Chilean Spanish (Spanish:español chileno[2] orcastellano chileno) is any of several varieties of theSpanish language spoken in most ofChile. Chilean Spanish dialects have distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, andslang usages that differ from those ofStandard Spanish,[3] with various linguists identifying Chilean Spanish as one of the most divergentvarieties of Spanish.[4]
TheRoyal Spanish Academy recognizes 2,214 words and idioms exclusively or mainly produced in Chilean Spanish, in addition to many still unrecognized slang expressions.[5] Formal Spanish in Chile has recently incorporated an increasing number ofcolloquial elements.[4]
In Chile, there are not many differences between the Spanish spoken in the northern, central and southern areas of the country,[6] although there are notable differences in zones of the far south—such asAysén,Magallanes (mainly along the border with Argentina), andChiloé—and inArica in the extreme north. There is, however, much variation in the Spanish spoken by different social classes; this is a prevalent reality in Chile given the presence of stark wealth inequality.[7] In rural areas fromSantiago toValdivia, Chilean Spanish shows the historical influence of theCastúo dialects ofExtremadura, Spain,[8][9] but some authors point to the Spanish province ofAndalusia and more specifically to the city ofSeville as an even greater influence on the historical development of Chilean Spanish. In general, the intonation of Chilean Spanish is recognized in the Spanish-speaking world for being one of the fastest-spoken accents among Spanish dialects and with tones that rise and fall in its speech, especially in Santiago and its surroundings; such intonation may be less strong in certain areas of the north of the country and more pronounced in southern areas. It is also not uncommon that other Spanish speakers, native and otherwise, have more difficulty understanding Chilean Spanish speakers than other accents.
As result ofpast German immigration, there are a few German influences in the vocabulary, accent, and pronunciation of southern Chile.[10] Speakers of Chilean Spanish who also speak German orMapudungun tend to use moreimpersonal pronouns (see also:Alemañol).[11] Dialects of southern Chile (Valdivia/Temuco to Chiloé) are considered to have a melodicintonation (cantadito) relative to the speech in Santiago[12] and their accent is quite slower than Santiago.[13] A survey among inhabitants of Santiago also shows that people in the capital consider southern Chilean Spanish to be variously affected byMapudungun, have poor pronunciation, be ofrural character and, in the case of Chiloé, to be rich inarchaisms.[12] The same study does also show a perception that the speech of northern Chile is influenced by the Spanish spoken in Peru and Bolivia.[12]
Chile is part of a region of South America known as theSouthern Cone (Spanish:Cono Sur;Portuguese:Cone Sul). The region consists of Chile,Argentina, andUruguay; sometimes it also includesParaguay and some regions ofBrazil (Paraná,Rio Grande do Sul,Santa Catarina, andSão Paulo). The vocabulary across the region is similar for Spanish speakers, and in some cases it's also shared by the Portuguese speakers in the Southern Cone parts of Brazil.
There are a number of phonetic features common to most Chilean accents, but none of them is individually unique to Chilean Spanish.[14] Rather, it is the particular combination of features that sets Chilean Spanish apart from other regional Spanish dialects.[15] The features include the following:[16][17]
Yeísmo, the historical merger of thephoneme/ʎ/ (spelled⟨ll⟩) with/ʝ/ (spelled⟨y⟩). For speakers withyeísmo, the verbscayó 's/he fell' andcalló 's/he fell silent' arehomophones, both pronounced[kaˈʝo]. (In dialects that lackyeísmo, maintaining the historical distinction, the two words are pronounced respectively[kaˈʝo] and[kaˈʎo].)Yeísmo characterizes the speech of most Spanish-speakers both in Spain and in the Americas. In Chile, there is a declining number of speakers who maintain the distinction, mainly in some areas of southern Chile.[6][18] In southern Chile the distinction was noted in 2003 to exist chiefly inCautín Province, while in the north it was documented in a few places of the province ofEl Loa Province and more as more widespread inParinacota Province next to Bolivia and Peru.[19][A]
Like most other Latin American dialects of Spanish, Chilean Spanish hasseseo:/θ/ is not distinguished from/s/. In much of the Andean region, the merged phoneme is pronounced asapicoalveolar[s̺],[citation needed] a sound with aplace of articulation intermediate betweenlaminodental[s] andpalatal[ʃ]. That trait is associated with a large number of northern Spanish settlers in Andean Chile.[citation needed]
Syllable-final/s/ is often aspirated to[h] or lost entirely, another feature common to many varieties of Spanish in the Americas, as well as the Canary Islands and the southern half of Spain. Whether final/s/ aspirates or is elided depends on a number of social, regional, and phonological factors, but in general, aspiration is most frequent before a consonant. Complete elision is most commonly found word-finally but carries a sociolinguistic stigma.[20] Thus,los chilenos '(the) Chileans' can be[lohtʃiˈleno].
Thevelar consonants/k/,/ɡ/, and/x/ are fronted orpalatalized beforefront vowels. Thus,queso 'cheese',guía 'guide', andjinete 'rider/horseman' are pronounced respectively[ˈceso],[ˈɟi.a], and[çiˈnete]. Also,/x/ is pronounced[h] or[x] in other phonological environments and socaja 'box' androjo 'red' are pronounced[ˈkaxa] ~[ˈkaha] and[ˈroxo] ~[ˈroho] respectively. In the rest of the article, the back allophone of/x/ is transcribed with the phonemic symbol ⟨x⟩.
Between vowels and word-finally,/d/ commonly elides orlenites, as is common throughout the Spanish-speaking world);contado 'told' andciudad 'city' are[konˈta.o] (contao) and[sjuˈða] (ciudá) respectively. Elision is less common in formal or upper-class speech.
Thevoiceless postalveolar affricate/tʃ/ is pronounced as a fricative[ʃ] by many northerners and lower-class speakers, soChile andleche (milk) are pronounced[ˈʃile] and[ˈleʃe], respectively). That pronunciation is greatly stigmatized, although not so much in the upmost northern regions where speakers may go back and forth between/tʃ/ and[ʃ]. This pronunciation is also typical of southern Andalusia in Spain, north Mexico, and of several Caribbean dialects. Other variants are more fronted and include thealveolar affricate[ts] or an even more fronteddental affricate[t̪s̪], mostly in the upper class of Santiago; thus,Chile andleche are pronounced[ˈtsile] or[ˈletse].[citation needed]
Word-final /n/ is pronounced as avelar nasal [ŋ] only in north Chilean dialects.
Unstressed word-final vowels are often devoiced.[21]
Thephoneme represented by the letters⟨b⟩ and⟨v⟩ may be pronounced[v] in variation with[b] and[β]; in most other Spanish dialects, only[b] and[β] may appear asallophones of that phoneme.[22]
Consonant cluster [tɾ] can be pronounced [tɹ̝̥],[tɻ], or [tʂ], makingcuatro 'four' andtrabajo 'work' pronounced as [ˈkwatɹ̝̥o~ˈkwatɻo~ˈkwatʂo] and [tɹ̝̥aˈβaxo~tɻaˈβaxo~tʂaˈβaxo] respectively. This is an influence ofMapudungun.[23]
Chilean Spanish frequently uses intonational plateaus, which occur in contexts in which they do not appear in other Spanish varieties. This is possibly due to the influence ofMapudungun as well.[24]
Doubling the object cliticsme,te,se,lo(s),la(s) andle(s) before and after the verb is common in lower-class speech. For example, 'I'm going to go' becomesme voy a irme (Standard Spanish:me voy a ir andvoy a irme). 'I'm going to give them to you' becomeste las voy a dártelas.
Queísmo (usingque instead ofde que) is socially accepted and used in the media, anddequeísmo (usingde que instead ofque) is somewhat stigmatized.
In ordinary speech, conjugations of theimperative mood of a few of verbs tend to be replaced with the indicative third-person singular. For example, the second-person singular imperative ofponer 'to put', which ispon, becomespone; that ofhacer 'to do', which ishaz, becomeshace; and that ofsalir 'to exit',sal, becomessale:hace lo que te pedí 'do what I asked'. However, that is not done in formal speech. Chileans also replace the etymological second-person singular imperative of the verbir 'to go',ve, with the second-person singular imperative ofandar 'to walk',anda, andve is reserved for the verbver 'to see':ve la hora 'look at the time'.
Another feature to note is the lack of use of the possessivenuestro 'our', which is usually replaced byde nosotros 'of us':ándate a la casade nosotros, literally 'go to the house of us', instead ofándate a nuestra casa 'go to our house'.
It is very common in Chile, as in many other Latin American countries, to use the diminutive suffixes-ito and-ita. They can mean 'little', as inperrito 'little dog' orcasita 'little house', but can also express affection, as withmamita 'mummy, mommy'. They can also diminish the urgency, directness, or importance of something to make something annoying seem more pleasant.[25] So, if someone saysespérese un momentito literally 'wait a little moment', it does not mean that the moment will be short, but that the speaker wants to make waiting more palatable and hint that the moment may turn out to be quite long.
Chileans use thevoseo andtuteo forms for the intimate second-person singular.Voseo is common in Chile, with both pronominal and verbalvoseo being widely used in the spoken language.
In Chile there are at least four grades of formality:
Pronominal and verbal voseo, the use of the pronounvos (with the correspondingvoseo verbs): vos sabí(s),vos vení(s),vos hablái(s), etc. This occurs only in very informal situations.
Verbalvoseo, the use of the pronountú: tú sabí(s),tú vení(s),tú hablái(s), etc. This is the predominant form used in the spoken language.[26] It is not used in formal situations or with people one does not know well.
Standardtuteo: tú sabes,tú vienes,tú hablas, etc. This is the only acceptable way to write the intimate second-person singular. 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 do not know each other well.
The use of the pronounusted: usted sabe,usted viene,usted habla, etc. This is used for all business and other formal interactions, such as student-to-teacher but not always teacher-to-student as well as "upwards" if one person is considered to be well respected, older or of an obviously higher social standing.
The Chilean voseo conjugation has only three irregular verbs in the present indicative:ser 'to be',ir 'to go', andhaber 'to have' (auxiliary).
Chilean voseo has two different future tense conjugations: one in-ís, as inbailarís, and one in-ái, as inbailarái 'you will dance'. These come from two different underlying representations, one ending in/-es/, and the other ending in/-as/. The/-es/ representation corresponds to a historical future tense form ending in-és, as inestarés. Such a historical conjugation existed in Spain in the 15th and 16th centuries, alongside the-ás endings, and was recorded in Chile in the 17th century. All this said, the simple future tense is not actually used that often in Chile. Instead, theperiphrastic future construction (i.e.vai a (vas a in standard Spanish)...) is more common.[27]
In Chile, there are various ways to say 'you are' to one person.[27]
Vo(s) soi
Vo(s) erí(s)
Tú soi
Tú erí(s)
Tú eres
Usted es
Only the last two are consideredStandard Spanish. Usage depends on politeness, social relationships, formality, and education. The ending(s) in those forms is aspirated or omitted.
The formerei is also occasionally found. It apparently derives from the underlying form/eres/, with the final/s/ becoming a semivowel/j/, as happens in other voseo conjugations. The more common formssoi anderís are likewise derived from the underlying representations/sos/ and/eres/.[27]
The auxiliary verbhaber, most often used to formexistential statements andcompound tenses, has two different present indicative forms withvos in Chile:hai andhabís.[27]
Chilean Spanish has a great deal of distinctive slang and vocabulary. Some examples of distinctive Chilean slang includeal tiro (right away),gallo/a (guy/gal),fome (boring),pololear (to go out as girlfriend/boyfriend),pololo/polola (boyfriend/girlfriend),[29]pelambre (gossip),pito (marijuana cigarette i.e. joint)poto (buttocks),[30]quiltro (mutt) andchomba (knitted sweater)[29]wea [ we.'a] (thing; can be used for an object or situation). Another popular Chilean Spanish slang expression ispoh, also spelledpo', which is a term of emphasis of an idea, this is a monophthongized and aspirated form ofpues. In addition, several words in Chilean Spanish are borrowed from neighboring Amerindian languages.
In Chilean Spanish there is lexical influence from Argentine dialects, which suggests acovert prestige.[31] Lexical influences cut across the different social strata of Chile. Argentine summer tourism in Chile and Chilean tourism in Argentina provide a channel for influence on the speech of the middle and upper classes.[31] The majority of the population receive Argentine influence by watching Argentine programs onbroadcast television, especiallyfootball oncable television[31] and music such ascumbia villera on the radio as well.[31] Chilean newspaperLa Cuarta regularly employs slang words and expressions that originated in thelunfardo slang of the Buenos Aires region. Usually Chileans do not recognize the Argentine borrowings as such, claiming they are Chilean terms and expressions due to the long time since they were incorporated.[31] The relation between Argentine dialects and Chilean Spanish is one of asymmetric permeability, with Chilean Spanish adopting sayings from Argentine variants but usually not the reverse.[31]Lunfardo is anargot of theSpanish language that originated in the late 19th century among the lower classes ofBuenos Aires andMontevideo that influenced "Coa", an argot common among criminals in Chile, and later colloquial Chilean Spanish.
TheMapudungun language has left a relatively small number of words in Chilean Spanish, given its large geographic expanse. Many Mapudungun loans are names for plants, animals, and places. For example:[34][35][36]
cahuín:[23] a rowdy gathering; also malicious or slanderous gossip.
TheQuechua language is probably the Amerindian language that has given Chilean Spanish the largest number ofloanwords. For example, the names of many American vegetables in Chilean Spanish are derived from Quechua names, rather than fromNahuatl orTaíno as in Standard Spanish. Some of the words of Quechua origin include:[34]
There are some expressions of non-Hispanic European origin such asBritish,German orFrench. 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.
The message “Prevents the contagion of the Hantavirus” on a poster from Chile’sMinistry of Health forHantavirus prevention in 2015
Written media such asEl Mercurio andLa Tercera primarily use language without colloquial localisms. However, campaigns aimed at a young audience tend to use verbalvoseo and colloquial terms, though without descending into vulgarity.
By contrast, the newspaperLa Cuarta, considered an icon of popular forms of expression that include lexicon of Indigenous origin,[42] is written entirely in informal and familiar language. It is aimed at the lower and lower-middle strata of Chilean society and has a large circulation. Meanwhile, the weeklyThe Clinic, which analyzes the country’s society and politics in a satirical manner, is written by mixing different speech registers.
Radio stations and television channels alternate registers depending on the type of program and their target audience.
Here is sample of a normal text in carefully spoken Latin American Spanish and the same text with a very relaxed pronunciation in informal lower-class Chilean Spanish:[43]
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.
"How those ChileansSalas andZamorano ran! They fought like lions. They beat again and again againstthe 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."
^Hurtado Cubillos, Luz Marcela (2009). "La expresión de impersonalidad en el español de Chile".Cuadernos de lingüística hispánica (in Spanish).13:31–42.
^abZúñiga, Fernando (11 June 2006)."Tras la huella del Mapudungun".El Mercurio (in Spanish). Centro de Estudios Publicos. Archived fromthe original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved12 November 2007.
Jergas de habla hispana Spanish dictionary specializing in slang and colloquial expressions, featuring all Spanish-speaking countries, including Chile.
