Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

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Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

Postby sfuqua » Mon Jun 19, 2017 1:18 am

These three world languages all are found in different variations around the world.
Each language has varieties of formal registers that are acceptable for TV news reports, books and the like.
The best I can figure, French has one "best" variety, although Quebec is it's own standard as I understand. What about Africa?
English accepts several varieties, depending on where you live, as does Spanish.

Some folks here have epic skills in all 3 languages.

What is your impression, comparing respected, educated registers, which language(s) have/has the most variety?
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Re: Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

Postby Dannylearns » Mon Jun 19, 2017 2:16 am

Hi Sfuqua!
This is my first post on the forum but your question is perfect! Though i dont fully understand what you mean, I think I am able to give some insight on the 'official' languages compared to the former colony spoken version of the language.

I speak English, Spanish and French. I've lived in Spain, travelled central america. And I have lived in France and travelled Africa.

The Spanish in central america is actually very similar to that in Spain though there are some slang words which will make you look a bit weird. You are very easily able to understand people there even when your level is low.

Regarding French in Africa it is a bit more difficult, not because the dialect is different but because the level of their language speaking in education is simply lower. Especially the writing is very difficult and often hard to understand.

Let me know if this doesnt answer fully the question though, i'm sure it doesnt but it might be a start in the right direction.
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Re: Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

Postby tastyonions » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:56 pm

English easily wins out for phonological variation. Not as sure about lexical.
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Re: Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

Postby sillygoose1 » Wed Jun 21, 2017 3:09 pm

English definitely has the most variation in accents if you account for towns and cities but Spanish probably has the most variation in accents in terms of solely countries and of course vocabulary. It's sort of bizarre as to how English doesn't have much more vocab differences as one may think while Argentina and Chile who are neighbors can vary drastically for example.

French is pretty uniform outside of Quebecois and some Belgian/Southern French cities. The only Africans I've heard who speak with a distinct accent are those whose first language isn't French or didn't go to a French language school.
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Re: Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

Postby Querneus » Wed Jun 21, 2017 6:43 pm

sfuqua wrote:These three world languages all are found in different variations around the world.
Each language has varieties of formal registers that are acceptable for TV news reports, books and the like.
The best I can figure, French has one "best" variety, although Quebec is it's own standard as I understand. What about Africa?
English accepts several varieties, depending on where you live, as does Spanish.

Some folks here have epic skills in all 3 languages.

What is your impression, comparing respected, educated registers, which language(s) have/has the most variety?

If we limit ourselves to respected, educated registers, I'd say there's greater variation in Spanish. Pretty much every Spanish-speaking country, even small ones like El Salvador, has its own standard (except for perhaps Equatorial Guinea, which I've heard continues to look up to usage in Spain). In particular, this means that understanding materials made originally in Spanish may actually require a larger vocabulary, as different people use different words for the same things (variation in pronunciation and grammar exists too, but I think that's much easier to get accustomed to).

Some examples. If you use materials from Spain, you'll find acurrucarse means 'to curl up (because it's cold)' or 'to cuddle (said of a couple on a bed or a sofa)', but if you use materials from El Salvador you'll find this same verb only means 'to squat'. And be careful when you speak! Practically no Salvadoran knows this word is used that other way in Spain, and it goes without saying that Spaniards don't know the Salvadoran meaning either. A frying pan is referred to as el sartén in Mexico, la sartén in Spain and Argentina, and la cacerola in El Salvador, and people from these countries, even the Salvadorans, will insist their own usage is fine.
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Re: Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

Postby tarvos » Wed Jun 21, 2017 7:19 pm

Yeah - I used encorajar instead of animar/impulsar the other week and my Spanish teacher dubbed it a Latin Americanism, whereas to me it seemed completely fine. Not that I didn't know the other two words (although I probably would have said animar or dar ánimo), but sometimes some words just completely screw people over, even if they are from different regions within Spain.

Sometimes it's as simple as saying logo instead of luego, or pos instead of pues, which gives you away.
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Re: Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

Postby Querneus » Wed Jun 21, 2017 7:29 pm

tarvos wrote:Yeah - I used encorajar instead of animar/impulsar the other week and my Spanish teacher dubbed it a Latin Americanism, whereas to me it seemed completely fine. Not that I didn't know the other two words (although I probably would have said animar or dar ánimo), but sometimes some words just completely screw people over, even if they are from different regions within Spain.

Hm, I've never heard this word. Do you happen to know who uses it? I'm pretty confident it's not part of Salvadoran Spanish or mediatic Latin American Spanish (the Spanish you hear in materials dubbed from English or Japanese). Also, the DRAE includes it and curiously does not mark it as an americanismo, which suggests it *might* be used in Spain too...
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Re: Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

Postby zenmonkey » Thu Jun 22, 2017 6:45 am

sillygoose1 wrote:English definitely has the most variation in accents if you account for towns and cities but Spanish probably has the most variation in accents in terms of solely countries and of course vocabulary. It's sort of bizarre as to how English doesn't have much more vocab differences as one may think while Argentina and Chile who are neighbors can vary drastically for example.

French is pretty uniform outside of Quebecois and some Belgian/Southern French cities. The only Africans I've heard who speak with a distinct accent are those whose first language isn't French or didn't go to a French language school.


My bookshelf says differently. There are a dozen or more recognised dialects - Parigo vs Ch'ti. Normand. Aostan, Swiss, Belgian, Etc...

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Re: Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

Postby tarvos » Thu Jun 22, 2017 8:13 am

Serafín wrote:
tarvos wrote:Yeah - I used encorajar instead of animar/impulsar the other week and my Spanish teacher dubbed it a Latin Americanism, whereas to me it seemed completely fine. Not that I didn't know the other two words (although I probably would have said animar or dar ánimo), but sometimes some words just completely screw people over, even if they are from different regions within Spain.

Hm, I've never heard this word. Do you happen to know who uses it? I'm pretty confident it's not part of Salvadoran Spanish or mediatic Latin American Spanish (the Spanish you hear in materials dubbed from English or Japanese). Also, the DRAE includes it and curiously does not mark it as an americanismo, which suggests it *might* be used in Spain too...


That's what I thought and pointed out.
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Re: Spanish, English, and French which has more variation?

Postby Tillumadoguenirurm » Thu Jun 22, 2017 10:31 am

zenmonkey wrote:
sillygoose1 wrote:English definitely has the most variation in accents if you account for towns and cities but Spanish probably has the most variation in accents in terms of solely countries and of course vocabulary. It's sort of bizarre as to how English doesn't have much more vocab differences as one may think while Argentina and Chile who are neighbors can vary drastically for example.

French is pretty uniform outside of Quebecois and some Belgian/Southern French cities. The only Africans I've heard who speak with a distinct accent are those whose first language isn't French or didn't go to a French language school.


My bookshelf says differently. There are a dozen or more recognised dialects - Parigo vs Ch'ti. Normand. Aostan, Swiss, Belgian, Etc...

Image


Some of those aren't really dialects of French. Occitan (pinks and reds on the map) is it's own language and if I remember correctly so is Picard (Ch'ti) and Gallo.
Last edited by Tillumadoguenirurm on Thu Jun 22, 2017 9:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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