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Varieties of Spanish


Some of the regional varieties of the Spanish language are quite divergent from one another, especially in pronunciation and vocabulary, and less so in grammar.

While all Spanish dialects use the same written standard, all spoken varieties differ from the written variety, in different degrees. There are differences between European Spanish (also called Peninsular Spanish) and the Spanish of the Americas, as well as many different dialect areas both within Spain and within Hispanic America.

Prominent differences of pronunciation among dialects of Spanish include:

Among grammatical features, the most prominent variation among dialects is in the use of the second-person pronouns. In Hispanic America the only second-person plural pronoun, for both formal and informal treatment, is , while in most of Spain the informal second-person plural pronoun is with used only in the formal treatment. For the second-person singular familiar pronoun, some Hispanic America dialects use (and its associated verb forms), while others use either (see voseo) or both and (which, together with usted, can make for a possible three-tiered distinction of formalities).

There are significant differences in vocabulary among regional varieties of Spanish, particularly in the domains of food products, everyday objects, and clothes; and many Hispanic American varieties show considerable lexical influence from Native American languages.

In a broad sense, Hispanic American Spanish can be grouped into:

Old World varieties are:

The non-native Spanish in Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) has been influenced mainly by varieties from Spain.


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