as follows:

“El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. (…) Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas…

Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. (…) The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities…
”
However, to some in other linguistic regions, this is considered as demeaning to them and they will therefore use the term castellano exclusively.


The name Castellano (Castilian), which refers directly to the origins of the Language and the sociopolitical context in which it was introduced in the Americas, is preferred in Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Chile, instead of español, which is more commonly used to refer to the language as a whole in the rest of Latin America.

Some Spanish speakers consider castellano a generic term with no political or ideological links, much as "Spanish" is in English.

In the 2006 census, 44.3 million people of the U.S. population were Hispanic or Latino by origin; 34 million people, 12.2 percent, of the population older than 5 years old speak Spanish at home. Spanish has a long history in the United States (many south-western states and Florida were part of Mexico and Spain), and it recently has been revitalized by Hispanic immigrants. Spanish is the most widely taught foreign language in the country. Although the United States has no formally designated "official languages," Spanish is formally recognized at the state level in various states besides English; in the U.S. state of New Mexico for instance, 30% of the population speaks the language. It also has strong influence in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, New York City, and in the 2000s the language has rapidly expanded in Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix and other major Sun-Belt cities. Spanish is the dominant spoken language in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. In total, the U.S. has the world's fifth-largest Spanish-speaking population.

[vpcats]

That was good Eduardo.
I guess I don't have much chance to be hired as a teacher for either English or Spanish or Castilian.

[Thomas Jefferson]

I have been several times in Spain and I must said that the spanish spoken there is one of the worst of all accents. They speak too fast, chop words like crazies, and have A LOT of slang expressions. I know the Cuban accent isnt better, but hey, there is a huge similiraty between the spanish spoken in Canary Islands and Cuba. Either way, I think the best Spanish accent comes from Colombia and the best english accent from Scotland.

[intelfan11315]

The benefit of learning spanish here in Miami is you get to learn by hearing every accent of Spanish there is. I can tell the difference in the accents, but I can understand them all because I come into contact with people from everywhere. The hardest ones are probably the Central American accents like Guatemala, I met a cutie from there but soo hard to understand her at times, just smile and act like you are listening =D oh wait, we do that with people who speak english too!!

[induhvidual]

---The Scotch and the Irish leave you close to tears.
There even are places where English completely
disappears. In America, they haven't used it for years!

and

The French never care what they do, actually,
as long as they pronounce in properly.
Arabians learn Arabian with the speed of summer lightning.
And Hebrews learn it backwards,
which is absolutely frightening.
But use proper English you're regarded as a freak.
Why can't the English,
Why can't the English learn to speak

----from "My Fair Lady"

[muscleman305]

No espeakie engleash