Is Argentine Spanish a dialect?

How many dialects of Spanish are out there? Is Argentine Spanish a dialect of Spanish? And wait, what’s a dialect, anyway?

Let’s get technical for a minute and include a definition of DIALECT. According to Oxford’s Dictionary definition, it is:

a particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group.

This is a very good starting point and I’m ready to answer the opening question: YES. Argentine Spanish is a dialect. But one among many within the country. Its proper name is Rioplatense Spanish or Porteño Spanish. In fact, Rioplatense Spanish has come to be considered Argentine Spanish, when it’s only the dialect of the central region of Argentina.

But what exactly makes Argentina Spanish a dialect? The differences between Argentine Spanish and others involve grammatical, phonological and lexical aspects.

Fasten your seat belts! This is a packed list of the features of Rioplatense (or Porteño) Spanish. Follow the links for a more detailed post on the underlined topics.

GRAMMAR

• VOSEO – the 2nd person singular from TÚ to VOS (affects the verb forms of the Present Indicative and the Imperative).
• We do not use the Pretérito perfecto compuesto [he ido], but the Pretérito indefinido [fui].
• To speak about the future, we use the periphrastic future: IR A + VERB (inf.) and not the simple Future.
• The use of demonstratives “acá/ahí/allá” instead of “aquí/ahí/allí”.
• The use of -ísimo | -ísima to intensify adjectives and adverbs.
• The use of RE as an alternative way of intensifying adjectives.

PHONOLOGICAL (sounds)

• YEISMO sound of /y/ and /ll/ as /sh/: lluvia, llaves, yeso, calle, llamada, ayuda, Yamila.
• There is no differentiation between /s/, /c(+e/i)/, /z/ sounds: shoe, sausage, Cecilia.
• Aspiration of the preconsonantal /s/ [c, g, d, l]: asco, frasco, desde, desdén, rasguñar, Alaska, escuela, marisco, Tesla, Isla, etc.

Check out this extensive article on the Argentinian Accent.

LEXICON (vocabulary)

• Rioplatense Spanish was influenced by the speech of Italian immigrants who arrived in the country between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, which had a decisive influence on the vocabulary as well as the intonation of Argentine Spanish dialect.
• LUNFARDO (Argentinian slang) + ARGENTINISMOS
• Use of vocative “CHE“, and the polysemic “DALE“.

Don’t leave empty handed! Download an infographic to take with you. CLICK HERE

Hope you find this post useful. If so, let me know.

And remember: if you are looking for a real life onboarding to Argentinian Spanish, consider scheduling a lesson with me. Will be great to hear from you!

Stay well,

Happy Spanish learning,

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