Quote:
Originally Posted by Withnail
¡Hola!
I'm new here so please forgive me if this question has been answered before.
Next year I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to take a career time-out. I'm quite new to learning Spanish but I plan to go to South America for 6-12 months, take Spanish lessons, and immerse myself in the language.
I am trying to decide which country to go to. My current shortlist is Argentina, Chile, Peru or Uruguay. I have heard different opinions on how 'clear' the Spanish dialect spoken in these countries is. So, for those who have experience in South America, do you have views on which of these countries has clear, or not-so-clear, dialects / accents that would help or hinder an inexperienced learner?
¡Muchas gracias!
Withnail
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I highly recommend Ecuador. Very similar to Peru but the people
speak clearer in my opinion. A Peruvian friend of mine who lives in
Italy now just called me this morning from Italy. He was speaking
to me in Spanish and I was having a hard time understanding what he
was saying. I think he only made it to the third grade or maybe never did go to school. My wife is Cuban and I have had extensive experience with listening to people talk fast but for the life of me it was hard to understand him. Eucador and Peru have different regions with different accents as most Spanish speaking countries do. I have had other Peruvian friends that I could understand perfectly but in my personal opinion the Ecuadorians speak Spanish better or clearer than the Peruvians. Ecuador has less of an Indian influence than Peru. Ecuador now uses the American dollar. Ecuador also has the Galapagos islands also.
I like the accent of people from Argentina. Buenos Aires the capital of Argentina is 3/4% of people of Italian origin and it is just logical that they speak Spanish with some what of an Italian accent. Ask most Spanish speakers and they will tell you this. Other than on this forum nobody has ever argued with me about this. Argentina is the country that has more Italian immigrants outside of Italy than any other country in the world for % of the population. I think it is great that they speak with an Italian accent. I have met many people from Argentina in Italy and in the U.S. My compadre is from Argentina.
My first Spanish teacher was from Colombia. She always told us that the best Spanish and clearest Spanish is spoken in Colombia so for many years I thought that the best Spanish was Colombian Spanish. Of course that is ridiculous. The best Spanish spoken anywhere is the Spanish where you happend to be at the time. Of course educated speakers of Spanish of any Spanish speaking country are going to speak better rather it be from Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina or any other Spanish speaking country.