Argentina Castellano vs Spain Spanish

One thing that especially screwed me up is the differences between Argentina Spanish and Spain Spanish, or any other kind of Spanish for that matter. Imagine the differences between all the different accents of the English language from: British, Australian, Irish, Scottish, American, Southern, New York, Pennsylvania, Texan, redneck, hillbilly, Duck Dynastian, Duboisian etc. (Just kidding about the last few ;P ). Apply this to Spanish. Each country has their own accent and dialect of the language. Now, picture Argentina as a whole isolated bubble of it's own. The Spanish here is very distinctive. Within the country itself, the language changes from each region and even from city to city.

Here are a few of the differences:

• Vos - Argentines replace "vos" for "tu" to address someone. This is the most unique and distinct difference.
• ll - Instead of pronouncing the "ll" as a y sound, they decided give foreigners a headache and pronounce it like a light jj. Hence, pollo is pronounced like combination of "posho" and "pojo". Way to be complicated!
• Castellano - Argentines refer to their language as "castellano" as opposed to "español".
• Swears- The sheer number of ways to insult someone or call them stupid is impressive. In the US when a person swears in school, you can get in trouble for it. Here, everyone swears, even the respected elderly. It is not considered taboo in anyway. In fact, if you don't cuss a little, people might think you are acting pretentiously and reprimand you for it!
  For those who understand the following list of insults, you'll get a good laugh.
• Stupid: Boludo, pelotudo, idiota, estupida, pescado, pajero,
• Random insults/slang: hijo de puta, puta, torta, la concha, la concha de tu madre/hermana, mierda, cornudo, basta, tomatela, larva, pescado, che, chabon, trompada, pornoco

If you happen to travel to Argentina, buy this book! It will  save your life several times. All of the slang, swears, and sayings are in it. Literally, it is more important than my Spanish-English dictionary. Plus, it's worth it just to see the locals die of laughter when they read it! My English teacher even borrowed it to make copies for future exchange students... (at least that was her 'valid' excuse)


~ From Argentina with Love