Small Business Today Magazine OCT 2014 THE EFFORT COMPANIES | Page 17

EDITORIALFEATURE

Differences between

Spanish Speaking Culture
By Ludmila (Mila) Rusakova Golovine

T

he Spanish language is one of the
most important languages in the
world.  It is currently spoken by
over 500 million people as either a
first or a second language.   Nevertheless, most people think of Spanish as a
monolith.  They believe that the language
is uniform and spoken the same way everywhere. However, the countries where
Spanish is spoken are actually quite diverse
in both language and culture.  If one is to
do business in these countries, these differences must be taken into consideration. 
Understanding them will both reduce misunderstanding and promote respect with
your Hispanic counterparts.
The main misconception is the view that
there is only one Spanish language and that
it is the same everywhere.  There are actually
several Spanish languages.  Since the fall of
Rome in 476 AD, the Latin language which
was spoken in what is now Spain began to
differentiate along local lines.  Eventually, one
dialect, Castellano or Castilian, became the
dominant language.  According to the current Spanish Constitution, Castilian is the
official language of Spain; however the other dialects are still protected languages.  The
two most commonly known dialects in Spain
are Catalan and Galician.  Catalan is spoken in the province of Catalonia, bordering
France.  Meanwhile, Galician is dominant in
the province of Galicia, situated to the north
of Portugal.
Due to the proximity of their neighboring
countries, Galician is similar to Portuguese
while Catalan is closer to French.  There is
also the Spanish diaspora dialect called Ladino.  This dialect is sometimes referred to
as Judeo-Spanish as it is primarily spoken by
Sephardic Jews.  In 1492, the Spanish monarchy decided to expel all non-Christians

from Spain.  Consequently, large numbers
of Spanish speaking Jews left Spain for other
countries.  Although the people have been
separated from Spain for over 500 years, the
language that they spoke still survives and is
spoken by at least 150,000 people in Israel,
Turkey, Greece, Morocco, and Latin America.
The diversity from Spain has also impacted
Latin America to a great extent.  The Spanish language both unites and divides Latin
America.  While the basis of the language is
more or less the same, there are certain expressions, words, and accents which differentiate the populations that speak Spanish.  The
usage of the second person singular informal
is used differently across Latin America and
is one of the major differences in how the
language is spoken.  The “tuteo” or usage of
the pronoun “tu” for this form is predominant in Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Venezuela.  For most of the rest of Latin America, the
“voseo” or “vos” pronoun is employed.  The
“voseo” is a remnant of the Latin language
as “vos” is the second person plural form in
Latin. However, in Modern Spanish, it is usually a singular form.  Primarily, “vos” is used
in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Uruguay, and
Argentina.  Interestingly, Ladino also employs
“vos”.  It is important to point out that in the
Central American countries and Chile, “tu”
and “vos” are both employed interchangeably whereas in Argentina, Eastern Bolivia,
and Paraguay, only “vos” is used.  If one wishes to do business in any of these countries,
these aspects of language must be taken into
account and recognized so that improper
Spanish usage is avoided.  Being familiar with
the proper usage in your country of business
will greatly impress your counterparts and
demonstrate that you took the time to learn
their way.

Another major difference in Spanish
classification is how the language is referred to in various countries.  Most English speakers recognize “español” as the
way that Spanish speakers refer to their
language.  Nevertheless, in many countries
this label is not employed.  The term “español” is employed in Mexico, the majority
of Central American countries, and Colombia.  In the South American countries,
“castellano” is mainly used when referring
to the Spanish language. 
It is important to note that Argentine
Spanish is especially distinct.  Argentines
refer to their language as “castellano del
Río de la Plata”, which is the region around
Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital.  Of all the
versions of Spanish in Latin America, Argentine Spanish is sin