Spanish, as spoken in Spain
While people from Latin American Spanish-speaking countries and Spain can communicate without major problems, there are significant differences. These differences are not just linguistic but also cultural.
First, we have vocabulary differences. Here are a few examples- we call a car a coche and not a carro, in Spain a carro is a donkey and cart (like a supermarket trolley). Papa, which is potato in Latin America, but father in Spain, try asking for 2 kg of dads at the market! And sensationally, Coger is to grasp, grab or pick up in Spain. In contrast, in Latin America, it has a much more colourful meaning. And this list goes on and on.
Second, our Spanish pronunciation contains a lisp with any word with a Z and certain C’s. In Latin American Spanish, they do not lisp like we do, and it’s a very clear difference in how we talk.
Thirdly and most importantly, in Spain, we have six personal pronouns; there are only four in the Latin American dialect. Not having a singular word for “You”, they talk to everybody in the third person….(usted/ustedes)
The mother country/mainland Spanish language is evolving rapidly, whereas Latin American seems less so. Importantly, they still use Usted to talk to people on the street, whereas, in Spain, we now reserve that for business transactions and formal letters. It is not well received when you speak to your neighbor formally, making it sound like you are not friends but just doing a business transaction.
Around the world, most Spanish courses taught are in fact Latin American.
People always appreciate your efforts in learning the language of their country, so if you are coming to Spain, it makes sense to learn Spanish as spoken in Spain, and that is what I will teach you.