-1

Could you please comment on the short article written here? https://ordinarytraveler.com/why-you-shouldn-t-learn-spanish-in-argentina

It is not that I am planning to go to Argentina to study Spanish. But I am actually planning to watch several Argentinian movies which I really liked (), to learn some common expressions (not slang), to use in communication with natives, not limited to one country (after discussing this here Vocabulary differences in Spain and Latin America).

So, what do you think - is the author of the article exagerrates things overall?

My opinion about each of 4 points that author discusses:

  1. Accent - you just need to get used to it.

  2. Encouraging your Spanish speaking - here I don't know. So any from Argentina - please comment :)

  3. Slang - Author somehow concludes that Argentinian slang is somewhat isolated (not making it to USA and Europe compared to Mexican slang, for example). Even if true (which I doubt), is it really the problem? Each slang can vary even within each Spanish-speaking country and from my discussion with StackExchange users and my own feeling you just pick slang on-the-go from your close environment (it is more rational and effective).

  4. Picking "vos" in case you feel it necessary should not be a big problem. I studied this part a bit.

Also, one part of the article that got my attention: "My Spanish is so heavily Argentine that when I do interpretation work or even just speak with my Puerto Rican boyfriend I have to “turn off” my accent and focus on using more neutral vocabulary."

Is it really somewhat a danger for non-native speaker to be influenced by Rioplatense dialect for communicating later to other natives?

I already provided the link in the previous thread Vocabulary differences in Spain and Latin America but I will put it again here https://www.fluentin3months.com/forum/specific-language-questions/should-i-learn-european-spanish-or-latin-american-spanish/ in which non-native speaker writes the following:

"First I learned basically Mexican Spanish, then I was influenced by Argentine Spanish, and now I almost only hear the various dialects of Spain. I tend to pick up accents even if I don't try, so now my Spanish sounds like some kind of verbal crazy quilt....I live in Europe, and I meet Spanish people all the time! :) Así es la vida... I am kind of confused at the moment whether I should just speak the way I learned, or learn a whole new way. I don't know how important it is to change because people can understand me just fine in American Spanish."

Alex
  • 2,037
  • 7
  • 19
  • I’m not sure what kind of answer you’re looking for. My Argentinian Spanish teacher would say it’s perfectly fine to learn Spanish in Argentina, and i certainly haven’t noticed any significant problems in communicating with native Spanish speakers from other regions. Would you ask a similar question about say, learning English in the USA? – Traveller Feb 29 '20 at 06:28
  • I personally wouldn't. That is why I was a bit surprised to find such kind of article. – Alex Feb 29 '20 at 07:01
  • 1
    That article presents a personal opinion, so any answer will be subjective. IMHO the distinct pronunciation of "ll" and the use of "vos" in Argentina and Uruguay makes it the most difficult variant of Spanish for speakers of any other variant. When I've gone to Argentina for the 1st time, it took me a while to get my ear used to quickly understand words with "ll". When I start learning a language, I prefer to focus on the most widespread accent (eg US English for English) because most media and people use it. That's why I preferred to start learning another Spanish variant 1st. – Alan Evangelista Feb 29 '20 at 20:16
  • Note questions in [se] need to be specific and self contained. As a rule of thumb, if the answer needs a blog post, it is too broad; if the question already needs a blog post, it absolutely is :) I suggest you to split the question in different pieces – fedorqui Mar 02 '20 at 14:53
  • I find the idea mildly offensive, similar to someone proposing that one shouldn't learn English in Alabama or French in Montreal. Some people don't mind, and some people really want to learn the local speech. – Robert Columbia Mar 04 '20 at 13:11

1 Answers1

4

The article you link is a single data point, i. e., the experience of a single person, and it should be treated as such. Furthermore, most of it does not apply to you, because you are not focusing on one accent but exposing yourself to many of them instead.

1. The accent is not what you'd expect

As the article says, there are many Spanish accents, and Argentinian is just one of them. It is not clear why the author then goes on to single out Argentinian as a particularly "unexpected" accent. I do find it more different from the European accent than other Latin American accents, but it is probably not so incompatible with those Latin American accents. For example, I believe that European Spanish is one of the least "musical" accents there is, and Latino accents are more musical. Most importantly, you are exposing yourself to content from many areas, so you will be able to notice the differences and see for yourself.

2. Argentines aren’t as quick to compliment your Spanish or encourage you as other Latinos are.

I have no idea how true this is, but it again seems like a very personal experience. This will also not affect you if you are just planning to watch Argentinian movies.

3. You've never heard the slang before

Again, this this is true for every accent, not only for Argentinian. Slang varies wildly across regions and times. When I talk to Argentinians, we understand each other as well as with any other Latino accents.

4. They use the vos form, which you have probably never heard of

Well, now you have heard of it. It is not so hard to learn it, same as it is not so hard to learn the "vosotros" form from Spain.

In summary: just go ahead and see for yourself if it is so different as the article says. Most likely you will be fine.

wimi
  • 12,205
  • 3
  • 19
  • 48
  • Wimi, creo que sería bueno no contestar preguntas demasiado amplias o fuera del ámbito del sitio: va en contra del objetivo del sitio y acaba dando mensajes contradictorios a los usuarios – fedorqui Feb 29 '20 at 12:41
  • @wimi, thank you once again for reassuring me, it helped. Even though the questions are not related to grammar, I felt I had to clear them up. – Alex Feb 29 '20 at 12:55
  • @fedorqui'SOstopharming' no estoy seguro por qué esta pregunta está fuera del ámbito. Hay 4 votos para cerrar. Uno dice que "esta pregunta no es sobre el lenguaje español", con lo que no estoy de acuerdo porque la pregunta es sobre diferencias dialécticas (explícitamente permitido según el Help Center). Tres votos dicen que la pregunta "necesita enfocarse más". Tampoco estoy de acuerdo: la pregunta es si el dialecto argentino es demasiado diferente a los otros, lo cual está bastante enfocado. – wimi Feb 29 '20 at 13:06
  • @fedorqui'SOstopharming' Tampoco veo ningún comentario diciendo por qué la pregunta está fuera de ámbito. Yo no he votado para cerrar, así que no veo por qué no debería responder. Cuando voto para cerrar, no respondo. – wimi Feb 29 '20 at 13:07
  • 1
    A mí me parece que la pregunta pide un comentario de texto sobre un escrito que no se incluye en la pregunta. Para que sea útil a la comunidad, la pregunta debería centrarse mucho más (actualmente consiste en cuatro preguntas diferentes). En caso que consideres que sí está suficientemente enfocada para merecer respuesta, sugiero que la edites para hacerla independiente del artículo en cuestión – fedorqui Feb 29 '20 at 13:31