Spanish and its Latin American dialects. What languages are spoken in Mexico Why is Spanish spoken in Mexico

Mexico is a huge country in North America, with a total area of 1.95 million km. Mexico borders the United States on the northern and eastern parts. From the eastern part, the country is washed by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Caribbean Sea. Mexico also includes numerous Pacific islands. The capital of this state is Mexico City - one of the oldest cities. But does this country have its own language?

What language do Mexicans use?

In fact, in everyday communication they use Spanish - more precisely, its Mexican dialect. This happened historically, as a result of the conquest of local lands by European conquistadors. Therefore, there is no Mexican language as such. However, in addition to Spanish, about 68 local languages are also used. But the vast majority of the population - about 90% - still communicates in Spanish.

Is Spanish official?

It remains the most widespread in Mexico - it is spoken almost everywhere. Although Spanish is widely spoken, it is not an official language. This is a very common misconception. The fact is that the Mexican constitution states: Mexico is a multinational country. That's why she always advocates bilingualism, or Spanish plus vernacular.

English in Mexico

Some tourists heading to Mexico rush to find a Russian-Mexican phrasebook. Others, knowing that now the vast majority of Mexicans communicate in Spanish, grab their heads: before the trip they need to learn a new language as quickly as possible. However, there are also travelers who are sure that you can survive in any country if you know English. This is a big misconception about Mexico. English not only won’t help here, but can also seriously hinder you. The fact is that Mexicans do not like their neighboring Americans. Therefore, if a tourist begins to communicate with a local resident in English, most likely he will take on an indifferent look. Or he will communicate in an unfriendly manner.

Local dialects

Indigenous dialects are spoken by no more than 6% of the country's total population. And this is about 6 million people. It is interesting that the number of those who stubbornly consider themselves descendants of the great Indians is twice this number. The most widely spoken local Mexican language is called Nahuatl, which includes various dialects. Nahuatl is used in everyday life by about 1.3 million people.

One of the main languages of the Aztec group is Classical Nahuatl. Beginning in the 16th century, it was systematically displaced by invading Europeans. Gradually, the Aztec language began to break up into dialects. At the moment, classical Nahuatl is classified as However, it has preserved a large number of literary monuments recorded using the Latin alphabet. Many people call the Nahuatl language Mexican. Translation into different languages and even courses in learning Nahuatl have now ceased to be exotic.

Mayan languages

The next most common language is occupied by the language of the ancient Mayans - Maaya Taan, or Yucatecan language. Its carriers are about 759 thousand people. It is distributed mainly in the Yucatan Peninsula. The oldest written language of the Mayan Indians is the language of the classical era of this civilization. It is believed that the common ancestor of the Yucatecan dialects is the Proto-Mayan language.

Q'eqchi - Mayan dialect

About 450 thousand people speak the Qekchi language. This language is spoken mainly in Guatemala. Here, about 90% of the total number of residents communicate in it. However, Qekchi can also be heard in El Salvador and Belize. For a very long time, the Kekchi ethnic family was isolated from other regions. Therefore, different dialects of this language differ from each other very insignificantly. The main dialect is the Western dialect. Q'eqchi is distinguished by the fact that among its representatives there is the largest number of monolingual speakers.

Mixtec dialects

Another 423 thousand people. They use the languages of the Mixtec group in everyday life. The area where the Mixtec Mexican language is spoken is the area called La Mixteca. The word "Mixtec" means "resident, inhabitant." Typically, speakers of this group of languages use the poetic phrase “Word of Rain” to denote their native dialect. In total, the Mixtec language has 52 local dialects.

Zapotec Mexican languages

410 thousand people in Mexico are native speakers of Zapotec languages. The Zapotec civilization began around 700 BC. e. In the 16th century it was finally conquered by European conquerors. The Zapotec Empire was located in the modern Mexican state of Oaxaca. The largest Zapotec settlement was a city called Monte Alban, which was the first of the empire's capitals. The Mixtecs neighboring to the north were the constant enemies of the state.

Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages on the planet. Today it confidently takes its place among the top three leading languages and, quite possibly, will receive even more new speakers in the foreseeable future. The “blame” for this in the past is the Spanish conquistadors and conquerors, in the present it is the active increase in the number of people in Latin American countries that speak Spanish.

All about Spanish

If you are starting to learn, then be careful about whether you are really studying Spanish and its literary version. It would never occur to a Russian-speaking person that only in Spain itself this language has several dialects, which differ quite seriously from each other. Only in the North of the country are there three accents and one dialect, which also has its own characteristic differences, especially phonetic ones.
We are talking about Aragonese, Leonese and Castilian dialects, as well as Asturleonese dialects. Each dialect has its own dialects, localized geographically. In the southern part of this state, the Andalusian dialect is widespread.

Mexican Spanish

The capital of the Mexican dialect, as well as of Mexico itself, is Mexico City. In other regions of the country, the dialect is close to the capital, but only some lands have their own characteristics. For example, the dialects of Yucatan and Chiapas are somewhat different, but not so much that residents of different regions do not understand each other.
Let us also note that it is the Mexican version of the Spanish language that is the basis for the replication of Spanish in the United States of America. One of the main differences of this dialect is the firm pronunciation of consonants and the reduction of vowels, which is not observed in any other variant of Spanish.

Argentine Spanish dialect

Do not know, ? Don't forget that in the Argentinean version of this language everything is much simpler than in classic Spanish. Argentine Spanish is called "castesciano". Its ancestor was the Castilian dialect, which was noticeably simplified. Phonetics has undergone changes. The Argentine dialect is in many ways more reminiscent of Portuguese than Spanish. It is the language of immigrant workers, which eventually captured the rest of the population. In the Argentine dialect, j is pronounced like [sh]. This applies to all words, including names or titles.

Peruvian dialect of Spanish

The Peruvian dialect has the following characteristic features: the sound [z] is mixed with the sound [s], representing a cross between these two sounds. Some consonants are pronounced softer than in traditional Spanish.

“Neutral” Spanish – what is it?

The non-literary version of Spanish is considered neutral. The phonetic features of “neutral” Spanish were taken from Colombian pronunciation, which is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful. However, native speakers were only confused by the pace of speech, which was too fast in the “Colombian original” and not always understandable to speakers of other dialects. Therefore, the phonetic features of the Caribbean dialect, which can safely be called relatively measured for Latin America, were also used.
“Neutral Spanish” completely lacks Mexican and Argentine intonations, words, speech rate and other features. They can only be used if it is necessary to emphasize the origin of a particular person. All TV series, songs and other cultural products of Latin America today are presented to the world through the use of such “neutral Spanish”, in fact adapted so that all Spanish speakers and foreigners can find common ground and understand each other.
What should a Russian-speaking student who decides to get to know the Spanish language better do? Experts advise starting with a standard literary language that will allow you to conduct business negotiations, correspondence, and so on. Learning a particular dialect depends on your goals. If you are planning a trip to Latin American countries, then seek help directly from a native speaker who will teach you all the intricacies of the dialect of interest.

Mexican people can speak different languages. There are more than 60 indigenous languages in Mexico, although this is only 6%, but this percentage roughly corresponds to about 6 million people in Mexico. The official language in Mexico is Spanish, simply because it is the language in which most Mexicans communicate.

Initially, when the Spanish arrived, they tried to maintain Nahuatl as the official language of the country. However, in the late 1600s and until the 1700s, Spanish colonizers began changing the official language of Mexico from Nahuatl to Spanish. In the 1990s, an amendment to the Mexican constitution led to the adoption of indigenous languages as national languages. Thus, legal documents can now be written in all indigenous languages, as well as Spanish.

Common words and phrases:
Russian	Pronunciation	Spanish
Sorry	Excuse mi	perdon
Yes	Si	si
Thank you	Gracias	Gracias
Please	Por favor	For your sake,
Entrance	Entrada	entrada
How much time?	Ke ora es?	¿Cuánto tiempo?
Fine	Bien	bueno
No	But	no
Toilet	Servisio	W.C.
Exit	Salida	salida
Sorry	Perdone	triste
I don't understand	But entiendo	no entiendo
Closed	Cerrado	cerrado
Open	Avierto	abierto
Greeting/Farewell:
How are you?	Ke tal?	What do you think?
Hello	Buenos dias	¡Hola
Good morning!	Buenos dias	¡Buenos días!
Good afternoon	Buenas Tardes	¡Buen día!
Fine	Mui bien	bueno
Hello	Ola	¡Hola
Goodbye	Adios	despedida
Good evening!	Buenos Noches	¡Buenas nights!
Bye	Ola	mientras
Travel / Station / Airport:
Police	polisia	police
Hotel	calving	hotel
Pharmacy	Farmasia	farmacia
Bus stop	La Estacion de Autobuses	parade de autobus
Passport control	El control de pasaportes	control de pasaporte
Supermarket	El supermercado	supermercado
Customs	La Aduana	aduana
Railway station	La Estacion de Tranes	Estación de F / ferrocarril
Where is?	Dongde esta	What do you think?
Where can I buy tickets?	Donde se puede comprar entradas?	¿Dónde puedo comprar las entradas?
Getting around the city / Transport:
I want to rent a car	Quiero alkilar un koche	Quiero alquilar un coche
Take me to the airport	Lleveme al aeropuerto	Llévame al aeropuerto
Stop here, please	Pare aki por favor	Deténgase aquí, por favor
Take me to the hotel	Lievem al otel	Llevame al hotel
Where can I get a taxi?	Donde puedo kocher un taxi	¿Dónde puedo conseguir un taxi?
In a hotel:
Single room	Habitacion individual	Habitation individual
I have reserved a hotel room	Tengo una-habitacion rreservada	Yo reserve una habitación en el
Room for two	Habitacion con dos camas	Doble
Do you have rooms available?	Tenen unabitación libre	¿Tiene habitaciones disponibles?
In the Restaurant:
Wine	Wine	vino
The check, please	La Cuenta, Port Favor	cuenta favor
Do you have a table for two (three, four) people?	Tenen unamesa para-dos (très, cuatro) personas?	¿Tiene una mesa para dos (tres, cuatro) personas?
Coffee	Cafe	cafe
Beer	Servesa	cerveza
Waiter	Camarero	camarero
I want to book a table	Quiro rreservar una-mesa	Quiero reservar una mesa
Tea	Tae	té
Numerals:
Six	ses	seis
One	it	uno
Three	tres	tres
Four	zuatro	cuatro
Seven	sete	siete
Fourteen	tsatortse	catorce
Eleven	soon	once
Thousand	miles	mil
Two	dos	dos
Twelve	doce	doce
Eight	wow	ocho
Five	tsintso	cinco
Twenty	Vente	veinte
Thirteen	Tretse	trece
One hundred	cent	ciento
Ten	des	diez
Nine	Nueve	nueve

Spanish video lessons for beginners

Mexico is a country of ancient civilizations. For many millennia, numerous Indian tribes lived on its territory. The modern ethnic composition was formed from the indigenous population, European settlers and Africans imported to work on plantations since the sixteenth century. More than half of the population are mestizos and mulattoes, descendants of mixed marriages. In this regard, many are interested in what language is the official language in Mexico. To answer this question, let's look at history.

Historical reference

Until the sixteenth century, the territory of modern Mexico was inhabited by Indian tribes who spoke several dozen languages. Of these, the most widespread were the Navajo in the north, Nahuatl and Maya in the center. Many others were also used, all of which had a significant impact on the Spanish language, which was originally spoken only by a small stratum of administrators, officials, conquistadors, and Spanish settlers who made up about five percent of the population.

However, thanks to intensive interracial contacts, already in the seventeenth century, for the bulk of Mexicans, Spanish became the main means of communication.

Influence of Indian languages

Unlike the United States, Mexico has never resorted to a policy of genocide against the indigenous population. After the number of Indians sharply declined due to diseases introduced by Europeans, their numbers stabilized already in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. And in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the number of people speaking Amerindian languages increased quite significantly, although their overall share of the population continued to decline as the number of Spanish-speaking mestizos grew even more rapidly. And yet the official language of Mexico is still significantly influenced by Indian dialects, which are still spoken by seven to ten percent of the population.

Many Mexicanisms, words, grammatical and phonetic phrases that are characteristic of spoken Spanish in Mexico are directly explained by the influence of autochthonous languages.

Mexico City - capital of New Spain

Another important factor in the formation of Mexican Spanish is the status of Mexico City itself (formerly Tenochtitlan), a city that was the capital of New Spain for three centuries. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries many people arrived here from Madrid. Therefore, Mexican Spanish, like American English, is mainly based on the corresponding European counterpart.
In Spain itself, the language continued to develop further, but in Mexico it seemed to freeze after the country gained independence at the beginning of the nineteenth century and began to form independently.

Mexico. Spanish

Spanish in Mexico is a group of dialects, dialects and sociolects that make up a special variant of Spanish, based on the linguistic norms of the Mexican capital, Mexico City, which is the literary standard for this variant.

When talking about what language is spoken in Mexico, it should be noted that in most regions of the country, Spanish close to the metropolitan norm is used, with the exception of the special dialects of Chiapas (Central American Spanish) and Yucatan (Yucatan Spanish, which is based on the Caribbean variant).

Mexican Spanish is the native language of approximately 125 million people, over 100 million of whom live in Mexico and approximately 25 million in the United States, mainly in the border areas of California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. This variety of Spanish is the only official language at the federal level, and, along with many Native American dialects, one of the official languages at the state level.

Now you know what language is spoken in Mexico. It is worth noting that Mexican Spanish, among other things, is the basis for the Spanish language in the United States, widely used in education and the media. It is also the most widely spoken variety of Spanish in the world, as it is the native language of the vast majority of Mexicans, who make up about 29 percent of Spanish speakers worldwide.

Phonological and other features

It is not enough to know what language is spoken in Mexico; you also need to have an idea of a number of changes taking place in the language system. Thus, linguistic territories are expanding in the country (similar to what happened in Spain, when Spanish replaced other languages that existed on the Iberian Peninsula), phonological changes are occurring (the letter j begins to be pronounced differently, the sound [θ] gradually disappears and changes to [s], words borrowed from Indian dialects are phonetically adapted).

Those who first encountered the modern Mexican version of Spanish note its “conservativeness.” In the artistic works of Spanish writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there are words that are today considered archaisms in Spain and are almost unrecognizable by native speakers or are used very rarely. However, in the Mexican version they are not perceived as archaic and continue to be used.

In the article we talked about what language is spoken in Mexico. We hope you find this information useful. All the best!

little mustachioed mexicans

Mexican version of Spanish.

Mexican Spanish (Spanish) Español mexico listen)) is the native language of about 125 million people (of which over 100 million live in Mexico and about 25 million in the United States, mainly in the border areas of Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, etc.). In addition, Mexican Spanish is the most widespread linguistic variant of the Spanish language, as it is the native language of the majority of Mexicans, who make up about 29% of all Spanish speakers in the world.

The Mexican version of Spanish is understood not only in the historical homeland of the language and throughout Latin America, but also in the south of the United States - in the Latin quarters of Los Angeles there are eateries where not only do they not speak English, but they also accept dollars for payment without much desire, better than pesos.

The emergence and spread of Mexican Spanish.

In 1521, Spanish colonialists arrived in Tenochtitlan(now Mexico City), thus introducing the Spanish language to the territory of modern Mexico. The Creole Spanish language of Mexico begins to emerge when the first children are born in Mexico, however, their parents still spoke European Spanish.

It is known that the Indian languages that dominated the territory of what is now Mexico before the arrival of the Spaniards had almost no impact on the phonological and grammatical level of the Spanish language in Mexico. On the other hand, all linguists recognize their influence on the lexical composition of the language. Thus, in the Spanish of Mexico and Spain, by the way, too, we can find a huge amount Indianisms, specifically coming from the Nahuatl language:
avocado, cocoa, chili(the name of the pepper has nothing in common with the name of the country Chile), coyote, mezcal, ocelot, quetzal(name of bird and coin), tomato, chocolate...

In addition to Nahuatlisms, in the Mexican version of the Spanish language there are borrowings from other Indian languages, for example, Mayan, which, however, are present mainly in the southeast of the country and are dialect variants that are not included in the norm of the entire Mexican version of the Spanish language, which is the basis is the cultural speech of Mexico City.

Characteristics of Mexican Spanish.

Mexico is a country overly susceptible to English contamination. Being a neighbor to the United States, it has a border with them that is more than 2,500 km long. It maintains close economic relations with its powerful neighbor, receives a significant number of American tourists every year, and hundreds of thousands of Mexicans go temporarily to work in the United States. At the same time, having lived there for a couple of decades (illegally or having received a residence permit), they still do not master the English language. What for? They still work for “their own people” - in restaurants serving Mexican cuisine (which, as you might guess, is extremely common in the States), live in “their” areas and communicate only with “their own people”.

When I worked part-time as a waitress in a Mexican restaurant in Washington, I quickly had to master several super-necessary phrases in Spanish, because the cooks in the kitchen didn’t speak English, and it was oh so difficult to explain to them once again what these beans were There is no need to put it in this fajita - this American family is allergic to them.

Well, yeah, I digress.

Of course, it is not surprising that such close proximity leaves its traces in the lexical set of the Mexican language. There are a large number of anglicisms, which, as a rule, are not registered by most dictionaries, but dominate over common Spanish words. Such anglicisms are absent in other national varieties of the Spanish language. For example:
Shorts— Pantalon corto (Shorts)
Lunch— Comida a media mañana
Penthouse— Ultimo piso de un edificio
Office boy— Mensajero (Messenger)…

Phonological features

don't discriminate s and interdental z, c(developed in Castile), which are all pronounced /s/. The sound [s] in Mexico is identical to the Russian sound “s”.
there is no longer any difference in pronunciation y And ll; pronounced as /ʝ/ or Russian [И], a feature passed into standard Spanish.
final and intervocalic consonants in Mexico have a fairly distinct quality, and vowels vice versa are reduced. (Cómo ’stás- como estás’, nec'sito,'necesito' palabr's'palabras', much's grace, ‘muchas gracias’).
final [s](indicator of the plural and second person of verbs) intervocalic d is always preserved but is never completely reduced. Thus, "amado", "partido", "nada" do not become "amao", "partío" and "naa".
in most of Mexico, meaningful phonemes [R] and [r] standard Spanish (especially final -r) often are stunned and the contrast between them is somewhat blurred: [‘ka§ta] ‘carta’ or ‘amor’, while in the northern states the difference between /rr/ and /-r/ remains. In some areas of the Yucatan Peninsula, r even takes on a uvular quality (as in French).

Learning Mexican Spanish.

Teaching Spanish in many countries geographically located far from Latin America, including Russia, is focused on the Iberian variant, while Latin American variants have to be mastered in practice.

The Internet makes its contribution to the language practice of modern students, as well as correspondence with Latin American peers and colleagues. As a result, students often ask teachers questions such as:

1. Why should I pronounce the interdental sound [θ] if Latin Americans (i.e. almost 400 million people) manage without it?

2. I spoke to a Mexican (Venezuelan, Peruvian, etc.) and he said “Hoy desayuné a las 8”, but in class they tell us that this is a mistake and we should say “Hoy he desayuné a las 8”. How is that correct?

3. I talked to Mexicans about Russian cuisine and tried to tell them that a typical soup is borscht, i.e. soup with beets. I used the word remolacha, but they didn’t understand me. What word should I have used?