Chilean Spanish

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The first Spanish dialect we are going to focus on is the spanish in Chile. Chile is one of the many spanish speaking countries in Latin America and it is located along the coast of South America.


There are a few things that set apart the spanish of Chile including the influences of other languages, the pronunciation of words and the extensive use of slang and other local expressions.

Chilean spanish has the influence of some indigenous languages like Quechua and Mapudungun and some other European languages--one of which being German--as a result of immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. These influences lead to some unique words in Chilean spanish which we will discuss later when we touch on slang and popular phrases. Furthermore, an interesting thing to note is that within the country there are some differences in accents which arise from differing levels of social classes or regional differences (urban vs. rural). An example of regional differences can be seen in the sea port districts where there are distinct pronunciation and vernacular due to the influences of sailors and trading overseas. One interesting thing to note is the large influences of the indigenous languages on the Chilean spanish. There was a study done to examine the extent of influence of these indigenous languages in everyday chilean language and after examining  roughly 300 pages of chilean newspaper, they found that around 132 lexical items were found to have indigenous origin.



As stated earlier, Chilean spanish is known for its high use of slang words. In order to better  understand Chilean spanish let us review some slang. Some common slang or phrases in Chile include: "pololo/a", "po", "cachái", "al tiro", "es un buen gallo", and "estar con cana". "Pololo/a" is a term that comes from the Mapudungun word for fly and means girlfriend/boyfriend. "Po" comes from the word "pues" which translates to: so, then, indeed, yes. "Cachai" is usually asked in the form of a question and it means "Do you get it?" or "Do you understand?" "Al tiro" is a phrase that translates to mean immediately. "Es un buen gallo" is a phrase that is used when talking about a person and it means that they are a nice guy. Lastly the phrase "estar con caña" is a way to say that someone has a hangover. It is important to know the slang of a country, specifically Chile, because oftentimes it is an integral part of their language and without this knowledge it can be easy to get lost a conversation.

In regards to pronunciation, Chilean speakers are known for dropping off a letter at the end of a word--typically the /s/--and sometimes dropping the /d/ in between two vowels. An example of this would be if they were saying the phrase I am tired > "estoy cansado", en Chile it would sound like "estoy cansao". An example of the missing s could be seen in a phrase like "los chilenos" would sound like "lo[h] chileno[h]".


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