Colombian Spanish Information & Colombian Spanish Links at HealthHaven.com

The Colombian Spanish accent is the variation of Spanish language with a multiplicity of accents 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.

[edit] Phonology

The pronunciation of "j" is centered in the pharynx, [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.
The occlusive consonants /b/ ("b" or "v"), /d/ ("d"), and /ɡ/ ("g" or "gu") in 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 [elˈburo] in Colombia, but [elˈβuro] in the rest of America and Spain^{[dubious – discuss]}. A notable exception is the region of Nariño.
Seseo

[edit] Personal pronouns

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 all other Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, and is restricted to ecclesiastic language.^[1]
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^{[dubious – discuss]}.
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

[edit] Diminutives

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), the 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).

[edit] 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] it was to tell you). “que gracias” ([that] thank you).

[edit] Slang words

Slang talk is frequent in popular culture, specially in the popular barrios in the big cities. For instance, in the paisa region and Medellín subculture, where it is named "Parlache".^[2] Nevertheless, usage of slang expressions have been spread outside of their original arenas to become commonly understood countrywide.^[3] While some words eventually lose their status as slang, others continue to be considered as such by most speakers and is worth noticing that most of this words if not many are considered vulgar and rude by several people especially in Bogotá. 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 classless or distasteful, it becomes a linguistic phenomenon with clear sociological importance.^[4]

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 a woman
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. Another usage would be "Que re Chimba!" - How awesome/cool.
chino: (Chinese): child
entucar: to make out
fresco (fresh): Don't worry
gonorrea (gonorrhea): evil, loathsome
guevon: literally "big balls" or "lazy" but you would call your buddy this "Ay guevon!"
hacer la tarea (to do homework): have sex
levantarse (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)
marica (gay): A term of endearment used among friends
ni por el berraco: no way
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 1970s is now used openly in almost every urban center. Ex. Andres Palacios
perder el año (to get an F (grade)): to die
pichar: to have sex
pilas (batteries): wake up, watch out
pisarse (to step over): to leave
plata (silver): money
plomo (lead): bullets
ratero (rat associated word): robber
rumbear makeout
sapo (toad): informant, snitch
sisas: yes
tragado (to swallow): to be in love with someone
tombo: policeman
tirar (to throw, to shoot): to have sex
vaina: case, refers to an object or to a complicated situation
vieja (old woman): woman. Ex. Carolina Cortes, it doesn't mean you are old, is just a way to refer to a woman, not an insult, but not polite
¿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)
taladro (drill) a man who has sex with boys

[edit] Colombian Spanish dialects

Some of the most frequent regional dialects in the Colombian Spanish are:

[edit] 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".
Paisa uses vos for the second person singular pronoun.

[edit] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 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. It presents great similarity to that spoken in Cuba and other Caribbean territories.

[edit] Valley Dialect

This dialect is spoken in the valley of the Cauca River between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. In Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca there is also a lot of vos used instead of tu. Oís, mirá, and vé are terms also commonly used.

[edit] Andean Dialect

The andean or pastuso dialect is spoken in the southwest area of the country.

[edit] Opita Dialect

The dialect spoken mostly in the departments of Tolima and Huila mostly in the central and southern parts of the Magdalena River Valley.

[edit] Santander Dialect

The dialect spoken mostly in the northeastern part of the country in the departments of Santander and Santander del Norte, bordering Venezuela.

[edit] Eastern plains or Llanero Dialect

The dialect spoken in this region covers a vast area of the country with less population density. It is spoken in the eastern plains of the country from the Cordillera Oriental (eastern mountain range of the Andes) and into Venezuela. It has a characteristic influence of indigenous languages with specific tonalities at each side of the Colombian and Venezuelan borders.

[edit] Chocó or pacific dialect

This dialect extends beyond the Chocó department throughout the pacific coast and has marked African influence. Characteristically the /s/ in mid-words or at the end of words is similar in use to the Caribbean dialect where it is frequently omitted. The -n at the end of words sounds like -ng. The /d/ is replaced by /r/ in some words and the -l and -r are inverted in others in a similar way as occurs in several Spanish accents spoken in the Antilles.

[edit] Island Dialect

This is the dialect spoken in the Islands of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina in the Colombian Caribbean. It is marked by a mixture of Caribbean Spanish with English language tones.

[edit] References

^ Schmidely, Jack (1983). La personne grammaticale et la langue espagnole. ISBN 290261847.
^ (Spanish) Parlache
^ Antioquia University- Communications Portal
^ http://www.lopaisa.com/ Paisa website

[edit] External links

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/03/25/index.php?section=cultura&article=a05n1cul
http://idioma-espanol-en-colombia.boonic.com
Jergas de habla hispana Spanish dictionary specializing in slang and coloquial expressions, featuring all Spanish-speaking countries, including Colombia.
iGoNative Common Colombian expressions and Slang words
Colombian Spanish pronunciation

[0] Schmidely, Jack (1983). La personne grammaticale et la langue espagnole. ISBN 290261847.

[1] (Spanish) Parlache

[2] Antioquia University- Communications Portal

[3] ttp://www.lopaisa.com/ Paisa website

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