The top 10 cities where the best Spanish is spoken

[Marianopolita]

I just came across this article that was written two months ago so it’s recent. The question is often asked and the responses vary but some cities are predictable if you have a lot of exposure to Spanish. In this list cities of two countries are the most common 🤔. I am not surprised. I find the supporting explanations quite interesting.

The article is in Spanish but you can peruse the the top ten list.

Estas son las ciudades que hablan el mejor español del planeta

Alrededor de 483 millones de personas cuya lengua materna es el español, tratándose así del segundo idioma más hablado del mundo después del chino. El inglés sigue al español con unos 360 millones de hablantes nativos.

qpasa.com

-MP.

 

[aarhus]

It should be 10 cities in Spain

 

[Marianopolita]

It should be 10 cities in Spain

Why?

 

[cavok]

I agree with San Jose, CR. I found the Spanish there fairly easy to understand.

 

[aarhus]

Why?

Haha. Well Spanish came from there. If it was English wouldn’t we say in England. In the US they speak American English. It’s a question of taste apart from that what we like the best. I love Argentinian Spanish and also the way they speak in Bogota, Colombia. And honestly I find Dominican Spanish charming.

 

[Marianopolita]

It’s interesting today. I was watching a news program and the topic was the World Cup qualifying matches and the possibility of Costa Rica qualifying.

I couldn’t believe how similar the reporter sounded to the more standard Colombian accent. I have heard people compare the two accents but I never believed it until today. I was really surprised how similar the Costa Rican sounded to one of the more neutral accents of Colombia. Unbelievable.

 

[Lucifer]

Is the best Spanish the most neutral?

The sound of Spanish from Mexico City is music to my hears, even if it's not neutral.

Several times in the the D.R. folks have assumed that I'm Peruvian.

Once, at a casa de cambio in Santo Domingo, in order to convince them, I had to resort to "¿Pe qué? ¿Peruano? Pero ven acá, mi heLmano, ¿e' qe u'té se 'tá volviendo loco? Yo soy nacío y criao en la tierra santa de Salvaleón de Higüey?"

Then I reverted back to my previously scheduled program of speech neutrality.

 

[Marianopolita]

Haha. Well Spanish came from there. If it was English wouldn’t we say in England. In the US they speak American English. It’s a question of taste apart from that what we like the best. I love Argentinian Spanish and also the way they speak in Bogota, Colombia. And honestly I find Dominican Spanish charming.

The comparison is Spanish spoken in countries where the official language is Spanish so it would include countries outside of Spain. We know the history so I think the comparison is valid.

 

[Marianopolita]

Is the best Spanish the most neutral?

The sound of Spanish from Mexico City is music to my hears, even if it's not neutral.

Several times in the the D.R. folks have assumed that I'm Peruvian.

Once, at a casa de cambio in Santo Domingo, in order to convince them, I had to resort to "¿Pe qué? ¿Peruano? Pero ven acá, mi heLmano, ¿e' qe u'té se 'tá volviendo loco? Yo soy nacío y criao en la tierra santa de Salvaleón de Higüey?"

Then I reverted back to my previously scheduled program of speech neutrality.

Laughing here at your comment….good for you.

To answer your question maybe the best Spanish is the most neutral but does it have to be?

I think some of the Mexican accents are appealing but I don’t hear them enough to draw a final conclusion. However, larger cities tend to have more neutral accents D.F. Mexico included.

 

[aarhus]

What about Miami ? There is a certain Miami sound I think. Obviously maybe Cuban influenced.

 

[cavok]

What about Miami ? There is a certain Miami sound I think. Obviously maybe Cuban influenced.

The Spanish in Miami does have it's own different sound. Even the English in Miami has a different Spanish accent than from non-Cuban bilingual English speakers.

 

[cavok]

It’s interesting today. I was watching a news program and the topic was the World Cup qualifying matches and the possibility of Costa Rica qualifying.

I couldn’t believe how similar the reporter sounded to the more standard Colombian accent. I have heard people compare the two accents but I never believed it until today. I was really surprised how similar the Costa Rican sounded to one of the more neutral accents of Colombia. Unbelievable.

I've been watching quite a few movies lately with Colombian actors and I noticed the same thing. Some, not all, sounded quite similar to Costa Ricans.

 

[Marianopolita]

What about Miami ? There is a certain Miami sound I think. Obviously maybe Cuban influenced.

I think there are many facets of Spanish spoken in Miami. It doesn’t even compare to New York City which is a large Spanish-speaking city and region of the East coast USA.

I break down Spanish in Miami in the following way:

1) those who only speak Spanish (from their respective country i.e. Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela etc)

2) those who speak Spanish with English words in many phrases but are by no means fluent in English

3) the code switchers- part English part Spanish (I do not like this form at all)

4) the 1st generation Spanish speakers- not to knock them because I think it’s admirable that they are interested in learning and speaking the language but in my observation their Spanish is heavily influenced by English sentence construction. Their sentences may be grammatically correct but not typical of the Spanish language.

5) Español cubano- a visit to La Pequeña Havana sums that up.

 

[Marianopolita]

I've been watching quite a few movies lately with Colombian actors and I noticed the same thing. Some, not all, sounded quite similar to Costa Ricans.

The Colombian vs Costa Rican comparison is new to me. I heard it today and remembered reading the comment from someone else. I need to go to Costa Rica and test the waters. Pura vida 🇨🇷

 

[aarhus]

The Spanish in Miami does have it's own different sound. Even the English in Miami has a different Spanish accent than from non-Cuban bilingual English speakers.

I know as in Miami at first I made the mistake of assuming someone I talked to wasn’t born in the US because of that spanish accent in their English. I like it. And like their Miami Spanish.

 

[Marianopolita]

I know as in Miami at first I made the mistake of assuming someone I talked to wasn’t born in the US because of that spanish accent in their English. I like it. And like their Miami Spanish.

Miami is like its own Spanish-speaking country. With such a high percentage of Spanish speakers it’s more dominant than Spanish on the West coast USA. It’s definitely very handy if you speak Spanish in Miami.

 

[cavok]

The Colombian vs Costa Rican comparison is new to me. I heard it today and remembered reading the comment from someone else. I need to go to Costa Rica and test the waters. Pura vida 🇨🇷

I used to have a girlfriend from Bucaramanga and she spoke a very clear Spanish, but I wouldn't say she sounded Costa Rican. Some of the Colombian actors in the movies I've been watching have a nice and somewhat distinct accent that I'm told is from Medellin. I find Colombian speakers in general are fairly easy to understand.

 

[aarhus]

Miami is like its own Spanish-speaking country. With such a high percentage of Spanish speakers it’s more dominant than Spanish on the West coast USA. It’s definitely very handy if you speak Spanish in Miami.

I have sometimes considered living there if I could. I like to say with language it’s almost the opposite situation for me in Miami than in Santo Domingo. In Miami the legal and business language and in the bank etc is English but often socially and in shops and restaurants Spanish is more useful which I then enjoy. In Santo Domingo the legal and business language and in the bank is Spanish but I often had English language friends so spoke English socially. I find it easier in Miami that way.

 

[Lucifer]

Unfortunately, Dominicans fall short on the "best Spanish scale."

Now, in an effort to sound "sophisticated" and well-traveled, some communicators and so-called influencers, and even corporations, include English words and phrases in their every-day engagements, thus relegating us to the back of the pack in the 'proper Spanish' spectrum.

Case in point:

I've heard El Pachá say that so-and-so "hizo un 'live' en vivo".
And ALL of the radio and TV personalities pronounce 'CInema' as 'ciNEma', with emphasis on the second syllable, when talking about Caribbean Cinema.
No one pronounces 'media' as it should be, but insist on pronouncing 'media' as in sock, when referring to Alofoke Media Group.
Folks are now asking that their orders con entrega a domicilio be delivered by "un delivery".

Haga sus pedidos. Tenemos entrega a domicilio.
"¡Oh! ¿Entonces no me la pueden enviar con un delivery?"

While this is not about me, I often find myself insisting on using Spanish while in the D.R.... even when I heard a couple of guys at a photo studio make fun of me... IN BADLY-SPOKEN, error-replete ENGLISH. My companion kept insisting I let them know I understood them. I didn't bother.

In an effort to show off their knowledge of a few English words, Dominicans are falling way behind in the proper Spanish category. We are probably the worst offenders, mistreating the language of Cervantes like a red-headed step-child.

 

[aarhus]

Unfortunately, Dominicans fall short on the "best Spanish scale."

Now, in an effort to sound "sophisticated" and well-traveled, some communicators and so-called influencers, and even corporations, include English words and phrases in their every-day engagements, thus relegating us to the back of the pack in the 'proper Spanish' spectrum.

Case in point:

I've heard El Pachá say that so-and-so "hizo un 'live' en vivo".
And ALL of the radio and TV personalities pronounce 'CInema' as 'ciNEma', with emphasis on the second syllable, when talking about Caribbean Cinema.
No one pronounces 'media' as it should be, but insist on pronouncing 'media' as in sock, when referring to Alofoke Media Group.
Folks are now asking that their orders con entrega a domicilio be delivered by "un delivery".

Haga sus pedidos. Tenemos entrega a domicilio.
"¡Oh! ¿Entonces no me la pueden enviar con un delivery?"

While this is not about me, I often find myself insisting on using Spanish while in the D.R.... even when I heard a couple of guys at a photo studio make fun of me... IN BADLY-SPOKEN, error-replete ENGLISH. My companion kept insisting I let them know I understood them. I didn't bother.

In an effort to show off their knowledge of a few English words, Dominicans are falling way behind in the proper Spanish category. We are probably the worst offenders, mistreating the language of Cervantes like a red-headed step-child.

You have to become Aplatanado.