Spanish is spoken by around 500 million people worldwide, in more than 23 countries. With all that possibility for diversity, it’s amazing that the language has remained unified; all the different Spanishes, despite influences from indigenous languages as diverse as Náhuatl in Mexico and Mapuche in Chile, are remarkably similar. But they’re also very different, just as around the world Englishes vary in vocabulary and even grammar, despite being mutually intelligible.
When I first got here I could understand people perfectly when they were talking to me, but when they were talking with each other (especially Andres with Paula, or with his family) I had a hard time following it. They don’t pronounce the “s” at the end of words, and they talk really quickly. Then words and phrases started getting stuck in my head, the way a song does. I’d lay down to go to sleep at night, and Chilean Spanish would be playing and replaying in my head, things like:
- huevon/a: a very informal, all-purpose word to refer to a guy, a person, a man, a woman-anybody really
- huevada: like huevon, used all the time informally and meaning more or less “thing”: events, things people do, objects-could be anything really.
- fome: boring
- choclo: corn
- palta: avocado
- luca: thousand (used with money, as in 10 lucas-ten thousand bucks)
- La Willow, La Paula, El Andrés: When Chileans know you better they put a “the” before your name when they’re referring to you. It sounds terrible in English, but is actually a very friendly thing here.
- durazno: peach
- bencina: gas/fuel
It’s been fun to learn new vocabulary, and it’s really fun to travel in a place where I speak the language (albeit slightly differently). Much easier than Egypt!
Tonight I’m going with Andres and Paula to Valparaiso on the coast to spend the night and then the day tomorrow. It’s going to be great to see another part of the country. Then home tomorrow night-can’t wait, even as I’m kicking myself for not having made my trip a little longer to be able to see more of the country.
