How similar are Castilian and Spanish

Answer 1

Castilian and Spanish are essentially the same.

Answer 2

Hi Logan. I think many people confuse Castilian with Catalán, perhaps. The truth is that Castilian *is* Spanish. In Spanish, it is called castellano. Castellano is simply Peninsular Spanish (the Spanish spoken in Spain). However, when you are in Spain, it's important to know that you should say, Hablo castellano ("I speak (Peninsular) Spanish") instead of Hablo español, because in Spain, the word español actually refers to all five (5!) or more languages spoken in Spain, which include Castilian (the main language), Gallego (spoke in the Galicia region), Euskera (spoken in the Basque region), Catalán (spoken in Cataluña), and another dialect of Catalán (spoken in Valencia).

That being said, Peninsular Spanish (Castilian) does not vary too greatly from the Spanish spoken in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). People from any of these regions can easily understand each other. Like any language (especially English), there are all sorts of slang and colloquial expressions that differ from one country to another. Those are the only types of words/phrases that people might not understand from culture to culture. What I generally tell folks is that Castilian Spanish differs from LAC Spanish in the same way that European English differs from American English. Castilian Spanish tends to sound more formal/fancy/correct and preserves many of the older forms of language than Latin American/Caribbean Spanish does, obviously because LAC Spanish has been greatly influenced by American English. Many Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, for example, incorporate what we call "anglicismos" into their language use (new Spanish words adapted from English).

The main unique characteristic that Castilian Spanish has compared to all other regions is its use of the pronoun vosotros (meaning "you all", informally). Spain is the only country that uses this pronoun and its corresponding verb conjugations. However, I am pretty sure that Spanish speakers from other countries can still understand Spaniards when they use vosotros.

Castilian Spanish also sounds very different from LAC Spanish. Depending on where they are placed in a word, the letters C and Z are often pronounced "th". This is the easiest way to know someone is from Spain!

Some of Spain's very "Spain" words and expressions are vale, guay, venga (as a farewell), tinto de verano (the real name for the drink sangría), coche for "car" (carro, auto in LAC), móvil for cell phone (teléfono celular in LAC), and lots more!

All in all, if you are going to travel to different Spanish-speaking countries, you will be fine using everyday language (non-colloquial/slang). Hope that helps!

-Alissa