Spanish

Mark   Wed Mar 29, 2006 1:58 am GMT
I'm no expert, but based on my experiences as a native speaker of English and a second-language speaker of Spanish, it is my impression that the differences between Mexican Spanish and Peninsular Spanish are no greater than, and probably less than (at least in the case of educated speakers) than those between American and British English.

Brennus mentions the lisping pronunciation of "c" and "z" used in most of Spain, but this and the few other small differences in pronunciation are certainly less than the notable differences between British and American pronunciation. It's difficult to really do a direct comparison, though, because English dialects differ mainly in vowel pronunciation whereas Spanish dialects differ in consonant pronunciation. Also, I'm not sure where Brennus gets the idea that "rojo" isn't used for red in Mexico -- I've run into both "rojo" and "colorado" quite a bit in Mexican Spanish.
dinis   Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:26 am GMT
Jordi,
Bravo! Dos orejas y el rabo!
*CarloS*   Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:37 am GMT
WORDS USE FOR "WAITER":

Mozo - Perú
Camarero - ¿México? No sé donde usan esta palabra.
Mesero - Perú y probablemente otros países.
Garzón - Chile y probablemente otros países también.
dinis   Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:02 am GMT
Here in Los Angeles the majority of Spanish-speakers say MESERO for waiter.
According to my pocket sized Larousse, the term GARCOM is used in Brasil ( written with a C-cedille pronounced as S and a final M which is silent but nasalizes the preceding vowel). That matches Chilean usage and the entire "francophonie"!
JGreco   Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:41 am GMT
In Panama they say Garzon.