Uruguayan Spanish
castellano uruguayo
Pronunciation	[espaˈɲoluɾuˈɣwaʝo]
Native to	Uruguay
Region	Río de la Plata
Native speakers	3,347,800, all users in Uruguay (2014)[1] L1 users: 3,270,000 L2 users: 77,800
Language family	Indo-European Italic Latino-Faliscan Romance Italo-Western Western Ibero-Romance West Iberian Castilian Spanish Rioplatense Spanish Uruguayan Spanish
Early forms	Proto-Indo-European Proto-Italic Old Latin Vulgar Latin Proto-Romance Old Spanish Early Modern Spanish
Writing system	Latin (Spanish alphabet)
Official status
Official language in	Uruguay (de facto)
Regulated by	Academia Nacional de Letras
Language codes
ISO 639-1	es
ISO 639-2	spa[2]
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	None
IETF	es-UY
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Uruguayan Spanish (Spanish:castellano uruguayo), a part ofRioplatense Spanish, is the variety ofSpanish spoken inUruguay and by theUruguayan diaspora.^[3]

There is strong influence of Italian and its dialects, particularlyGenovese,^[4] because of the presence of large Italian communities in the country (for example inMontevideo andPaysandú). The Uruguayan accent differs from the accents of Spain and other Spanish American countries, except for Argentina, due to Italian influence. There are many Italian words incorporated in the language (nona,cucha,fainá ("farinata, chickpea flour crêpe"),chapar,parlar,festichola ("house party"), etc.), as well as words of Italian derivation (for example:mina derived fromfemmina, orpibe ("child") frompivello). Italian has also altered the meaning of many preexisting Spanish words. For instance,pronto means "soon" in most Spanish dialects, including Argentine Spanish. However in Uruguayan Spanish,pronto instead means "ready", the same meaning aspronto in Italian.^[5]

Uruguayan Spanish was also influenced by several native languages. For instance the Uruguayan wordpororó meaning "popcorn" originating from theTupian languageGuaraní. Another examples is the wordgurí/gurises meaning "kid(s)" which originates from the Guaraní wordngiri, also meaning child.

In the southeastern department ofRocha, as well as along the northern border with Brazil,^[6] there is some influence ofBrazilian Portuguese, in addition to thePortuguese spoken in northern Uruguay.

In the southern region of the country including Montevideo, thevoseo form of address is used. The second-person pronounvos is used instead oftú, along with its associated verbal conjugations. In other areas of the country,tuteo is more commonly used thanvoseo, such as Rocha and in some parts ofMaldonado.^[7] In some places,tú is used as the subjective pronoun with the verb conjugated in accordance tovoseo;tú tenés instead oftú tienes (tuteo) orvos tenés (voseo). Use of thetuteo orvoseo form of theprepositional pronoun—ti andvos respectively—also varies.^[8] Spanish exhibits a fusedtuteo prepositional pronounti with theprepositioncon into a singlecompound wordcontigo. In contrast to Argentina wherecontigo is rarely used, Uruguay exhibits more variance betweencontigo andcon vos, withcon vos still the more frequent of the two. Though there is much variation, Uruguayan Spanish generally prefersti as the second-person prepositional pronoun overvos with the exception ofcon vos.

As with most dialects of Spanish, the formal pronoun usted is used in very formal contexts, such as when speaking to government authorities.

In Spanish,hay means "there are/is." Though unintuitive, it is technically the third-personimpersonal indicative conjugation ofhaber meaning "to have". Its usage indicating existence originates fromOld Spanish'sha ý (“it has there”),ha being the third-person singular present form ofaver (“to have”) +ý, alocative pronoun. Sincehay is both the plural and singular impersonal present indicative conjugation, the subject's number is irrelevant. However in the imperfect, the impersonal indicativehaber splits between the plural and the singular:había ("there was") and habían ("there are"). Inprescriptive grammar,había is considered the proper conjugation in both cases. However in Uruguayan Spanish,habían is occasionally used as the plural impersonal imperfect indicative conjugation while in other dialects of Spanish (including Argentinian Spanish) it is essentially never used at all.^[9] For example,había flores (literally "there was flowers") is considered proper whilehabían flores ("there were flowers") is considered improper.

Much of Uruguayan vocabulary overlaps with Argentina under the banner of Rioplatense. However, there are a few deviations in meaning of words and commonly used parlance that distinguishes Uruguayan Spanish from Argentine Spanish. For instance,

• Pronto, despite meaning "soon" in Argentine Spanish, means "ready" in Uruguayan Spanish.^[5]
• In Uruguay, kids are referred to asgurises while in Argentina they are referred to aspibes.^[5][10] Whilegurises is not used in most of Argentina, apart fromEntre Ríos Province, which borders most of Uruguay,pibes is still used in Uruguay, however less commonly. Both words are also used to refer to friends affectionately, while pibe has expanded to mean young man.^[10]Botija is also used to refer to children.
• Ta in Uruguayan Spanish means "OK", with a similar ability to communicate a variety of emotions as "OK" has in English.^[10] For instance, repetition of the word communicates exasperated comprehension ("Ta, ta" communicating the same emotion as "Ok, ok!"). Emphasis of the word communicates anger ("¡TA!" tantamount to "OK!"; "Enough!"). Sometimes expressed asda.^[11]
• Because of the final/s/ before consonants is often aspirated in Rioplatense Spanish,vos (you) is often shortened in Uruguay to justbo/vo.^[11] This is reserved for more casual speech.
• Brisco, a derogatory term for gay people, isn't commonly used in Argentina however is in Uruguay, along with much of the rest of South America.
• The phrasea las órdenes is also commonly used in Uruguay. Although literally meaning "at your orders", its meaning is closer to the English phrase "let me know if you need anything" and communicates that the speaker is there for the subject.^[10]
• In Uruguay, the phrasegusto tuyo is used to communicate romantic interest in someone, literally translating to "I like yours". This is in comparison to the more directme gustas used in much of the rest of the Spanish speaking world orgusto de vos, literally translating to "pleasure of you".^[10]
• ¡Vamo’ Arriba! is a commonly-used expression in Uruguay, the equivalent to the phrase"Let's Go!" in English.^[5]
• ¡Que rica! is another Uruguayan expression. It's an expression of success or, often sexual, pleasure.
• Pila, literally meaning "pile", is a term used to express a large, excessive, or overwhelming quantity, similar to"a ton" in English. For example,caminé pila ("I walked a ton").^[10]
• Ñeri is an Uruguayan term for an idiot.^[10]
• Merecidas and alsoMerece, meaning "deserved" and "deserve", is used in Uruguay as a response togracias ("thank you"). It expresses that whatever was given that elicited the thanking was deserved by the thanker.^[10] A variation of the expression is used by the elder generations in Argentina.
• Garra Charrua is an expression that translates to "Claw of theCharrúa", an ethnic group indigenous to Uruguay who fought the Spanish conquistadors in present-day Uruguay. It is a nationalistic term used to refer to the tenacity and courage of the Uruguayan people. It is commonly used in regards tofootball.^[11]
• Salado, while meaning "expensive" in Argentina, has a meaning closer to "incredible" or "grand".^[11]
• Todo bien, directly translates to"all good" in English and is used in the same manner.^[12]
• ¡Divino día! literally meaning "divine day" is the equivalent of"good day!" in Uruguay.^[12]
• Trancar meaning "to lock" is a loanword from Portuguese that's commonly used in Uruguay.

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Below are vocabulary differences between Uruguay and other Spanish-speaking countries: Argentina, Paraguay, Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, and Puerto Rico. It shows how Spanish is different in three continents where there are Spanish-speaking countries (Europe, North America, and South America) and in different regions of those continents (Central America, Caribbean, andSouthern Cone). Italian and Brazilian Portuguese have also been influential in Uruguayan Spanish and are also included. While people in Uruguay and most of Argentina speak the dialect Rioplatense, there are some notable differences in vocabulary between the two countries, which are bolded.

• Languages of Uruguay
• Rioplatense Spanish
• Lunfardo
• Diccionario del español del Uruguay

• Spanish dialects of South America
• Languages of Uruguay
• European-Uruguayan culture

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