Spanish Dialects - Further in-depth

Q:  There was a request for more information on Spanish Dialects:

WESTERN HEMISPHERE V. SPAIN
When the term “neutral” is used, this refers to Spanish for North, Central and South America. Spain, on the other hand, has a very distinct writing style, enormously different vocabulary, and a patriotism that is so strong as to affect sales if not approached with text in the proper dialect. The Western Hemisphere, on the other hand, is a bit more accepting and relaxed about dialect differences, as long as there are only very few expressions outside their own dialect. The more expressions outside the reader’s dialect, the more the text appears to have been written for someone else.

REGIONAL PERSONALITY
Mexico and Central America and certain regions of the U.S.A. share a use of terminology, certain verb conjugations, and a general “feel” in their writing. Columbia, Peru, Chile and other South American countries also share their “feel” and vocabulary, at least for business language. Argentina, on the other hand, has its own very strong preferences which differentiate their country from the rest of South America, lean more toward Europe and in some cases are entirely unrelated to all other dialects.

ADAPTATION FOR LOWER READING LEVEL
There is another element worth considering with the Spanish language, and that is “Adaptation for Lower Reading Level”. Spanish speakers who were raised in the United States (and therefore educated in English), or who come from Spanish speaking countries but do not have higher education, have difficulty understanding or identifying with educated Spanish. If a document is ORIGINALLY TRANSLATED into low-level Spanish, then educated Spanish speakers are offended. Therefore, to achieve the dual role of “classy” Spanish, that is equally easy to understand, text is first translated using a high quality translation team, lead by a Certified Public Translator. Then, that translation is reviewed by a professional Adaptor who is responsible for adapting Spanish materials to a lower reading level for many cities and school districts. In this manner, a beautifully - but simply - written document is the result. “Adapted text” is attractive to educated Spanish speakers, but is less confusing to lower educational level.

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