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Teach yourself Spanish

 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes Post Reply
sushi13
Diglot
Groupie
Canada
Joined 4692 days ago

49 posts - 64 votes 
Speaks: French*, English
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 1 of 3
13 October 2014 at 8:23pm | IP Logged 
Hola!
I've been trying to decide on a book to buy to learn Spanish. After some
researches, I decided to try the Teach Yourself series. But, I found that there is
a ''Complete Spanish'' and a ''Complete Latin American Spanish''. I'm quite
confused about the differences. I tried to search on the Internet, but couldn't
find much information..
I'm wondering if any of you would be able to explain to me the differences and
which one would be better?
Gracias
1 person has voted this message useful



Speakeasy
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 4056 days ago

507 posts - 1098 votes 
Studies: German

 
 Message 2 of 3
13 October 2014 at 9:04pm | IP Logged 
Hi Sushi!
I have noticed that European publishers of "Spanish" courses often teach "Iberian Peninsula Spanish" even though this might not be specified. Some publishers offer both "Spanish" "Latin American Spanish" versions of their courses. If you check the Teach Yourself website, you'll notice that they describe the text as useful "when in Spain". However, their website is not the easiest I have ever consulted!

As an aside, I suspect that some publishers are responding to market pressure. Yes, there are small differences in pronunication and usage between:

"Spanish" and "Latin American Spanish"
"English" and "American English"
"Portuguese" and "Brasilian Portuguese"

The same could be said about the pronunication and usage of all of the above languages within their respective regions, not to mention French, Italian, German, Russian, Polish, and just about any other language you might wish to mention. But do these differences genuinely merit separate courses? Answer: if the customer is willing to PAY for a different course, well ...

Edited by Speakeasy on 13 October 2014 at 10:02pm

1 person has voted this message useful



Jeffers
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4913 days ago

2151 posts - 3960 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German

 
 Message 3 of 3
14 October 2014 at 2:24pm | IP Logged 
Speakeasy wrote:


As an aside, I suspect that some publishers are responding to market pressure. Yes, there are small differences in pronunication and usage between:

"Spanish" and "Latin American Spanish"
"English" and "American English"
"Portuguese" and "Brasilian Portuguese"

The same could be said about the pronunication and usage of all of the above languages within their respective regions, not to mention French, Italian, German, Russian, Polish, and just about any other language you might wish to mention. But do these differences genuinely merit separate courses? Answer: if the customer is willing to PAY for a different course, well ...


I didn't get the point of this last statement. It's not like the publishers are expecting users to buy both courses. You buy the course which is more suitable for your specific needs. Of course they need separate courses for some of these different regions. If I was learning English in preparation for moving to the USA, it would cause me serious headaches if I learnt from a textbook that teaches British pronunciation. Regional textbooks aren't available in most cases, so we should be grateful when a publisher makes the effort to produce two books (which costs them more to produce even though most learners will only buy one or the other).

To answer the OP's question, Speakeasy is probably correct that the differences in a beginner book won't be monumental. However, think about where you expect to use the Spanish you learn, and choose your book accordingly.


1 person has voted this message useful



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