Mexican Spanish voice overs: What you need to know

Mexican Spanish is not an independent language — it’s a variety of Spanish language dialects that are spoken in Mexico. Mexican Spanish, a descendant of European Spanish, is also a member of the Western Romance language group. It’s also considered one of the Latin American Spanish varieties.

Mexican Spanish is one of the most widely spoken language varieties in South and North America. Almost 130 million people are native Mexican Spanish speakers, while another 8 million speak it as a second language.

The name of this Spanish variation might imply that it’s only spoken in Mexico. However, there are significant communities in The United States and Canada.

Language History

Spanish appeared in Mexico in the early 16th century after the Spanish Conquistadors captured the Tenochtitlan (Mexico City). The Spanish conquest in 1519 started a 300-year colonial rule of Mexico that would completely change the history and culture of the Aztec Empire.

In fact, during the Spanish colonial period, Mexico was even called “New Spain”, proving that the import of Spanish culture, as well as the language, was inevitable. The fast spread of the Spanish language in Mexico is credited to Spanish immigrants that were lured to the new colony from Spain with the promise of cheap manpower and vast natural resources.

Decades later, the Spanish-speaking community in Mexico was vast, especially in Mexico City. However, the indigenous Nahuatl language was still the official language. Since Mexico City was the administrative and cultural center of New Spain, the Spanish that was spoken there spread to other territories. To this day, Spanish is the official language of Mexico, centuries after the colonial rule.

Mexican Spanish vs Other Spanish Varieties

Mexican Spanish was heavily influenced by local indigenous languages, most prominently by Nahuatl. Where Mexican Spanish differs from other varieties is the vocabulary. The vocabulary of Mexican Spanish includes a great number of Nahuatl and other indigenous words and expressions. More recently, a great number of Anglicisms have been entering the language regularly.

Historically, Mexican Spanish development is very similar to Peruvian Spanish. Just like Mexico City, the capital city of Lima was also the language and culture center. Therefore, the two language varieties are very similar in pronunciation.

Mexican Spanish also has many differences from European Spanish, mostly in grammar and pronunciation. For example, while European Spanish speakers pronounce the ‘s’ and ‘z’ letters as ‘th’, Mexican Spanish speakers just say ‘s’ (for example, in Barcelona). Mexican Spanish also doesn’t use ‘vosotros’ (the informal you). In all conversations, the formal ‘ustedes’ is used instead.

Accents and Voice Over Tips

Mexican Spanish is a Spanish language variety itself, however, it does have many regional variations. Linguists divide Mexican Spanish into 10 dialect groups. The official language of the country is based on the Central dialect — a variety spoken in Mexico City.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when recording a Mexican Spanish voice over is the tonality of Mexican Spanish. While the language isn’t considered to be fully tonal, it has been greatly influenced by indigenous tonal languages. The most prominent tonal feature is the overlengthening of the vowels.

Pay attention to the unique Mexican Spanish vocabulary as it greatly differs from other Latin American Spanish Varieties. One unique feature of spoken Mexican Spanish is the addition of the diminutive suffix -ito. It’s used to express politeness or affection. The suffix is often used with names (Juan – Juanito) and with other nouns.

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