Central American Spanish
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While Central America is politically divided into five sovereign states (excluding Panama), it is roughly as diverse linguistically as Argentina, Mexico or Colombia.
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[edit] Variation
Of the five states, Costa Rica has the most distinct accent, instantly recognizable because the 'r' is pronounced in a manner similar to that of the English language as opposed to Castilian Spanish, and also due to the clear pronunciation of the /s/ at the end of a syllable or before a consonant. According to Central Americans, there are only minor differences between the accents of Honduras and El Salvador. The accent of Guatemala is distinct from the rest in that it is spoken more clearly and resembles the Spanish of Mexican border areas, especially the state of Chiapas which was originally a part of Guatemala. The accent of Nicaragua is roughly divided in two according to education, the more working class accent is very similar to El Salvador's and Honduras' while the more educated accent has more similarities to the Venezuelan accent. Spanish is also the native tongue of 50% of the population of Belize and is the second language of many others, although it has no official status there.
While most vocabulary is common, each state has its own word, for instance, for "corner store" and "soft drink": In Guatemala, they are Abarrotería and Agua (water is Agua Pura). In El Salvador, they are Tienda and Gaseosa. In Honduras, they are Pulpería and Refresco or Fresco. In Nicaragua, they are Pulpería and Gaseosa. In Costa Rica, they are Pulpería and Gaseosa although they could also be Abastecedor and Refresco or Fresco.
[edit] Phonetics and phonology
In Spanish, few words end in plosives However, many such words are borrowed from English. In Central America, all such stops are usually pronounced like 'c's. The Costa Rican ice cream shop Pops, with franchises in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua is pronounced by many people as Pocs. Internet is sometimes pronounced Internec, Laptop is pronounced lactoc, and robót pronounced robóc. This is sometimes extended to native Spanish words where such stops are found at the end of a syllable. For example, Aceptar is often pronounced Acectar. Notice that such pronunciations are most common in people with low levels of schooling, as people in the middle and higher classes tend to be a bit more observant of standard pronunciation.
Some other characteristics of central American phonology include:
- /s/ at the end of a syllable or before a consonant is pronounced like [h], except in central Guatemala and in Costa Rica.
- j (/x/), is aspirated except in some areas of Costa Rica; it is soft as the /h/ in English (e.g.: Yahoo).
- Intervocalic /b/, /d/, and /g/ show no sign of reduction, and are much more pronounced than in most dialects.
- There is no confusion between /l/ and /r/, as in the Caribbean.
- /s/, /z/ and in some cases /c/ (as in cerrar) are pronounced as [s]
- /m/ at the end of a word tends to be pronounced as [n]
[edit] Syntax
The most common form for the second person singular in Central America is vos, as used in Argentina: Its conjugation follows the pattern, for example, (for “you have”) vos tenés instead of tú tienes, or (for “you sing”) vos cantás instead of tú cantas. The pronoun Usted is used when addressing older, unfamiliar or respected persons, as it is in all Spanish countries; however, in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras it is frequently used with younger persons. Some communities prefer to use Usted in most conversation, and to rarely use vos or tú at all. The pronouns tú and Usted are mainly used in writings and publications. Mae or maje is used colloquially in Costa Rica as second person when addressing someone close or irrespectful.
[edit] Lexicon
The vocabulary of Central America is very different from that of Mexico, but similar in many ways to that of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. For example, Redondel or Rotonda is a Roundabout. However, there are also many words unique to Central America. For example, Chunche or Chochadas means Thing or Stuff.
[edit] Cross references
Caliche slang of El Salvador
