Chile – Spanish Language and Culture
Population: 16,601,707 (2010 estimate)
Capital: Santiago de Chile
Area: 756,096 km² (291,930 sq mi)
Currency: Chilean Peso (CLP)
National Holiday: 18th of September
Calling Code: + 56
Time Zone: UTC -4
GDP: Total – US$ 243.569 billion (2009)
Per capita – US$ 14,340 (2009)
The Spanish Language in Chile
The Spanish spoken in Chile was originally similar to the Andalusian dialect but has over time been influenced by indigenous languages such as Quechua and Mapudungun as well as by other European languages from the waves of immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. A common characteristic of the Spanish in Chile is that final syllables and “s” sounds are often dropped or pronounced softly. Chilean Spanish is also notorious for its high use of slang and local expressions making it difficult for foreigners to understand.
Special words and expressions
- pololo/a – ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’ comes from Mapudungun word “piulliu” meaning ‘fly’ and refers to the similar behavior of the boy to the girl (or vice versa) as the fly around fruit.
- po – comes from “pues” (then, so, indeed, yes) it is commonly used at the end of sentences to enforce the meaning of the sentence.
- ¿cachái? – do you understand? / get it? It’s the second person conjugation of ‘cachar’ which is slang for ‘to understand’
- al tiro – immediately
- es un buen gallo – he’s a nice guy
- estar con caña – to have a hangover
- agarrar pa’l (para el) hueveo – to make fun of
6 posible ways of saying “you are” in Chilean Spanish:
- Vos soi
- Tú soi
- Vos erí(s)
- Tú erí(s)
- Tú eres
- Usted es
Articles about Chile
-
Intermediate level
- Manuala Martelli, una actriz chilena que rompe fronteras
- 100. Edición – ¡Celebramos con los Veinte Mundos!
- Los famosos funiculares de Valparaíso
- El mundo de las nanas
- Cochamó, un lugar muy especial
- Un jamaicano que ama los caballos
- El tiburón Contreras, el pequeño gigante del mar
- Los ochentas, la radiografía de Chile
- 10 razones para hacer un viaje lingüïstico
- Todo lo que no sabes y debes saber sobre la Papa
- Trinidad Segura: surfista y más… mucho más.
- Matta, Guayasamín y Botero…tras las rejas
- Rayuela: el verdadero deporte chileno
- El chileno campeón mundial de rumba
- El cambio climático golpea a Sudamérica
-
Advanced level
- Y tú, ¿cachai el chileno, po’?
- EL COMPLETO: La cultura chilena en un sándwich
- Guerros de la basura
- Chile, el “lado B” de las fiestas patrias
- Las mingas de Chiloé
- Chinchineros y organilleros, el orgullo del folclore chileno
- Festival de Viña del Mar: el evento musical de América Latina
Other languages spoken
- Mapudungun – 200,000 active speakers
- Rapanui (language of Easter Island) – 3,000 speakers
- Chilean Quechua and Aymara – 1,000 speakers
- English – mandatory in schools from 5th grade up
- German (High German) – still spoken by descendants of immigrants especially those who settled in colonies in the south
- Romani – spoken by the Gypsy population of Chile
Spanish dialects and variations
- The distinctions between accents stem mostly from social class differences or from the varying urban and rural populations.
- The archipelago of Chiloé in the south of the country has a distinct dialect (Chilote Spanish) that is especially influenced by Mapudungun.
- In the Chilean highlands Andean Spanish, which is similar throughout most of the Andes, is also spoken.
- Spanish in ports such as Valparaiso has also developed a distinct pronunciation and vocabulary due to influences from sailors and overseas commerce.
Geography and Climate
Stretching from north to south over 6,435 kilometers (3,998 miles), Chile has an extremely diverse and varied terrain and climate. In the north, the Atacama Desert is one of the driest regions in the world with sunshine all year round. In contrast, the south is damp and cool and populated by wooded mountains and glaciers. The central region has a dry Mediterranean climate in the low coastal mountains and harsher mountain climate in the rugged Andes to the east.
Destinations in Chile
Easter Island
- Easter Island
- Patagonia and southern regions (Torres del Paine National Park, San Raphael Lake and Glaciers, Chiloe Archipelago)
- Atacama Desert and northern regions (San Pedro de Atacama, Valle de la Luna)
- Ski resorts (Valle Nevado, Porillo)
- Beach resorts (Iquique, La Serena)
- Wine regions
- Cities (Santiago, Valparaiso, Valdivia)
History & Politics
Inhabited by the Incans in the north and the Mapuche in the south, Chile was conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century. After gaining independence from Spain in the early 19th century, Chile fought the War of the Pacific winning a third of its present territory from its neighbors Peru and Bolivia. Towards the end of the century a wave of European immigration began along with large-scale mining. In 1970 the world’s first democratically elected Marxist leader Salvador Allende came to power only to be ousted three years later by military dictator Augusto Pinochet who would remain in control of Chile for almost 20 years. Chile today is considered to be a presidential representative democratic republic and stands out as one of the most stable and prosperous nations of South America.
¿Sabías qué….? Chilean writer Gabriela Mistral was the first Latin American
to win the Nobel Prize for literature, in 1945. Her real name was
Lucila de Maria del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga.
Famous People
- Salvador Allende (former president)
- Gabriela Mistral (Nobel Prize winning writer)
- Pablo Neruda (Nobel Prize winning writer)
- Violeta Parra (singer)
- Isabel Allende (writer)
- Victor Jara (political activist, singer, writer)
- Augusto Pinochet (military dictator)
- Claudio Arrau (pianist)
- Nicolás Massú (Olympic tennis champion)
- Patricio Pimienta (comedian)
Media
There is a long tradition of active press in Chile which diminished during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet at which time only newspapers that supported the military government were published. Since he stepped down in 1990, the press has once again enjoyed much greater freedoms.
Read World Press Review on Chile
La Tercera – diario.latercera.com
El Mercurio – www.emol.cl
Televisión Nacional de Chile – www.tvn.cl