Is the Spanish of Colombia different from that of other South American countries?

Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 3, 2004, 13:54:

Spanish You should not have any difficulty understanding Colombian Spanish (Castellano) if you can talk with people from the Andean Region with no hindrance. People in Colombia tend to speak faster, they have different idiomatic expressions, they pronounce "j" softer and less guttural, the "ll" becomes often similar to "y", the n in the end of the words may vary in pronunciation (In Cali it becomes an "m", on the coast an "ng"), but the differences are not that big at all. Once you have spent some time there and gotten used to the rhythm, cadence and intonation of Colombian Spanish you'll have no problem. Don't forget that one of the better Spanish languages in Latin America is spoken just in Colombia!

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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Peter (Moderator) says on Jan 3, 2004, 14:21:

No accent in Bogota! Well the biggest difference with other countries is that they have a lot of accent ..... Bogota people doesnt have any accent... Medellin has a little. People from Peru Ecuador and Bolivia they have similar accent as the people of Pasto (Colombian city in the south)

Poor but snappy

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 3, 2004, 14:39:

Spanish-the LL You're right about LL in Medellin. It is not, however, pronounced as an /Z/ or /dz/ phoneme either in Bogotá or in Cali. The closest overall pronunciation would still be /y/ or even /ly/ especially in the Santanderes (Bucaramanga and abouts).

What accent? Nobody who speaks his/her native language from birth has an "accent". I think you meant that the dialects of Peru and Bolivia are further away from classical Iberian Castellano than Colombian Spanish. That may be true, but then again, remember that "Spanish" is not one language. The local dialects in South and Central America developed pretty much from the dialects of the colonists, thus highlands were often populated of Castilians and the coastal areas by Andalucians, which gave origins to different dialects of Spoken Spanish in LA-countries.

And yes, Bogotá has a very distinctive dialect (ala mi chino:)

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 3, 2004, 15:32:

Pasto Yes, Pasto is the city of the pastusos (or pastenses:), who are supposed to be not so bright:) This is, of course, just racial bigotry, since Colombians look down a little on their neighbours south of the border. The more south you go, more "Indian" people become, until you come down to Chile and Argentina where they consider themselves semi-Europeans.

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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litost says on Jan 4, 2004, 15:00:

regional differences One thing that I think is specially true of Colombia, is that it has many different accents in itself... I have met people from most other latinamerican countries, and although there are of course differences within those countries too, I think that Colombia is where you get the biggest differences. There are at least 5 distinct accents:

1. The southern one "pastuzo" which is very similair to equador's spanish,
2. the "valluno" which is in Cali and the surrounding areas,
3. the "paisa" which is in Medellin, Antioquia and the Coffee Region,
4. "bogotano" or "rolo" which is specific to Bogota, but is very similair to the accent of the surrounding departments of Boyaca and Cundinamarca,
5. and the "costeño" which refers to the caribbean coastal cities and rural areas.

You could even argue that there is also a "santandereano" accent and a "llanero", but let's say there are those 5 big groups. And it's really to the point where it seems like another country, the accents and even the culture can be so different it's amazing. I'm guessing that the person confused in Medellin may be having problems in part due to the paisa's use of the "vos" and its respective conjugations... it's also used by the vallunos but the accent is really different. And also the paisas can speak really fast sometimes and use many many slang words and expressions, and just the general intonation is very particular. But I'm sure that after a while you should understand with no problem. Regarding the "ll", it also depends on the region... in general in colombia it would be pronounced like PoJo with a strong J, but in the caribbean coast, the costeños would say PoYo, more similair to the cuban way of speaking.

And to the person who says there is no accent in Bogota... you have to be a "rolo"!!!

In my personal opinion, the best and clearest spanish spoken in Colombia is the "paisa" variant spoken in the coffee region (Armenia, Pereira, Manizales) because the accent isn't so strong as in Medellin and Antioquia... but then again I am probably biased because it's the spanish I've always spoken!

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Peter (Moderator) says on Jan 4, 2004, 22:30:

There's no problem with the Colombian's spanish, it's you that has the problem. Two months in La Paz, wow, what a linguist expert. We speak it for thousands of years but along comes you and we have to change because little i think i'm more important than you, can't understand. If you learn spanish then you know spanish plain and simple if not you don't, and will keep asking idiotic questions. Every spanish country has a little different dialect, like every state in the union, but if you actually know the language there is no problem. To agree with another reply, there is no accent just ignorant ears. You have to know the language before you can question how it sounds.

Poor but snappy

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 5, 2004, 00:34:

accent/dialect Let's use the proper terms when we talk about languages, so that people don't get confused. *Accent* is something you have when you speak a language that is not your own from the birth. Thus, people who learn a second language after the age of say, 5-6, generally have a bit of accent lingering in their pronunciation. You can have a French accent if you were born in France, for example, and are speaking English now. Many English-speakers can never get rid of their accent when they learn to speak Spanish. (Like the gringo pronunciation of "r" for example). *Dialect* is something entirely different. It's a variation of the same language, with different expressions, pronunciation and intonation, spoken in different geographical regions even within a same country. Yes, there are dialectical differences in the Spanish language spoken in Colombia, both in syntax and in semantics, and absolutely, in pronunciation, but they are so slight that they should not be of any hindrance for communication.

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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Peter (Moderator) says on Jan 14, 2004, 18:41:

Bogotano accent
I disagree with this comment. I'm from Bogota and I can say our accent is quite strong -and sometimes a bit annoying-.

Poor but snappy

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litost says on Jan 14, 2004, 18:45:

honesty I, as a non-bogotano colombian applaud your humbleness in accepting that you rolos have an AWFUL accent, and anyone who says you don't even have one... well it just has to be a rolo!

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litost says on Jan 14, 2004, 19:52:

Desideria's wrath Ok, I am sure Desi knows more about linguistics than the rest of us ignorant folk... but I don't think it's any crime using words the way we do in "real life". C'mon, who doesn't refer to "regional variations in syntax, semantics and pronounciation" as an ACCENT??? We all know what we mean, so snob off!

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TioCharlie says on Jan 14, 2004, 19:59:

Here's something else to think about Desidera - sorry for forgetting you in Cuidate. I have an appology posted there. :)

Where do colloquialisms fit into the language?


A colloquialism is an informal expression, that is, an expression not used in formal speech or writing. Colloquialisms can include words (such as "gonna" or "grouty"), phrases (such as "ain't nothin'" and "dead as a doornail"), or sometimes even an entire aphorism ("There's more than one way to skin a cat").

In the past and in some quarters, overuse by native speakers of colloquialisms has been and is sometimes regarded as a sign of substandard ability with the language in question. But in the mouth of a non-native speaker, they are sometimes taken as signalling unusual facility with the language.

8)

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 14, 2004, 22:18:

better be careful No, tinto, I wouldn't do that. Physical aggression is not allowed in my country's schools as a corrctive method. We don't slap our kids here.
(Desideria,with an accent in three languages and a dialect in the fourth, the one I was born with:)

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 14, 2004, 22:24:

wrath no, confusion yes litost,
when you use proper terminolgy everybody understands what you are saying. Not only people that speak your dialect, or vernacular. "Not only the kids from the same hood as you." Remember that not all of us have the same background as you, whatever that might be. No, I didn't know that the word "accent" was used instead of "dialect" in the States.

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 14, 2004, 22:37:

something else... Tio,
your apology has been gracefully accepted:)BTW it's Desideria. (sorry, couldn't stop myself from doing it again:(
Just a brief note before going to work: it's all part of a living language. Extensive use of non-standard expressions sometimes can be traced back to environmental/educational variants of the person's upbringing. Have you noticed how cute the bad words (cussing, vulgarities and such) sound in the mouth of a non-native?
cheers,
Desi

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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TioCharlie says on Jan 14, 2004, 22:52:

Vulgarities Desideria,
So the next time I'm in London and walk up to a bobbie and say (in my American dialect) "How is your day you bloody wanker?" ; he is going to smile because it sounds cute? I don't think so...

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 15, 2004, 10:48:

not cute No, coming from you he probably would fail to see the cuteness in it, because even if you speak a dialect (he would too), you are both native speakers of the same language. I meant much milder "dirty" words, in a language not your own, spoken with a heavy accent. I find it hilarious to hear a gringo trying to say bad words in a heavy accented Spanish, especially if the word has r's.

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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TioCharlie says on Jan 15, 2004, 11:53:

Thanks for the Clarification So we are talking about words like "darn it", "shoot", "golly", etc.

;)

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 15, 2004, 12:00:

dirty words You're just trying to make me say bad words so that you can laugh at my accent! (I meant words like "mierda" "culo" "carajo" "maricón" )Happy now?

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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TioCharlie says on Jan 15, 2004, 12:55:

Yes I am happy now. I always love a good discussion/debate!!!

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Peter (Moderator) says on Jan 16, 2004, 05:17:

Do you have the "jaw-bees"? If someone says they have the "jaw-bees" and you the "yaw-bees" your ability to return with no problem will be assured.

All posts by Tinto I've seen on this board are pretty accurate. Not to say others are not,, but some other posts remind me of the story about "three blind men describing an Elephant",,, just an observation.

Poor but snappy

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Peter (Moderator) says on Jan 19, 2004, 20:20:

Spanish lisp Could someone please clear this up for me. When Spanish is spoken in Spain it is done so with a lisp (an "s" sounds like a "th"). Does this happen in Colombian Spanish? I hope not. Gracias.

Poor but snappy

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Peter (Moderator) says on Feb 2, 2004, 15:38:

No, it doesn't, as there isn't any difference between the ll and the y or the c and the q as far as I am concerned. I am a "paisa" and i think our accent is really annoying; it sounds loud and has a lot of inconsistencies, non-sense and silly slugs among other things. I found that rolos tend to be more respectful of other persons opinions and don't interrupt the other person as much as paisas do. they also tend to have a more cosmopolitan and sophisticated mind. Paisas are for the most, local and no very elegant when speaking, i have been faking my accent when i meet other Colombians, and when they notice my paisas accent y told then that i have a disability in my tongue.
;^0 yeah , wake up Colombians!, Paisas and their culture took over Colombia and menace to destroy what is left of Colombia. Don’t you see that the new paisa elite was fed of insanity, immorality, death and greed??? Paisas are working as a tribe to repress the rest of Colombians; they use the family mafia style politics and never ask for anything, the just take it, no to mention that montañero annoying accent….sorry lost my point

Poor but snappy

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