Colombian Spanish Explained
The Colombian Spanish accent is the variation of Spanish language with an accent spoken in Colombia, which have some distinctive features in comparison to the Spanish spoken in Spain and in other countries of Latin America. The Caro y Cuervo Institute in Bogotá is the institution in Colombia that promotes the good use of the Spanish language in Colombia.
- The pronunciation of "j" is centered in the pharynx, [{{IPA|h}}], which is similar to the observed in the Southern Spain dialects.
- The pronunciation of "ch" has a pronounced prepalatal articulation, like in "y," which is similar to Canary Islands Spanish.
- There is no phonological difference between the pronunciation of "b" and "v", remaining only as an orthographic difference; exactly the same as in the rest of Spanish-speaking countries, where the pronunciation of 'v' as a labiodental consonant is just a hypercorrection, though rather widespread in some of those countries.
- The occlusive consonants /b, d,g/ // ("b" or "v"), // ("d") and // ("g" or "gu") in the general Spanish have allophonic changes when pronounced after other consonant becoming fricatives. This phenomenon does not happen in Colombian Spanish, remaining occlusives. For example: “the donkey” (El burro) is pronounced [{{IPA|el'bu.ro}}] in Colombia, but [{{IPA|el'βu.ro}}] in the rest of America and Spain. A notable exception is the Costeño people of the Colombian coastline.
- Such as the whole American Spanish, the Colombian way has "seseo" so there is no difference between "C-Z" and "S"; that means "cocer" [koser] (to cook) and "coser" [koser] (to sew) are pronounced in the same way, as "cazar" [kasar] (to hunt) and "casar" [kasar] (to marry) too.
- The plural second person pronoun "vosotros" and its correspondent verbal forms (-ais/-eis), which is very common in Spain, is considered archaic in Colombia and the rest of America, and is restricted to ecclesiastic language.
- The singular second person pronoun "tú" is widely used in informal speech, while "usted" is used in formal speech. In Bogotá, the use of the "tú" is very restricted. Interestingly, even when talking with very close relatives such as parents, siblings or spouses, as a sign of respect, "usted" is used.
- Particular forms of pronouns are "vos" (similar to the Argentinian) used in the Paisa region and "sumercé" (literally "your mercy") used in Cundinamarca and Boyacá
- In Colombian Spanish, the diminutive forms -ico, -ica are often used in words with a penultimate "t": gato (cat) --> gatico (small cat). This is often seen in Cuban and Costa Rican Spanish.
- The diminutive form is also applied to substantives, adjectives, and verbs: corriendo (running) --> corriendito; adverbs: ahora (now) --> ahorita; and prepositions: junto (next to) --> juntico.
- Redundant diminutives: when diminutives are applied both to the substantive and the adjective in the same sentence: el chocolate caliente (the hot cocoa) --> el chocolatico calientico.
- The emphatic diminutives: when two diminutive forms are applied in the same word, it gives more emphasis to the sentence: For example, with ahora (now) simple diminutive= ahorita. double diminutive= ahoritica. váyase ahora mismo (get out right now) --> vayase ahoritica mismo (get out right now- emphatically).
Bien (good) simple diminutive= buenecito. double diminutive= buenecitico. El carro esta bueno (The car is in good conditions) --> el carro está buenecitico (the car is in very good conditions).
Common expressions
- Paradoxically, in intra-family speech it is common to address the husband as “mijo” (short for mi hijo= my son), and the wife as “mija" (my daughter); while the sons are called “papito” (daddy) and the daughters are called “mamita” (mommy).
- Sometimes, sentences are started with an out of place preposition “que” (that), which denotes a hesitant sense to the sentence. For example: “que era para decirte” ([that] I try to say you). “que gracias” ([that] thank you).
Slang talk is particularly frequent in the paisa region and Medellín subculture, where it is named "Parlache".[1] Nevertheless, usage of slang expressions have been spread outside of their original arenas to become commonly understood countrywide.[2] While some words eventually lose their status as slang, others continue to be considered as such by most speakers. In spite of this, the process tends to lead the original users to replace the words with other, less-recognized terms to maintain group identity. Although many scholars describe this kind of language as unclassy or distasteful, it becomes a linguisticphenomenon with clear sociologic importance.[3]
During the 1980s and 1990s many of these words were popularized by the Colombian media, such as Alonso Salazar's book, “No nacimos pa´semilla”, Victor Gaviria´s movie, “Rodrigo D. No Futuro” and many other cultural expressions including soap operas, magazines, news covering, jokes and so.
Some slang terms with literal translation and meaning are: uña y mugre (finger nail and dirt): two peas in a pod
- abrirse (to open): to leave
- armar videos (to do videos): to lie, cause trouble
- caliente (hot): dangerous
- camello (camel): job
- caspa (dandruff): a badly-behaved person
- comerse a alguien (to eat somebody): have sex with somebody
- chévere: cool
- chimba: Pussy (Slang for Female Genitalia); When it is used as an object of comparison it denotes an extreme attraction to something (Attractive/cool); (Example: "Eso es una chimba de carro/chimba de vieja" (that is a cool car/attractive woman)). Its usage is considered obscene, although in cities like Medellin it is used all the time.
- chino: (Chinese): child
- fresco (fresh): Don't worry
- gonorrea (gonorrhea): evil, loathsome
- hacer la tarea (to do homework): have sex
- levantar (to pick up): make a conquest of a woman or man (example: "Me levante una vieja anoche hermano"), battery (crime), to beat someone up
- ligar (to tie): to give money. to bribe
- llave ("key" written wrong): friend
- mamando: (breastfeeding): didn't work out, did not come out well.
- mamola: no way
- mariconadas: joking around (deje las mariconadas - stop joking around)
- nonas: no
- paila (saucepan): bad luck, not good.
- parce or parcero: largely used as comrade. (corruption of "parcelo", slang for owner of a plot of land (parcela)). Originally used as cell mate (sharing the same plot of land); Its usage derived into: criminal mate. Used only in criminal circles from late 1970's is now used openly in almost every urban center.
- perder el año (to get an F (grade)): to die
- pilas (batteries): wake up
- pisarse (to step over): to leave
- plata (silver): money
- plomo (lead): bullets
- ratero (rat associated word): robber
- sapo (toad): informant, snitch
- sisas: yes
- tombo: policeman
- vaina: case, refers to an object or to a complicated situation
- vieja (old woman): Young woman
- vientos o maletas? (winds or suitcases): how are you? (Note that this comes from "bien o mal"? (good or bad?), but it was changed to different words to make it funnier)
Colombian Spanish dialects
Some of the most frequent regional dialects in the Colombian Spanish are:
Paisa Dialect
(see Paisa region)
Paisa dialect is spoken in the Colombian coffee production areas, such as Antioquia, Quindío, Risaralda and Caldas. Paisa people speak Spanish with a distinct Castilian sounding "S".
As in many other Latin American countries, Paisa uses vos for the second person singular pronoun.
Rolo Dialect
The Rolo dialect of Bogotá, also called cachaco ("educated" or "refined") and the related Cundiboyacense dialect, are spoken in the higlands of Altiplano Cundiboyacense. Some people from Bogotá pride themselves saying that it's the purest form of Spanish, due to the supposed lack of intonation when it is spoken.
Important personalities with great command of the Spanish language, such as Fidel Castro, have expressed their admiration for the quality of the Spanish spoken in Bogotá.
Caribbean Dialect
The Caribbean or Coastal (costeño) dialect is spoken by the Caribbean people in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. It is characterized by the suppression of the terminal /s/, and the /s/ followed by consonant, for example: cohta instead of costa.
Valley Dialect
This dialect is spoken in the valley of the Cauca River between the Occidental and Central cordilleras.
Andean Dialect
The andean or pastuso dialect is spoken in the southwest area of the country.
External links
- http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/03/25/index.php?section=cultura&article=a05n1cul
- http://idioma-espanol-en-colombia.boonic.com
- AsiHablamos Latin American Dictionary that compares Colombian variants with the rest of Latin America
Notes and References
- Parlache
- http://comunicaciones.udea.edu.co/ Antioquia University- Communications Portal
- http://www.lopaisa.com/ Paisa website
