Pronunciation: One of the main differences is that many Spaniards often pronounce the z and the c before i or e like the "th" in "thin," while many Latin Americans pronounce it the same as the s. Also, speakers in some areas (Argentina in particular) often pronounce the ll and y like the "s" in "measure." In some areas, you will hear speakers drop s sounds, so está sounds like etá. In some areas, the j sounds like the "ch" in "loch" (difficult for many native English speakers to master), while in others it sounds like the English "h." In some areas, the l and the r at the end of a word sound alike. If you listen to a variety of spoken Spanish, you'll notice other differences as well, particularly in the rhythm in which it is spoken.
Grammar: Two of the biggest differences, each worth a lesson in itself, are the leísmo of Spain and the use of the pronoun vos in some areas instead of tú. Another major difference is that vosotros is often used as the plural of tú (the singular familiar "you") in Spain, while in Latin American ustedes is usually used. There are also numerous small differences, many involving colloquial usage.
Vocabulary: Other than slang, probably the biggest class of vocabulary differences you'll come across is in the use of suffixes. A lápiz is a pencil or crayon everywhere, but a lapicero is a pencil holder in some areas, a mechanical pencil in others, and a ball-point pen in still others. There are also fair number of blatant differences, such as a computer being an ordenador in Spain but a computadora in Latin America, but they are probably no more common than the British-American differences. Of course, every area also has its quirky words. For example, a Chinese restaurant in Chile or Peru is called a chifa, but you won't run across that word in many other places.
taken from Ezine articles, article by sean mccauley
Well, the first difference between Latin American Spanish and the Spanish of Spain is the pronunciation of a few letters. In Latin America the soft "c" and the "z" are pronounced with an "s" sound while in Spain they are pronounced more like a "th" sound. This is sometimes referred to as the "Spanish Lisp", and there is a legend that it dates back to old Spanish king that spoke with a lisp. It is, however, not a true lisp, and this legend is most likely false. Furthermore, from what I have been told, many Spaniards take offense if you tell them they speak with a lisp, so I would advise you not to call it a "lisp."
In addition to the variations in pronunciation, there are some phrases are words that are used differently between the regions. For example, in Latin America, if you wanted to tell someone, "I miss you", then you would say, "Te extrano." To say the exact same phrase in Spain you would say, "te echo de menos" or "te echo en falta." Another example would be the use of the word, "carro" which in Spain means cart while in most areas of Latin America it means automobile. You will encounter few variations between the meanings of the words and phrases between Latin America and Spain, and you will also even come across deviations among Latin American countries. You will find that every country has its own unique vocabulary and slang.
taken from spainexpat.com, post by dreamer
Pronunciation
Non-Spaniards sometimes affectionately refer to the Castillian “th” pronunciation of the “c” and “z” as a lisp; where in Latin America, this same “c” and “z” is pronounced as an “s”. As such, some words are indistinguishable in Latin American speech, “caza” and “casa” for example. Not so in Castillian Spanish, where their phonetic difference is preserved.
Vocabulary: Verbs
Here are a few examples that illustrate some of the differences in Spanish vocabulary than can arise with respect to verbs:
| Castillian Spanish | Latin American Spanish | English |
| coger | tomar | To take. Example: “Cogí el tren. Tomé el tren. I took the train.” In Latin America, ‘coger’ means something else, and you would not be doing that to a train. |
| criarse | crecerse | to grow up, to be brought up | enfadarse | enojarse | to get angry |
| enfermar | enfermarse | to get ill or sick |
| pedir prestado | prestarse | to borrow |
Verb Forms
In both Spain and Latin America, the informal, second person singular verb form is tú (you). (See the chart below.) For example: “¿Quieres (tú) venir a la fiesta conmigo? Would you like to come to the party with me?”
However, when you’re talking to a group of people, that’s when things get more complicated. In Spain, you would use the second person plural verb form, vosotros, so you’d say: “¿Queréis (vosotros) ir a la fiesta conmigo?” But in Latin America, the vosotros verb form is simply not used. There they use the third person plural verb form with ustedes instead, which would be: “¿Quieren (ustedes) ir a la fiesta conmigo?”
First person singular = yo quiero.
First person plural = nosotros queremos.
Informal, second person singular = tú quieres.
Informal, second person plural = vosotros queréis.
Third person singular = él quiere, ella quiere.
Formal, second personal singular = usted quiere.
Third person plural = ellos quieren, ellas quieren.
Formal, second person plural = ustedes quieren.
Slang
Slang varies widely from country to country and even region to region. To try to keep things clean around here, I’ll limit our discussion to directing you to the Alternative Spanish Dictionary and Alternative Mexican Spanish Dictionary. These are good primers on slang and especially “bad” words in general. The Alternative Spanish Dictionary tells you in which country or region each word is in use.
He insists on using the usted form with me..."
The use of tú vs. usted
In both Spain and Latin America, tú is the informal, second person singular and usted is the formal, second person singular. Generally, tú is used among good friends and usted in formal situations or as a sign of respect. However, the use of tú in Spain is very widespread and is used in many situations that in Latin America would require the use of usted.
As an example, a very well-mannered Mexican friend of mine living in the United States insists on using the usted form with me. To my surprise, he even uses the usted form with his parents, which is fairly common in some Latin American countries. The truth is that I can’t recall ever hearing him use the tú form. I, a transplant to Madrid, insist that he tutearme (use tú) because we’re friends; yet he says that he uses usted precisely because we’re friends. Curious.
Vocabulary: Nouns
Here are a few examples that illustrate some of the differences in Spanish vocabulary than can arise with respect to nouns:
| Castillian Spanish | Latin American Spanish | English |
| billete (m) | boleto (m) | ticket |
| ordenador (m) | computadora (f) | computer |
| tortilla (f) | tortilla (f) | In vSpain, a ‘tortilla’ is an omelette. In Latin America, a ‘tortilla’ is a flat bread. |
| melocotón (m) | durazno (m) | peach |
| patata (f) | papa (f) | potato |
| autobús, autocar, bus (m) | guagua (f), colectivo, micro, ómnibus, bondi, camión, bus (m) | bus |
Verb tenses
Castillian and Latin American Spanish tend to make different uses of certain verbal tenses.
If you did something yesterday, you would use the imperfect preterite (also called the simple past). For example: “Fui al supermercado ayer. I went to the supermarket yesterday.” But if you went to the supermarket in the morning, you would hear the present perfect “He ido al supermercado esta mañana” in Spain and the simple past “Fui al supermercado esta mañana” in Latin America.
Castillian Spanish uses the present perfect to indicate not only the recent past, but in many cases where only the simple past may be used in Latin America.
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