Chilean Spanish

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Chilean Spanish (Spanish: Español chileno or Castellano chileno) is the variety of Spanish spoken in most of Chile. Though still entirely mutually intelligible with standard Spanish, Chilean Spanish has distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and slang usage.

Contents 1 Variation and accents 2 Phonetics and phonology 3 Pronouns 4 Vocabulary 4.1 Mapudungun loanwords 4.2 Quechua loanwords 5 Example 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links

[edit] Variation and accents

See also: Chilote Spanish

In Chile, there are significant differences between the Spanish spoken in the Northern, Central and Southern areas of the country, though overall the speech of the country is remarkably homogeneous, considering its geographical extent.^[1]

[edit] Phonetics and phonology

There are a number of phonetic features common to most Chilean accents, though none of them individually are unique to Chilean Spanish. Rather, it is the particular combination of features that sets Chilean Spanish apart from other regional Spanish dialects. These features include:^[2][3]

• Yeísmo, the merger of the phonemes /ʎ/, spelled <ll>, with /ʝ/, spelled <y>. Thus, cayó ("fell") and calló ("fell silent") are homophones, both pronounced [kaˈʝo]. In dialects which lack yeísmo, the two words would be pronounced respectively [kaˈʝo] and [kaˈʎo]. Though yeísmo is common to most of Latin America, it is not the case that this feature should be considered a Latin American one, because both in Spain and Latin America there are regions with and without "yeísmo". Even in Chile, there are some people, mostly in rural zones, that are not "yeístas".
• Word- and syllable-final /s/ is aspirated to [h] or lost entirely, another feature common to much of Latin America. Whether final /s/ aspirates or is elided depends on a number of social, regional, and phonological factors, but in general aspiration is more common, especially when preceding a consonant. Complete elision is most commonly found word-finally, but is somewhat less common overall in formal or upper-class speech. Thus, los chilenos ("the Chileans") becomes [lɔh tʃiˈleːnɔ].
• The velar consonants /k/, /ɡ/, and /x/ are fronted or palatalized before front vowels. Thus, queso ("cheese"), guía ("guide"), and jinete ("rider/horseman") become respectively [ˈk̟ʲeːso], [ˈɡ̟ʲia], and [x̟ʲiˈn̪eːt̪e].
• A number of processes apply to the rhotics /r/ and /ɾ/. Word-finally, especially in verb infinitives, /ɾ/ is frequently lost^{[citation needed]} (e.g., contar, "to tell", becomes [kon̪ˈt̪aː]) or assibilated to a voiceless fricative or approximant similar to [ʂ] or [ɹ̥] (e.g., [kon̪ˈt̪aːɹ̥]). A similar assibilation occurs with the trill /r/ (e.g., rosa, "rose", becomes [ˈɹoːsa]). The sequence /tɾ/ is also commonly assibilated to a voiceless apical postalveolar affricate, [t^ɹ̥] or [tʂ].
• Between vowels and word-finally, /d/ commonly elides (a process common throughout the Spanish-speaking world), so that contado ("told") and ciudad ("city") become respectively [kon̪ˈt̪aːo] and [sjuˈð̞aː].
• The voiceless postalveolar affricate /ʧ/ is pronounced as a fricative [ʃ] by some of the lower-class people, usually withouth formal education (so Chile becomes [ˈʃiːle]). Another variant is a fronted, almost alveolar affricate, [ʦ].
• The sequences [h]+[β̞] and [h]+[ɰ] (where the [h]s are the results of /s/-weakening) are devoiced to, respectively, [f] and [x]. Thus, resbaló ("slid") and rasgó ("tore") become respectively [rɛfaˈloː] and [raˈxoː] in people with no formal education, or lower-class origin.
• The sequence /ɾn/ is assimilated to [nn]. Thus, jornada ("workday") becomes [xonˈn̪aː] in some speakers^{[citation needed]}.
• In the sequence /bl/, the /b/ is vocalized to [u]. Thus, inolvidable ("unforgettable") becomes [in̪olˈβ̞jaːule], in lower-class or no formal education speakers.
• Lipski also mentions as distinctive the devoicing of word-final, unstressed vowels.

[edit] Pronouns

Chileans variably use the voseo and tuteo forms in the second person familiar, as in many Latin American countries.

Pronominal voseo consists of using the pronoun vos (in Chile, [boh] or [bo]) in place of tú for the second person singular familiar/informal, whereas verbal voseo is the use of corresponding verb forms (tenís instead of tienes, hablái instead of hablas, etc.). Voseo is common in Chile. Especially the verbal voseo is widespread in the spoken language, yet unlike in neighboring Argentina, it is not quite accepted in the written language, where the standard tuteo is used.
Frequently, the pronoun tú is used with the vos forms of verbs: tú tenís, tú hablái, etc.^[4]

Basically, in Chile there are at least four grades of formality:

1. Pronominal voseo, that is, the use of the pronoun vos (with the corresponding voseo verbs).
For example: vos sabís, vos venís, vos hablái, etc.
Pronominal voseo occurs only in very informal situations and is mostly considered insulting. Among close friends it can be used in a non insulting way; however with a slight change in intonation it could go from a meaning of friendly banter to a form of insult in a heated argument, even among close friends. Non-native chileans should avoid using vos.

2. Verbal voseo, using the pronoun tú.
For example: tú sabís, tú tenís, tú hablái, tú vivís, etc.
Verbal voseo is widespread in the spoken language.

3. Standard tuteo.
For example: tú sabes, tú hablas, tú tienes, tú vienes, etc.

4. The use of the pronoun usted.
For example: usted viene, usted habla, usted tiene, etc.

The Chilean voseo conjugation has only three irregular verbs in the indicative present: ser, ir, and haber.

[edit] Vocabulary

Chilean Spanish has a great deal of distinctive slang and vocabulary. Some examples of distinctive Chilean slang include chaucha (money), gallo/a (guy/gal), fome (boring), pelambre (gossip), poto (buttocks)^[5], quiltro and chomba^[6]. In addition, several of words in Chilean Spanish are loaned from neighboring Amerindian languages:

[edit] Mapudungun loanwords

The Mapudungun language has left a relatively small number of words in Chilean Spanish, given its relatively large geographic expanse. Most Mapudungun loans are names for plants and animals for example:^[7]

• Copihue - Chile's national flower
• Coypo, a species of rodent.^[8]
• Culpeo - a fox species
• Huala
• Maqui
• Luma - a genus of the Myrtaceae plant family
• Yeco

[edit] Quechua loanwords

The Quechua language is probably the Amerindian language that has given Chilean Spanish the largest number of loan words. For example, the names of many American vegetables in Chilean Spanish are derived from Quechuan names, rather than from Nahuatl as in Standard Spanish. Some of the words of Quechuan origin include:^[7]

• Callampa - "mushroom" (seta in Standard Spanish)
• Chasca - "tassle" can also be diminutized to "Chasquilla" which means bangs (of hair)
• Choclo - "maize/corn" (maíz in Standard Spanish)
• Chúcaro - "spirited/wild" used traditionally by Huasos to refer to a horse
• Chupalla - a straw hat used by huasos
• Chupe - "soup/chowder"
• Cocaví - "snack/lunch" or "picnic"
• Guagua - "baby" (bebé in Standard Spanish) pronounced like wahwah
• Guanaco - a native camelid animal
• Huacho - an orphan, illegitimate children or simply a missing sock.
• Humita - a Andean dish
• Locro - a Andean stew dish
• Mate - an infusion made of yerba mate
• Mote - a type of dryed wheat
• Palta - "avocado" (aguacate in Standard Spanish)
• Poroto - "bean" (frijol in Standard Spanish)
• Yapa
• Zapallo - "squash/pumpkin" (calabaza in Standard Spanish)

[edit] Example

An example of a text in normal, relaxed pronunciation in Chilean Spanish, from [1]:

Text	¡Cómo corrieron los chilenos Salas y Zamorano! Pelearon como leones. Chocaron una y otra vez contra la defensa azul. ¡Qué gentío llenaba el estadio! En verdad fue una jornada inolvidable. Ajustado cabezazo de Salas y ¡gol! Al celebrar [Salas] resbaló y se rasgó la camiseta.
Pronunciation ("Standard", careful, Latin American Spanish)	[ˈkomo koˈrjeɾon̪ los ʧiˈlen̪os ˈsalas i samoˈɾan̪o | peleˈaɾoŋ komo leˈon̪es | ʧoˈkaɾon̪ ˈun̪a j‿ˈot̪ɾa ˈβ̞es ˈkon̪t̪ɾa la ð̞eˈfens aˈsul | ˈke xen̪ˈt̪io ʝeˈn̪aβ̞a‿el esˈt̪að̞jo | ʔem beɾˈð̞að̞ ˈfwe‿un̪a xoɾˈn̪að̞a‿in̪olβ̞iˈð̞aβ̞le | ʔaxusˈt̪að̞o kaβ̞eˈsaso ð̞e ˈsalas i ˈɰol | ʔal seleˈβ̞ɾaɾ resβ̞aˈlo‿i se rasˈɰo la kamiˈset̪a]
Pronunciation (Chilean Spanish)	[ˈkoːmo kɔˈɹjeːɾon̪ lɔh ʃiˈleːn̪o ˈsaːla‿i samoˈɾaːn̪o | peˈljaːɾoŋ komo ˈljoːn̪ɛh | ʃoˈkaːɾon̪ ˈuːn̪a j‿ot̪ɹ̻a ˈβ̞eːh kon̪t̪ɹ̻a la‿eˈfeːns aˈsuːl | ˈk̟ʲeː x̟en̪ˈt̪iːo jeˈn̪aː‿el eˈʰt̪aːð̞e̝o | ʔem bɛɾˈð̞aː ˈfo̝eː‿un̪a xonˈn̪aː‿in̪olˈβ̞jaːule | ʔaxuˈʰt̪aːo kaeˈsaːso‿e ˈsaːla‿i ˈɰoːl | ʔal seleˈβ̞ɾaː ɹɛfaˈloː‿i se ɹaˈxoː la kamiˈseːt̪a]
Translation	"How those Chileans Salas and Zamorano ran! They fought like lions. They beat again and again against azul's defense. What a crowd filled the stadium! In truth it was an unforgettable day. A tight header from Salas and...goal! Celebrating, Salas slid and ripped his shirt."

[edit] See also

• Chile
• Spanish language
• Spanish dialects and varieties

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Lipski, John M. (1994). Latin American Spanish. Essex, England: Longman Group Limited.

[edit] External links

• Que Wea! - An interactive list with Chilean Spanish - American English vocabulary.
• (Spanish) Diccionario de Modismos Chilenos - Comprehensive "Dictionary of Chilean Terms".
• Chile 14 Chilean Slang - list of popular Chilean slang terms.
• Pepe's Chile Chilean Slang - basic list of Chilean slang/unique colloquialisms.
• Contact Chile Chilean Spanish - short guide to Chilean Spanish.
• Elcastellano.org