FAQs
1. How many countries speak Spanish?
Every day Spanish is spoken by more than 422 million people around the world. Spanish is the official language for the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Venezuela and Uruguay, and in some parts of the following countries: Brazil, Morocco, Philippines and the United States of America.
2. Are the Spanish grammatical rules the same in all Spanish speaking countries?
Yes, they are the same. Despite the fact that Spanish is widely spoken in different continents, it maintains the same grammatical rules and this is due to the fact that Spanish is regulated by the “La Real Academia Española”.
3. What is the mission of the “La Real Academia Española”?
Its main mission is to ensure that the changes undergone by the Spanish language, in its constant adaptation to the needs of its speakers, do not break the essential unity maintained by all the Hispanic community.
4. What are the differences between Spanish from Spain and Latin America?
The are two main differences:
i) Pronunciation
Latin America is the continent with most Spanish Speakers and its accent is based on Andalusian Spanish (South of Spain) due to the massive emigration from Andalusia to Latin America during the colonisation.
There are mainly two letters of the alphabet that make that difference, letters “C” and “Z”.
Pronunciation
| Mainland Spain | Latin America |
|---|---|
| “C” = Theh | “C” = Se |
| “Z” = Theta | “Z” = Seta |
| “Cerveza” =Therbetha | “Cerveza” = Serbesa |
| “Cinco” = Thinko | “Cinco” = Sinko |
ii) Vocabulary
Different vocabulary is used in Spain to Latin America (similar to UK English and American English).
For example, in England we say “Flat” and in America “Apartment”. In Spain “coche” and in Latin America “carro”.
5. What sort of Spanish accent will I be learning at Spangles?
You will be learning the accent from mainland Spain.
However, on request we can tailor our lessons to accommodate the differences in other Spanish speaking countries.
6. My company will pay for my course, would you provide me with an invoice?
Yes. If you provide us with the details of your company we will invoice the company. However payments must be cleared before you start the course.
7. What happens if I miss a lesson?
If you miss a lesson, we will keep the handouts for the following lesson. If you miss more than one lesson in a term, the teacher will let you know what to do.
8. When can I start?
Our courses are tailored to start at the beginning of each academic term: January, April, July and September. These dates are regularly updated on the courses page on our website.