Chilean Spanish

Chilean Spanish (Spanish: español chileno, español de Chile or castellano de Chile) is any of several varieties of Spanish spoken in most of Chile. Chilean Spanish dialects have distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and slang usage from standard Spanish[1]

Variation and accents

See also: Chilote Spanish and Cuyano Spanish

In Chile, there are not many differences between the Spanish spoken in the Northern, Central and Southern areas of the country, although there are notable differences in zones like Aysén, Magallanes, (mainly in the border with Argentina) Chiloé, or Arica (especially in their accent). There is remarkable variation in the Spanish spoken by different social classes,[2] however. It also has strong influences from the Extremadura Castúo in rural areas from Santiago to Valdivia,[3][4] but some authors point to the province of Andalusia and more specifically Sevilla as the biggest influence in the Chilean Spanish.

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.[5] Rather, it is the particular combination of features that sets Chilean Spanish apart from other regional Spanish dialects.[6] These features include:[7][8]

Syntax and grammar

Pronouns and verbs

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


Verbal voseo is the use of corresponding verb forms (tenís instead of tienes, hablái instead of hablas, etc.).

Voseo is common in Chile, with both Pronominal and Verbal voseo being widely used in the spoken language. However, unlike in neighboring Argentina, neither is deemed acceptable as part of any written document except as reported speech. Voseo of any kind is considered bad linguistic form and generally labels the speaker as unsophisticated, rude or lacking in education.

In Chile there are at least four grades of formality:

1. Pronominal and verbal voseo, that is, the use of the pronoun vos (with the corresponding voseo verbs).
For example: vos sabís, vos venís, vos hablái, etc.
This combination occurs only in very informal situations and should be approached and used with caution by foreigners. It is always considered rude and insulting but is tolerated and enjoyed as part of friendly bonding and banter. However, with even a slight change in intonation it can change from a tone of friendly banter to a form of insult in a heated argument, even among friends. Non-natives should refrain from using vos until sufficient understanding of its use is gained.

2. Verbal voseo, using the pronoun .
For example: tú sabís, tú tenís, tú hablái, tú vivís, etc.
This kind of voseo is the predominant form used in the spoken language.[10] It should never be used in formal situations or with people one is not very familiar with.

3. Standard tuteo.
For example: tú sabes, tú hablas, tú tienes, tú vienes, etc.
This is the only acceptable way of writing the informal second person. Because of this more literary facet, its use in spoken language is reserved for slightly more formal situations such as (some) child-to-parent, teacher-to-student or peer-to-peer relations among people who aren't familiar with each other.

4. The use of the pronoun usted.
For example: usted viene, usted habla, usted tiene, etc.
Used for all business and other formal interactions (e.g. student-to-teacher, but not always teacher-to-student), as well as upwards in situations where one person is considered to be well respected, older or of an obviously higher social standing. Stricter parents will demand this kind of speech from their children as well.

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

Ser

In Chile there are various ways to say "you are" to one person. From the least to the most formal:

Vos soi
Vos erís
Tú soi
Tú erís
Tú eres
Usted es

Conjugation

A comparison of the conjugation of the Chilean voseo, the general voseo used in Latin American countries except Chile, and the tuteo.

Form Indicative Subjunctive
Present Past Conditional Present Past
Voseo (Chile) caminái
traí(s)
viví(s)
caminabai
traíai
vivíai
caminaríai
traeríai
viviríai
caminís
traigái
vivái
caminarai
trajerai
vivierai
Vosotras
Vosotros
camináis
traéis
vivís
caminabais
traíais
vivíais
caminaríais
traeríais
viviríais
caminéis
traigáis
viváis
caminarais
trajerais
vivierais
Voseo (general) caminás
traés
vivís
caminabas
traías
vivías
caminarías
traerías
vivirías
caminés*
traigás*
vivás*
caminaras
trajeras
vivieras
Tuteo caminas
traes
vives
camines
traigas
vivas

* Rioplatense Spanish prefers the tuteo forms.

Vocabulary

Chilean Spanish has a great deal of distinctive slang and vocabulary. Some examples of distinctive Chilean slang include gallo/a (guy/gal), fome (boring), pololear (to go out as girlfriend/boyfriend),[11] pelambre (gossip), poto (buttocks),[12] quiltro (mutt) and chomba (knitted sweater).[11] In addition, several words in Chilean Spanish are borrowed from neighboring Amerindian languages.

Coa and Lunfardo expressions

Lunfardo is an argot of the Spanish language that originated in the late 19th century among lower classes of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Coa is an argot common among criminals in Chile. It has been heavily influenced by Lunfardo. Examples of Lunfardo and Coa words and phrases in Chilean Spanish are:[13]

  • abacanado - presumptuous
  • agarrados - being in a fight, mad
  • amarrete - stingy, mean
  • arrastre - influential
  • avivarse - to realise
  • bacán - awesome
  • cana - jail
  • chanchada - disloyal act
  • echar la foca (lit. throw the seal/breath) - to severely address someone or express disapproval or disappointment
  • emputecer - getting mad
  • engrupir - to fool someone
  • fiaca - laziness
  • garúa - drizzle
  • gil - fool
  • guacho - bastard / someone or something left alone
  • guasca - whip
  • hacer perro muerto (lit. do a dead dog) - to dine and dash or do something similar
  • malandra - thief
  • mina - woman
  • pucho - a cigarette or cigarette butt
  • vagoneta - loafer
  • tira - undercover police
  • yeta - originally 'bad luck' in Lunfardo, in Chile now means someone who brings bad luck

Mapudungun loanwords

The Mapudungun language has left a relatively small number of words in Chilean Spanish, given its large geographic expanse. Most Mapudungun loans are names for plants and animals for example:[14]

  • cahuín[15] - a rowdy, usually drunken, gathering, also malicious or slanderous gossip
  • copihue - Chile's national flower
  • culpeo - a fox species.
  • guata - belly, stomach.[15]
  • luma - a native tree species known for its extremely hard wood, also a police baton (historically made from luma wood in Chile)

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 or Taíno as in Standard Spanish. Some of the words of Quechuan origin include:[14]

  • callampa - "mushroom" (Quechua k'allampa,[16] seta in Castilian Spanish) or male reproductive organ
  • cancha - field, pitch, slope (ski), runway (aviation), running track, court (tennis, basketball)[15] (Quechua kancha)[16]
  • chacra - a small farm[15] (Quechua chakra)[16]
  • chala - "sandal"[15] (sandalia in Standard Spanish)
  • chasca - "tassle" can also be diminutized to "chasquilla" which means bangs (of hair)
  • china - a female servant in a hacienda or fundo[15]
  • choclo - "maize/corn" (Quechua chuqllu,[16] maíz in Standard Spanish)
  • chúcaro - "spirited/wild" used traditionally by guasos to refer to a horse
  • chupalla - a type of hat[15]
  • chupe - "soup/chowder" (Quechua chupi)[16]
  • cocaví - "snack/lunch" or "picnic" (from coca)
  • cochayuyo - a type of seaweed[15] (Quechua qucha yuyu)[16]
  • guagua - "child, baby" (Quechua wawa,[16] niño, bebé in Standard Spanish)
  • guanaco - a native camelid animal (Quechua wanaku)[16]
  • huacho - an orphan or illegitimate children. also used as an adjective meaning 'lone' or 'without a pair', as in a matchless sock
  • huaso - a country bumpkin or horseman[15]
  • huincha - a strip of wool or cotton or a tape measure, also used for adhesive tape (Quechua wincha)[16]
  • humita - an Andean dish similar to the Mexican Tamale (Quechua humint'a, jumint'a)[16][17]
  • locro - an Andean stew dish (Quechua luqru)[16]
  • mate - an infusion made of yerba mate
  • mote - a type of dried wheat (Quechua mut'i)[16]
  • palta - "avocado" (aguacate in varieties of Spanish that derive the name from Nahuatl)
  • poroto - "bean" (judía/alubia in Castilian Spanish and frijol in Mexico and Central America, Quechua purutu)[16]
  • yapa - lagniappe
  • zapallo - "squash/pumpkin" (calabaza in Castilian Spanish, Quechua sapallu)[16]

French, German and English loanwords

There are some expressions of non-Hispanic European origin such as British, German or French. They came with the arrival of the European immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is also a certain influence from the mass media.

  • bifé - piece of furniture, from French buffet.
  • bistec or bisté - meat, from English 'beefsteak'.
  • budín - pudding, from the English 'pudding'.
  • chutear - to shoot, from English 'shoot'.
  • clóset - closet, from English 'closet'.
  • confort - toilet paper, from French confort; a brand name for toilet paper.[18]
  • hacer zaping - to change channel whilst watching TV, from English 'to zap'.
  • jaibón - upper class, from English 'high born'.
  • kuchen or cujen - A kind of fruit cake, from German Kuchen.
  • lobear - to lobby, from English 'to lobby'.
  • livin - living room, from English 'living room'.
  • lumpen - lower class people, from German Lumpenproletariat.
  • lukear or luquear - to look, from English 'to look'.
  • marraqueta - a kind of bread, from French Marraquette, surname of the Frenchmen who invented it.
  • panqueque - pancake, from English 'pancake'.
  • overol - overall, from English 'overall'.
  • short - short trousers, from English 'short trousers'.
  • strudel or estrudel - dessert, from German Strudel, a typical German and Austrian dessert.
  • vestón - jacket, from French veste.

Example

An example of a text in normal, carefully spoken Latin American Spanish and the same text with very relaxed pronunciation in informal Chilean Spanish of lower class people:[19]

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" Latin American Spanish)
[ˈkomo koˈrjeɾon los tʃiˈlenos ˈsalas i samoˈɾano | peleˈaɾoŋ ˈkomo ˈle‿ones | tʃoˈkaɾon ˈuna j‿ˈot̪ɾa ˈβ̞es ˈkon̪t̪ɾa la ð̞eˈfens aˈsul | ˈke xen̪ˈt̪io ʝeˈnaβ̞a‿el esˈt̪að̞jo | em beɾˈð̞að̞ ˈfwe‿una xoɾˈnað̞a‿inolβ̞iˈð̞aβ̞le | axusˈt̪að̞o kaβ̞eˈsaso ð̞e ˈsalas i ˈɣ̞ol | al seleˈβ̞ɾaɾ rezβ̞aˈlo‿i se razˈɣ̞o la kamiˈset̪a]
Pronunciation
(Chilean Spanish)
[ˈkoːmo kɔˈr̥jeːɾon̪ lɔh ʃiˈleːn̪o ˈsaːla‿i samoˈɾaːn̪o | peˈljaːɾoŋ komo ˈljoːn̪ɛh | ʃoˈkaːɾon̪ ˈuːn̪a j‿ot͡ɹ̝̥a ˈβ̞eːh kon̪t͡ɹ̝̥a la‿eˈfeːns aˈsuːl | ˈceː çen̪ˈt̪iːo jeˈn̪aː‿el eˈʰt̪aːð̞jo | ʔem bɛɾˈð̞aː ˈfweː‿un̪a xonˈn̪aː‿in̪olˈβ̞iaːule | ʔaxuˈʰt̪aːo kaβeˈsaːso‿e ˈsaːla‿i ˈɣ̞oːl | ʔal seleˈβ̞ɾaː r̥ɛfaˈloː‿i se r̥aˈxoː la kamiˈseːt̪a]
Translation "How those Chileans Salas and Zamorano ran! They fought like lions. They beat again and again against the blues' 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."

See also

References

  1. Miguel Angel Bastenier, article Neologismos y barbarismos en el español de dos océanos in Spanisch newspaper El País on 19 Jule 2014, retrieved on 20 Jule 2014:
    ...el chileno es un producto genuino e inimitable por el resto del universo lingüístico del español.
  2. CLASES SOCIALES, LENGUAJE Y SOCIALIZACION Basil Bernstein, http://www.infoamerica.org/ retrieved June 25, 2013
  3. "CHILE - Vozdemitierra" (in Spanish). Vozdemitierra.wiki-site.com. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  4. "Extremadura en América - Diez mil extremeños - Biblioteca Virtual Extremeña". Paseovirtual.net. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  5. EL ESPAÑOL EN AMÉRICA cvc.cervantes.e - JESÚS SÁNCHEZ LOBATO - page 553-570
  6. Language of Chile: Chileanismos, Castellano and indigenous roots www.thisischile.cl - February 22, 2011, retrieved August 08,2013
  7. Lipski (1994: 199-201)
  8. Sáez Godoy, Leopoldo. "El dialecto más austral del español: fonética del español de Chile". Unidad y divesidad del español, Congreso de Valladolid. Centro Virtual Cervantes. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
  9. Chilean Spanish & Chileanisms http://www.contactchile.cl/ retrieved June 27, 2013
  10. Lipski (1994: 201-2)
  11. 11.0 11.1 "Real Academia Española". Rae.es. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  12. Lipski (1994: 203)
  13. Joelson, Daniel. Chilenismos : a dictionary and phrasebook for Chilean Spanish.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Zúñiga, Fernando (2006-06-11). "Tras la huella del Mapudungun". El Mercurio (in Spanish). Centro de Estudios Publicos. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 Correa Mujica, Miguel (2001). "Influencias de las lenguas indígenas en el español de Chile". Espéculo. Revista de estudios literarios. (in Spanish). Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 16.8 16.9 16.10 16.11 16.12 16.13 Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary)
  17. Diccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua, Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Gobierno Regional Cusco, Cusco 2005 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary)
  18. http://www.confort.cl/productos/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. Marcela Rivadeneira Valenzuela. "El Voseo En Medios de Comunicacion de Chile." (in Spanish). www.tesisenxarxa.net. Retrieved 2010-12-10. Pages 82-83.

Bibliography

External links