Guatemalan Spanish (Spanish:Español guatemalteco) is the national variant ofSpanish spoken in theCentral American country ofGuatemala. While 93% of Guatemalans in total speak Spanish,^[3] it is the native language of only 69% of the population due to the prevalence of languages in the indigenousMayan andArawakan families.^[4] Guatemalans typically use thesecond-person singularpersonal pronounvos alongside the standard Spanish second-person singular pronounstú andusted to form a three-level system of second-person singular address.^[5]

• The presence ofseseo wherein there is no distinction between/θ/ and/s/. Seseo is common to all of Latin American Spanish, and theAndalusian andCanarian Spanish varieties in Spain.
• /x/ is realized as glottal[h].^[6][7]
• Syllable-final/s/ is only occasionally aspirated, and only when before consonants or a pause. It's weakened less often than in any other Central American dialect.^[8]
• Word-final/n/ is pronounced velar[ŋ].^[6][7]
• As Guatemala was part of theFirst Mexican Empire, the Guatemalan dialect adopted thevoiceless alveolar affricate[t͡s] and the cluster[tl] (originally/tɬ/) represented by the respective digraphs⟨tz⟩ and⟨tl⟩ in loanwords of Nahuatl origin,quetzal andtlapalería[t͡ɬapaleˈɾia] ('hardware store'). Even words of Greek and Latin origin with⟨tl⟩, such asAtlántico andatleta, are pronounced with/tl/:[aˈtlantiko],[aˈtleta] (compare[aðˈlantiko],[aðˈleta] in Spain and other dialects in Hispanic America).^[9]
• Thealveolar trill/r/ is oftenassibilated to a fricative[ʒ]. Syllable-final/ɾ/ may also be assibilated, often sounding somewhat like[s] or[z], although this is less common among younger and urban speakers. In central Guatemala,/tɾ/ is often pronounced as an affricate, almost like English[tɹ̝̊]. This is more common after consonants as inentre 'between'. This feature is not as frequent in Guatemala as in Costa Rica, Chile, or the Andes and is less common among younger and urban speakers.^[8]

Guatemalan Spanish usesvos, alongsidetú andusted as second-person singular pronouns.

In Guatemala andEl Salvador, indefinite articles are commonly placed before a possessive pronoun, as inuna mi tacita de cafélit. 'a my cup of coffee'. Very rarely a demonstrative can go before the possessive pronoun, likeaquella su idealit. 'that his/her/their idea'. This construction was occasional inOld Spanish and is still found inJudaeo-Spanish, but its prevalence in Guatemalan and even Salvadoran Spanish is due to similar constructions appearing in severalMayan languages.^[10]

A number of words are widely used in Guatemala which haveMayan or other native origins such as names for flora, fauna andtoponyms. Some of these words are used in most, or all, Spanish-speaking countries, such aschocolate andaguacate ("avocado"). However, some words are only used in Mexico and most Central American countries. The latter includeguajolote "turkey" < Nahuatlhuaxōlōtl[waˈʃoːloːt͡ɬ] (althoughchompipe can be used;pavo is also used as in other Spanish-speaking countries);papalote "kite" < Nahuatlpāpālōtl[paːˈpaːloːt͡ɬ] "butterfly"; andjitomate "tomato" < Nahuatlxītomatl[ʃiːˈtomat͡ɬ]. For a more complete list seeList of Spanish words of Nahuatl origin. Local words include:

There are also many words unique to Central America, for example,chunche orchochadas orbabosadas means "thing" or "stuff" in some places.^{[citation needed]} The words used to describe children (or kids) vary among the countries in Central America; in Guatemala, they are often calledpatojos. In the eastern departments especially Jutiapa,cipotes is used to refer to children; meanwhile, in the western and northern departments,chamacos is used. In Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras, the wordgüiros is also used.^{[citation needed]} In Guatemala as well as Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, people with money are said to havepisto, a term originally used byMaya peoples in Guatemala.^[12]

• Languages of Guatemala
• Central American Spanish

• Languages of Guatemala
• Central American Spanish

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