Spanish is one language, but it has many accents. If you're learning for Latin America, it helps to know exactly where the two big branches — Latin American and European (Castilian) Spanish — part ways. Good news: the differences are small and learnable.
The sound
The most famous difference is pronunciation. In Spain, the letters z and c (before e/i) are pronounced with a soft 'th' sound, so gracias sounds like grathias. In Latin America, they're pronounced like an s, so gracias sounds like grasias. This is called seseo, and it's nearly universal across Latin America.
Also, in Spain you'll often hear the s at the end of syllables softened or dropped. Latin American speakers tend to pronounce their consonants more fully.
The pronoun: vosotros vs ustedes
This is the structural difference you'll notice most. In Spain, the plural "you" has two forms: vosotros (informal) and ustedes (formal). In Latin America, ustedes is used for both, and vosotros is almost never heard.
So in Spain: ¿Vosotros queréis café? — In Latin America: ¿Ustedes quieren café? (Do you all want coffee?). If you learn Latin American Spanish, you can safely skip vosotros conjugations.
Vocabulary swaps
Some everyday words differ completely:
- Car: coche (Spain) vs carro or auto (Latin America)
- Juice: zumo (Spain) vs jugo (Latin America)
- Computer: ordenador (Spain) vs computadora (Latin America)
- To take: coger (Spain) vs tomar (Latin America) — and be careful, coger means something vulgar in several Latin American countries!
Grammar and you
In most of Latin America the informal "you" is tú. In parts of Argentina, Uruguay and Central America you'll hear vos instead (¿vos querés?). And in Spain, tú is standard everywhere.
Which should you learn?
Learn the Latin American variety if you travel or work there, or if you consume Latin American media. It's spoken by the vast majority of native speakers, and it's very consistent. Whatever you choose, the differences are minor — a speaker of either branch can understand the other perfectly with a little patience. ¡Vamos a aprender! (Let's learn!)