During my work experience in Madrid, I have overcome certain communicational cultural differences in regards to the Spanish language itself. The Spanish language is spoken across continents and consists of many unique dialects. Generational, demographic, and geographic factors all play a part in forming the structure of the language in its specific regions. I am of South American decent; the Spanish that I grew up speaking is extremely different than that of Spain. Furthermore, I am a second generation American Latino; this also influences my understanding and fluency of the Spanish Language. The Spanish language generally, is hard to pick up for non native speakers. The accent and unique dialect prove complicated and the tenses are confusing. When Spanish speakers from different backgrounds interact, each with their own unique proficiency and speaking style, there can be communicational misunderstandings. These language gaps can be crossed; however, in a fast pace business environment this can prove frustrating and impede productivity. My supervisor was of Hungarian decent and Spanish was her second language. While she spoke perfect Spanish, my accent and South American dialect confused her at times. This created awkward moments especially during the early stages of my internship when I was personally getting to know her. Naturally, with time these misunderstandings were smoothed as our brains adapted to each other’s language structure.  

Lucas Carrillo McGrann