Ecuador – Spanish Language and Culture
Population: 13.6 million (2009)
Capital: Quito
Area: 272,045 km² (105,037 sq miles)
Currency: Dolar (USD)
National Holidays: 24th of May – Battle of Pichincha; 10th of August – Independence of Guayaquil
Calling Code: + 593
Time Zone: GMT -5
GDP: Total – US$ 61.958 billion
Per Capita – US$ 4,328
The Spanish Language in Ecuador
The Spanish in Ecuador takes three distinct forms: the Andean and Amazonian variations, and coastal Equatorial Spanish. Ecuadorian Andean Spanish is similar to forms of Spanish spoken in Peru and Bolivia due to the influence of Quechua (known as Kichwa in Ecuador). Likewise, Amazonian Spanish in Ecuador is strongly influenced by the indigenous languages of the region. Spanish spoken in Coastal Ecuador varies slightly from north to south.
Special words and expressions
- precio de huevo – “the price of an egg”… Meaning: it is cheap.
- man – guy, dude… an Anglicism (hey man!) used amongst friends regardless of the sex.
- ¡no seas filatico! – don’t be a smart-ass!
- ando chiro/arrancado – I’m broke
- ¡tengo unas ganas de jamar! – I’m hungry!
- ¡chendo! – just joking!
- ¡me metió el dedo! – he/she cheated/deceived me
- ¡anda que te divierta un burro! – a somewhat proper way of telling someone to “get lost!”
- chuchaqui – hangover
- vamos de chupa – lets go party, go drinking
- guambra – a child, a kid
- aguetatar – to wait, to watch-over
- cacho – a joke
- biela – beer
- caleta – house
- arrarray – exclamation when something is too hot (ouch!)
- achachay – “brrrr” exclamation of cold
- acolitar – to contribute
Articles about Ecuador
-
Intermediate level
- 100. Edición – ¡Celebramos con los Veinte Mundos!
- Volcán Cayambé, nunca me sentí tan vacío, pero tampoco tan feliz
- Medicina indígena, el esfuerzo de una mujer de negocios
- Historias de la Cárcel de Quito
- Cuarenta: un juego de humor, memoria y suerte
- Cayambe, los secretos de un volcán
- Las islas encantadas por skaters
-
Advanced level
- La pasión de la lucha libre
- Raúl Cabrera, un nómada posmoderno
Other languages spoken
- Quichua or Kichwa – this variety of Quechua is spoken in both Ecuador and Colombia by around 2,500,000 people.
- Many other Amerindian languages are spoken in the country, notably in the Amazon rainforest.
- English is taught in schools and spoken by up to 65,000 people
- German is the second most spoken foreign language with around 30,000 speakers.
- There is also a large number of Chinese and Arabic speakers in the larger cities of vm_en and Guayaquil
Spanish dialects and variations
- There is a strong difference between the dialect spoken in vm_en in the mountains and the dialect spoken in coastal Guayaquil.
- The Spanish spoken in vm_en is considered among the most precisely pronounced.
- Andean Spanish is characterized by the use of a lot of words from Quichua.
- The coastal region of Esmeraldas to the north has some influences from African languages due to a large part of the population being of African descent.
- In Guayaquil the Spanish spoken is much faster, aspiration of ‘s’ to ‘h’ is very common and there is a significant use of local slang making it more difficult for foreigners to understand.
Geography and Climate
Ecuador is an extremely diverse country and is one of the seventeen mega diverse countries according to the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Climate is generally tropical except for in the mountains where the weather is dryer and gets cooler as the altitude rises. Because of its location at the equator, there is little variation in weather or change in daylight hours throughout the year.
Destinations in Ecuador
las Islas Galápagos
- Galapagos Islands – (snorkeling, diving, wildlife observation, walking, Charles Darwining)
- Mountains and Andes – Cotopaxi, Otavalo, Chimborazo, Quilotoa…(hiking, mountain-climbing, extreme sports)
- Cities and Culture – vm_en, Cuenca, Guayaquil
- Amazon Rainforest and Cloud Forest – Napo, Mindo (wildlife observation, bird-watching, trekking)
- Beaches and Coast – Manabí (Manta), Esmeraldas, Atacames, Guayaquil, Montañita, Isla de la Plata (surfing, snorkeling, whale-watching, fishing…)
History & Politics
In the 15th century the Incans conquered the cultures of Ecuador, making it part of its northern empire. In 1531 the Spanish Francisco Pizarro landed on the coast of Ecuador where he fought and defeated the Incas. vm_en became an important seat of the Spanish colonial empire and then gained independence as part of Gran Colombia. It was not until 1830 that Ecuador became entirely independent (separating from Gran Colombia). The 20th century was marked by conflicts with neighbors as well as much political instability. In the year 2000 Ecuador adopted the US dollar as its national currency in an effort to curb inflation.
¿Sabías qué….? The notorious Panama hat (some can sell for over $1,000 apiece) is actually made in Ecuador and has been since its appearance in the 17th century. It was shipped through the Panama Canal before being sent out to Europe and other continents thus gaining the name “Panama hat”.
Famous People
- Oswaldo Guayasamín (painter)
- Hugo Cifuentes (photographer)
- Enrique Tábar (painter)
- Jorge Enrique Adoum (poet)
- Fanny Carrion de Fierro (poet)
- Jorge Icaza (writer, Huasipungo)
- Jefferson Pérez (olympic race walker)
- Michael Craig Judge (born in Ecuador…director and animator – Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill)
- Julio Jaramillo (singer)
- Álex Aguinaga (soccer player)
Media
Freedom of press is guaranteed by the Ecuadorian constitution. Even so, it has always been strongly influenced by politics and religion and certain controversial topics are either censored or avoided altogether by journalists and media outlets for fear of harassment. Radio is the most important source of news and there are even some channels that broadcast in native languages in certain areas.
El Comercio – www.elcomercio.com
El Universo – www.eluniverso.com