Is it OK to learn Latin-American Spanish, If I go to Spain?

Question

The 2 great audio methods I might buy, only teach LATIN AMERICAN Spanish... and I'm from europe.

Will I be able to talk to people in Spain and understand each other ok?

Answer 1

I just can say trust yourslf & do every thing you want

Answer 2

You should be able to understand them okay.  There are some words and phrases in castillian Spanish that they do not use in Latin-American countries.  An example is the word "vale" which is used for OK.  I should also point out that there are some words in castillian Spanish that are used every day but in Latin-American Spanish, they are considered insults.

Answer 3

latin american and spain spanish are pretty much the same .. especially if you learn spanish in countries from central and south america... if you learn correct spanish (not slang) you will do just fine.. the major difference will be the accent ... there are certain words or phrases  that we dont use on this side of the ocean.. but as a whole and for the most part you will be just fine (most spanish classes typically teach you the very correct and formal way to speak spanish anyway...)

Answer 4

They will probably understand you better than you understand them. Where in Europe are you from?

Answer 5

Yeah, you'll be perfectly understood. The problem Latin American Spanish has is that it has borrowed too many words from English, and some words that in Spain Spanish have a meaning, in Latin American they have the English meaning. For example, here in Spain we use the word "remover" to say "stir", whereas they use it to say "remove", so maybe some people will laugh at you in some way.

Another difference is the prononciation; if here in most parts of Spain have a pronontiation for za, ce, ci , zo, zu; and another for sa, se, si, so, su. , they pronounce all the same (it's called "seseo").

But it's just relative, because in Southern Spain (Andalucía) and Canarias they have "seseo" too.

Answer 6

Yes, and yes.  

Answer 7

They'll understand you alright, even though you'll sound a bit different. I even like the Latin-American dialect better.

Answer 8

You'll be able to get your point across.  Even between countries within "Latin America" dialects of Spanish are different.  Some of the big differences between LA Spanish and Spain Spanish are inflection, speed and accent.  They might not understand every word you say, but if you have the vocabulary down you should be able to manage.