Is Spanish and Mexican the same?
Are Spanish and Mexican the same? If you are juggling this question, this article is just the right one. Using books, websites, apps, or other material to explore them more, you must have noticed slight differences in grammatical rules, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Today we will discuss the Spanish spoken in Spain and the Spanish spoken in Mexican, how they are similar or different from each other?
Well, the Spanish language in Spain is known as Castilian Spanish. It is the official language of Spain; people of Northern and Central Spain commonly speak Castilian Spanish. On the other hand, the Spanish spoken in Mexico is known as Mexican Spanish or Latin American Spanish. People in Central and South America talk to Mexican Spanish.
So, are Spanish and Mexican the same? What is their country of origin? To figure out these questions, let’s explore Spanish in detail!
Here’s an overview of the Spanish languages spoken in Spain and Mexico.
The Castilian Spanish Language
Spanish explorers and conquistadors bought the Spanish language across the Atlantic to the Americas back in the 16th century and 17th centuries. The Spanish spread readily in Central America, South, North America, and the Caribbean. It has become a shared language today. It is the official language of Spain as it was the birthplace of that language and other European countries or Spanish-speaking countries. Today it has 420 million speakers, which include native speakers as well as other Spanish speakers. Castilian Spanish is explicitly spoken in North and Central Spain.
The Mexican Spanish Language
Mexico is an American country. There are many other Mexican languages, but Spanish is the official and common language and the native language of the American country, Mexico. It is also known as Latin American Spanish. Mexican Spanish is the most widely spoken language in the United States. If we talk about Mexican origin, is the official Spain Language of Europe. Castilian Spanish and Mexican Spanish are related to each other same as American English and British English. Both are the same languages with minor differences. In British, English people use lifts while Americans use the term elevator.
The same is the case with Mexican Spanish and Castilian Spanish. Mexican Spanish is a little bit different from the official Spanish language. Mexican Spanish has a flavor of Mexico that specifically makes it a different language or dialect.
What are the Major Differences between Mexican and Spanish?
Spain and Mexico share history. Both the countries share the same modifier since they have some historical background. Spain was divided into colonization and exploration and Mexico or Latin America is just one Spanish colony in America. Every colony speaks Spanish thus a lot of similarities in language and culture or Cultural identity are found in them. Mexican culture shares language with the Spanish Culture.
The major similarity between Mexico and Spain is the Spanish language. Both Spanish language versions in Spain and Mexico are different, but the language style is the same. The Mexican Spanish language is the classification of the Spanish language in Highland American and Caribbean Spanish.
If you talk about the major differences between Mexican Spanish and Castilian Spanish, a clear difference in oral pronunciation comes out. European Spanish speakers use the pronunciation of Z and C before the vowels I or E. While Mexico-Spanish speakers pronounce S; like the rest of Latin American countries.
The rhythmic differences between both languages are very clear. There is a significant grammatical difference in how people speak the Spanish language and use colloquialism and suffixes. The Mexico-Spanish language adapts the English words without translating them. Mexican Spanish also has a lot of Amerindian words. It uses consonants instead of vowels as they lose their strength, especially in Central Mexico.
Spain Spanish vs. Mexican Spanish
Spanish people and people of Latin America or Mexico speak the Spanish Language. But the version of their Spanish language is not the same; it evolved over the centuries. Mexican Spanish is the evolved version of official Spanish, but it’s not a distinct language. Each version of the Spanish language has its grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Let’s discuss the detailed differences in its rules:
Spanish vs. Mexican Spanish-Vocabulary
There is a vast vocabulary difference between Castilian Spanish and Mexican Spanish. Just like the vocabulary difference between America and Britain. There are hundreds of differences on the list few of them are:
- In Spanish, people say ‘Vale’ to express their agreement, but this is not the case in Mexico.
- A Mexican person uses ‘Computodora’ while a Spanish person uses ‘Ordendor’ for the term Computer.
- A Spanish person uses ‘Boletos’ while Mexicans use ‘Billetes’ for the term ticket.
- In Spanish, the word ‘tio’ or’tia’ shows guy, but its dictionary meaning is uncle or ant.
- For the term potato, Spanish use ‘Patata’ while Mexican speakers use ‘Papa.’
Spanish vs. Mexican Spanish-Pronunciation
Castilian Spanish and Mexican Spanish have a clear difference in pronunciation. You can identify someone from Spain due to the letter differences in language. For example, the letter ‘Z’ and the letter ‘C’ in both languages are pronounced very differently. In Mexico, it sounds it a regular English letter ‘S’ while in Spain it sounds like ‘TH’.
As Spanish is one of the world’s largest spoken languages, so the group of different people changes the spoken language over time. That’s how a language is evolved; Mexican Spanish is also the evolution of Castilian Spanish.
Spanish vs. Mexican Spanish-Grammar
Generally, Grammar is the same everywhere, but the usage of it varies from country to country. Some of the examples of grammatical differences in Mexico-Spanish language and Castilian Spanish are:
In Spain the word ‘Leismo’ and ‘Lasimo’ where Leismo is the incorrect usage of the object that pronoun “le” similarly “Laismo” is the incorrect usage of pronoun “la”. In Mexico or Latin America, these rules are not followed.
If you say “I saw him yesterday” in Castilian Spanish it is “Le vi Ayer” while in Mexico “Lo vi ayer”.
You can see the clear and slight difference in the grammatical rule.
Spanish vs. Mexican Spanish-Addressing others
The people of Spain use a formal version of the second person to address someone. No matter if the person you are addressing is older than you or not, you have to demonstrate respect. When Spanish people talk to parents, they use the ‘tu’ form of the verb. Spanish use ‘usted’ for person-singular or ‘Ustedes’ for plural when the conversation is formal.
In Mexico, these rules are not necessary. They use the same word for second person plural. Mexicans use ‘ustedes’ while Spanish use ‘vosotros’.
What is the Communication Style of Spanish and Mexicans?
The communication or language style of Mexican people is way too different from that of Spanish people. Mexican people are more polite, indirect, long-winded, and sugary sweet. On the other hand, Spanish people are direct. They are not rude but frank. They talk loudly to express their feelings and are quite gregarious.
Both Mexican and Spanish people give respect and are similar to formal communication. Both use Mr. and Mrs. To call someone rather than their first name.
Yes. It is the language of Mexico.
Mexico is just south of Texas and is in North America, connecting the United States to Central America.
Both are Spanish-speaking countries. The main difference between Mexican Spanish and Castellano is the influence of indigenous languages from pre-Hispanic Mexico. The Nahuatl origin language had a significant influence on accent, idioms, and slang in Mexico.
Conclusion
Spain and Mexico or Latin America are beautiful countries, especially Mexico City, because it is many people’s dream. So if you ever get a chance to visit Spain or Mexico in your life, you will already know why the Spanish of both these countries are different. You can say that Mexican Spanish is a separate language today, but don’t consider it a distinct language.