Venezuelan Spanish

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Venezuelan Spanish is a dialect of the Spanish language spoken in Venezuela.

Spanish was introduced in Venezuela by the conquistadors. Most of them were from Andalusia, and they brought their peculiar accent and usage of words. Others were from the Canary Islands, and because they were extremely isolated from mainland Spain, they had a distinctive accent, too. Portuguese and Italian immigrants came later.

The Spaniards additionally brought African slaves. This is the origin of expressions such as chévere ("excellent"), which comes from Yoruba ché egberi. Other non-Romance words came from Native languages, such as guayoyo (a type of coffee) and caraota (common bean).

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[edit] Dialectal features

  • Venezuelan Spanish often shortens words, for example, changing para "for" into pa. In addition, /d/ between vowels is often dropped (elision), as happens in Andalusian Spanish: helado "ice cream" becomes /eˈlao/.
  • Another common feature is the aspiration of syllable-final -s, whereby adiós "goodbye" becomes [aˈðjɔh]).
  • As in most American dialects, also, Venezuelan Spanish has yeísmo (a merger of /ʎ/ and /ʝ/), and seseo (traditional /θ/ merges with /s/). That is, calló "s/he became silent" and cayó "s/he fell" are homophones, and casa "house" is homophonous with caza "hunt".
  • A characteristic common to the Venezuelan, Cuban, Costa Rican and Colombian dialects (also found in Aragonese Spanish) is the use of the diminutive -ico and -ica instead of the standard -ito and -ita. But this use is restricted to words with -t in the last syllable; for example, rata "rat" becomes ratica "little rat".
  • The second-person singular informal pronoun is usually tú, as in most of Latin America and also in Spain. This practice is referred to as tuteo. However, in the north-west states, such as Falcón, Zulia and some parts of Trujillo, it is common to find voseo, that is, the use of vos instead of tú. This phenomenon is present in many other Latin American dialects (notably Rioplatense), but Zulian voseo is diptongado, that is, the conjugation preserves the diphthongs of the historical vos conjugation that have been monophthongized in Rioplatense (which means the Zulian forms are the same as those used in Castilian for the second person plural vosotros): instead of tú eres, tú estás, Zulian says vos sois, vos estáis (compare with Castilian plural forms vosotros sois, vosotros estáis; and with Rioplatense forms vos sos, vos estás). Another exception to the tuteo of Venezuelan Spanish is the use of the second-person singular formal pronoun usted interchangeably with tú, a practice that is unique to the states of Mérida and Tachira.[1]
  • The word vaina is used with a variety of meanings (such as "shame", "pity" and many others) and often as an interjection or a nonsensical filler.
  • Venezuelan Spanish has a lot of Anglicisms and some Italianisms.

[edit] Regional variations

There are several sub-dialects within Venezuelan Spanish.

  • The Caracas dialect, spoken in the capital.
  • The Zulian dialect in the north-west of the country, also called maracucho or marabino, which uses voseo, like in the in part of the Lara area.
  • The Lara dialect, where voseo is also used, but where the verbal declension of Old Spanish is kept (vos coméis).
  • The Andean dialect, in particular the state of Táchira near the Colombian border. It is characterized by a non-aspirated pronunciation of s and use of Usted instead of tú, even within informal contexts. Another variant, in the states of Mérida and Trujillo still uses Usted instead of tu, but lacks the non-aspirated pronunciation os the s.
  • The Margaritan dialect, spoken in Isla Margarita and in the north-east of continental Venezuela. The Margaritan dialect presents sometimes an interdental when pronouncing pre-vowel 's' and use of a strong 'r' instead of 'l' in most of the words.

[edit] Some examples of native Venezuelanisms (slang)

  • Achanta'o/Achantá = A person of slow thought or slow reasoning. Someone passive, or lacking seduction skills.
  • Amapuche = A passionate demonstration of affection. A warm hug.
  • Agarrado(a) = See pichirre. Selfish.
  • Alborotao = To be excited or revolted.
  • Arrapao = Excited (profane).
  • Arrecharse = To get angry. Usually profane amongst Venezuelans.
  • Arrecho = Superlative to indicate that an object or situation is considered to be very good (profane); very angry
  • Arrecochinar = To gather people disorderly in a small space.
  • Arrocear = To turn up at a party without being invited. Arrocero: Party Crasher.
  • Bachaco = Leafcutter ant. (Alt.) A mulatto with red hair.
  • Bajarse de la mula = To pay for something. To be demanded for money. To be robbed (Lit.: "to step down of the mule").
  • Bala fría = Junk food. A quick snack (Lit.: "cold bullet").
  • Balurdo = An awkward or ridiculous person. See also Chimbo
  • Barato = Cheap, very economic.
  • Bochinche = A gathering or noisy reunion.
  • Bolo(s) = A single unit of Venezuelan currency, a Venezuelan bolívar. As single units are no longer in circulation, this term is mostly used in the plural.; testicles
  • Bonche = A party.
  • Bucear = To skin dive. (Alt.) To ogle discreetly.
  • Bueno(a) = Good. (Alt.: Attractive, hot, foxy).
  • Bululú = A fuss. See bochinche
  • Burda = Superlative. Very much.
  • Cambur = Banana. (Alt. A well remunerated public position).
  • Cachapa = A sweet corn pancake.
  • Cachapera = A lesbian (pejorative).
  • Cacharro = Old, worn out vehicle. A piece of junk.
  • Caerse a palos = To engage in heavy drinking. To get drunk.
  • Calarse = To digest (or sustain) something bad.
  • Carajo(a) = A spit. A dude (profane).
  • Caraotas = Black beans.
  • Catire(a) = Blond. (Alt. A beer). Nickname for the sun.
  • Chamo(a) = Boy/girl. With suffix -ito : a kid; also means son or daughter. Venezuelans are well known among Spanish speakers for their love and constant use of this word, which is used repeatedly in the same fashion as the American slang dude.
  • Chao = from the italian "ciao". To bid farewell, similar to "bye".
  • Chisme = Gossip.
  • Chévere! = An exclamation of approval. Cool!. (supposed derivation from Yoruba ché egberi).
  • Chimbo(a) = Of low quality. Ill made.
  • Chivo = Goat. (Alt. Someone at a high position in an organization).
  • Choro = Thief (pejorative).
  • Compadre = Affectionate term for the baptism godfather of one's sons. It is customary to choose a best friend for such honor; therefore Compadre is used to denote close friends. Femenine: Comadre.
  • Compinche = Partner in crime.
  • Corotos/Macundales = Stuff, belongings. Trash.
  • Criollo = Local, native of Venezuela.
  • Coño = Nonsensic conversational filler, Female sexual organ (profane).
  • Epa/Épale = "Hi" or Hello (informal greeting; "What's up").
  • Filo = (Lit. Edge) Hunger.
  • Franela = T-shirt.
  • Gringo = A person from the United States; A foreign looking (usually white) person.
  • Gringolandia = The United States ("gringo-land").
  • Guáramo = Iron will. Courage.
  • Guasa = To make fun of something or someone.
  • Guayabo = To be romantically disillusioned. To have the Blues.
  • Guayoyo = Black coffee prepared in such fashion that is not very strong. Excellent after meals.
  • Guevón = Stupid. (profane)
  • Jalar Bola = (verb) To abuse flattering. Sweet talking, intended to get benefit from someone with selfish purposes.
  • Jamón = A nice girl. A french kiss.
  • Jeva = Girlfriend.
  • Malandro = Thief, burglar, robber.
  • Mamar = (lit. To Suck) to get as much benefit of a persons skills or knowledge in a context. Estar Mamando: to be pennyless.
  • Marico = An homosexual (pejorative).
  • Matar un tigre = To moonlight. (Lit.: "to kill a tiger").
  • Musiú = Foreigner. A white native from a non-hispanic country (it's believed to come from a bastardization of the french word Monsieur).
  • Nota = Note (Alt. Something nice, pleasant). Drug trip, to be "high". Verbal form: ennotar(se)
  • Pajúo = Similar to Balurdo, but connotes a meaning closer to Pendejo (pejorative).
  • Paisano = from the italian "paesano", meaning an italian (or southern european) immigrant.
  • Palo = Stick. (Alt. Alcoholic beverage, as in "¡Tómate un palito, pues!" : "have a little drink!").
  • Rumba de Palos = To be beaten up. In a sports context, whenever a team wins over another with a large score.
  • Pana = A dear, close friend. A pal (believe to be an Anglicism from "partner").Could also be translated as dude.
  • Papear = To eat.
  • Pasapalos = Snacks. Hors d'oeuvres.
  • Peaje = Toll. (Alt.) See bajarse de la mula.
  • Perico = Parakeet. (Alt.) Venezuelan-style scrambled eggs. (Alt.) Cocaine
  • Pendejo = Stupid (profane)
  • Peroles = See corotos.
  • Perro caliente = Hot Dog.
  • Pichirre = Tightfisted, stingy, miserly.
  • Pipi Frio = Someone that has been single for a long time. Someone lacking social skills or uninteresting.
  • Pollo/Polla = Chicken (Alt.) A childish, naive or inmature person.
  • Queso = Cheese (Alt.) Sexual drive, Lust. Mostly applied to men.
  • Quesúo = To be horny.
  • Ratón = Mouse (Alt. Hung over Tengo ratón.: "I'm hung over")
  • Rico(a) = Rich. (Alt. See bueno(a)). Delicious, pleasurable.
  • Rumba = A party.
  • Santamaría = Rollup metal fence that covers the front part of a store when closed.
  • Sifrino, Burgués = Yuppie. A wealthy uppish person.
  • Tequeño = A deep-fried flour roll filled with cheese. Very popular hors d'oeuvres.
  • Tigre = second job or night job. See matar tigre
  • Vaina = Any inanimate object or unspecified situation.
  • Verga = Male sexual organ. (Alt.) See vaina. Used in exclamations to convey shock, disgust, etc. In the Western part of the country, especially in Zulia State, it is a nonesensic filler used to refer almost to anything.
  • Yesquero = A lighter.
  • Zanahoria = Carrot (Alt.) Someone who zealously takes care of his/her own health. A vegetarian.
  • Zancudo = Mosquito. Literally: "The one that walks on stilts"
  • Zumba'o = Crazy, nutty, careless person.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Alexandra Alvarez & Ximena Barros, "Sistemas en conflicto: las formas de tratamiento en la ciudad de Mérida, Venezuela", Lengua y Habla (2000), Mérida, Universidad de Los Andes.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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