What is Argentinian Spanish?

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As you may have seen (or if you hadn’t, now you know it), this website revolves around a concept that is important to clarify— Argentinian Spanish. What is Argentinian Spanish? Is there even such thing?

Wherever you are from, can you say that your language is the same throughout your country? I can’t. Diversity is an undeniable feature of all languages, and the more you try to standardize it, the more diverse it becomes.

Argentina is a pretty big country (over 3500 km from South to North), with as regional dialects as varied as the landscapes. To speak accurately, we should only call Argentinian Spanish ALL the Spanish spoken down here, throughout the country. However, what is commonly known as Argentinian Spanish is, strictly speaking Porteño Spanish.

So, if you want to understand Argentinian landscape in terms of accents, you’ll enjoy this post. Let’s try to break it down, shall we?

Spanish variations

Just like is the case with English, someone who has never studied English would assume that it is one and not many. Spanish takes this challenge to the next level, as there are 21 countries where Spanish is the official language. Spaniards brought the language along with them when they conquered the American continent, but today, over 500 years later, the Spanish spoken in these lands is no longer that of Spain (if it ever was.)

The truth about Argentinian Spanish

This being said, in a country as big as Argentina it’s impossible to expect that all the regional identities can be reduced to a single one. At present, linguists have more or less set the dispute in these terms:

Spanish dialects Argentina
Spanish Dialects in Argentina

As you see, Rioplatense Spansh takes over the central region of the country, where most of the urban centers are located, namely the Greater Buenos Aires area (15 million people), but also the whole of Buenos Aires and Santa Fé provinces along with most of Entre Ríos and La Pampa. This explains why it’s become so representative of the Argentinian accent.

Rioplatense Spanish

I take no particular pride in the Spanish people speak in Buenos Aires. I just happen to be extremely acquainted with it as a result of my having been born here and my professional career as a Spanish tutor!

Over time, as I’ve become more aware of the regional differences, I’ve also become more aware of how our Spanish dialect is perceived abroad. At the same time, I’ve grown increasingly interested in the features of Porteño Spanish, i.e. the details that make the difference.

I’ve covered this in further detail in the article linked in the previous paragraph, but if you want to stay in this article I’ll tell you what makes AR Spanish different:

  • We use VOS for the 2° person pronoun instead of TÚ. This impacts verb forms in the present tense and affirmative imperative. Read THIS ARTICLE for a deeper study of the topic.
  • We pronounce Ys and LLs like /sh/. This is known as YEHISMO [sheismo].
  • Our dialect is flooded with words that only mean something to us. Read THIS ARTICLE to know more!

Porteño Spanish

Rioplatense Spanish is sometimes also referred to as ‘Porteño Spanish’, as porteños are the dwellers of Downtown Buenos Aires and it was there that the River Plate port -Argentina’s main foreign commercial route- was located.

Due to the importance of the port in the early 20th Century, we could say Buenos Aires was like the epicenter and the Spanish spoken in this area has been a major reflection of Argentinian Spanish abroad.

My intent with this website is to contribute to the cause of understanding properly what Argentinian Spanish really means.

As always, feel welcome to visit the LESSONS MENU. Facts sometimes speak louder than words.

Happy Spanish learning,

FURTHER READING:

¡Che Boludo! A Brief Introduction to Argentine Spanish

The linguistics of Spanish | Rioplatense Spanish

All you need to know about Argentine Spanish

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