Which Spanish speaking countries is Spanish spoken the slowest?
Item
issuer
Quora
Language
English
Date Accepted
11/28/19
Title
Which Spanish speaking countries is Spanish spoken the slowest?
list of contributors
Jordan Ambra
content
Rather than directly answer you with what you want, let me see if I can help you get to what you need.
For native English speakers, the biggest difficulty when listening to Spanish from native speakers isn’t the speed or even the grammar, but the clarity of speech and the amount of local or slang diction. In countries that rely heavily on slang and don’t have a particular fondness for “proper” Spanish, it can be difficult sometimes even for native speakers to understand.
For example, Puerto Rican Spanish is spoken very quickly, comparatively flatly, and often “lazily”, where speakers aspirate or drop /s/ and /x/ from certain words. This is surprising for curious learners, who expected all the letters to be pronounced in words.
In Mexico, because of how large it is geographically, it’s hard to nail down a Mexican accent. Regional accents are diverse, but if there are commonalities they are that Mexican Spanish is mumbled, fast, and full of slang, particularly if you’re talking to someone from a remote area or someone younger who grew up with the Internet.
Uruguayan and Argentinian Spanish are a bit unusual because they also rely heavily on slang, but due to the Italian and European influence, they tend to be spoken a lot more loudly and theatrically. Due to the exaggeration, it’s easier for non-native speakers to pick out words and phrases, although the slang and the usage of voseo may be confusing if you aren’t used to it.
So, with all that said, I personally think that Spanish from Spain and Colombian Spanish are the easiest to understand for English speakers because they are very enunciated, and by the book as far as grammar and vocabulary. This isn’t to say that Spanish from other countries is wrong by any means, but they are often more difficult to understand for non-native speakers similarly to how certain country English accents are difficult to understand as well, compared with the genetic “British accent” you would frequently hear on popular TV shows.
For native English speakers, the biggest difficulty when listening to Spanish from native speakers isn’t the speed or even the grammar, but the clarity of speech and the amount of local or slang diction. In countries that rely heavily on slang and don’t have a particular fondness for “proper” Spanish, it can be difficult sometimes even for native speakers to understand.
For example, Puerto Rican Spanish is spoken very quickly, comparatively flatly, and often “lazily”, where speakers aspirate or drop /s/ and /x/ from certain words. This is surprising for curious learners, who expected all the letters to be pronounced in words.
In Mexico, because of how large it is geographically, it’s hard to nail down a Mexican accent. Regional accents are diverse, but if there are commonalities they are that Mexican Spanish is mumbled, fast, and full of slang, particularly if you’re talking to someone from a remote area or someone younger who grew up with the Internet.
Uruguayan and Argentinian Spanish are a bit unusual because they also rely heavily on slang, but due to the Italian and European influence, they tend to be spoken a lot more loudly and theatrically. Due to the exaggeration, it’s easier for non-native speakers to pick out words and phrases, although the slang and the usage of voseo may be confusing if you aren’t used to it.
So, with all that said, I personally think that Spanish from Spain and Colombian Spanish are the easiest to understand for English speakers because they are very enunciated, and by the book as far as grammar and vocabulary. This isn’t to say that Spanish from other countries is wrong by any means, but they are often more difficult to understand for non-native speakers similarly to how certain country English accents are difficult to understand as well, compared with the genetic “British accent” you would frequently hear on popular TV shows.