Re: Spanish dialects (was: Immediateness)

-----Mensaje original-----
De: Pablo Flores <fflores@...>
Fecha: Martes 22 de Septiembre de 1998 12:18
Asunto: Re: Spanish dialects (was: Immediateness)


>Carlos Thompson wrote:
>>In Northen Colombia the great Caribean dialect is spoken, with a lot of
>>branches.  A non-familiarised person won't easilly distinguish betwen a
>>Cuban or a _barranquillero_, much the way a non-familiarised won't
>>distinguish a _porteno_ from a _uruguayo_ or from someone from Rosario.
>*I* certainly won't distinguish a _porteno_ from an _uruguayo_ or a
>_rosarino_, except in a very long conversation... I imagine I could tell
>apart an _uruguayo_ because of certain unfamiliar words; for the most part
>_uruguayos_ (especially from Montevideo) talk the same way as _portenos_
>(formally 'bonaerenses', from Buenos Aires).
A joke I've hear said you can tell apart an _uruguayo_ because he will be
saying he's NOT an Argentinan (even if not asked). :-)

> [...]
>The main differences between Rioplatense and the other Argentine dialects
>are tonal. The people in the Northeastern provinces (called the
>Mesopotamia) and the ones in the province of Cordoba (in the geommetrical
>centre of the country) each have a distinct 'music'. The Mesopotamic accent
>I cannot describe it or imitate it. The Cordobes accent is characterized by
>lengthening some vowels (mostly the ones right before the main stress, I
>think) and adding a rising intonation.

Even if I'm not familiariced with Rioplatence dialect, I could guess with
some chances (not much) who is an Argentinan and who an Uruguayian, due to
the tonal differences.

About the Caribean dialect, is related with Canarian and Andalucian, and
spoken in Venezuela, Northen Colombia, Central-America, Cuba, Republica
Dominicana and Puerto Rico.  Among them Puertorriquean /'pwel.to.ri'ke.No/
(N for palatal nasal) is the most particular, mixing syllabe-final liquids
from standard Spanish.  Venezuelian differences are more tonal.  All the
others sound very simmilar to me, and some times vocabulary helps (if a
Caribean is talking about a "guagua" I would guess is a Cuban talking about
a bus, with an Andean dialect woud be someone talking about a child).

With Andean dialects I mean Chilenean, Peruan, and Ecuadorian, mainly,
including Colombian _pastuso_ with Ecuadorian.  Those are the ones I can
recognize, and are all influenced by Quechua.

Besides vocabulary, most differences between Spanish dialects are
pronunciation of <y>/<ll>: /j/ and /L/ in castillian, /j/ and /Z/ in
_paisa_, /S/ or /Z/ in Rioplatence and /j/ in all other dialects; and
<s>/<z> postalveolar /s/ and /T/ in Castillian, alveolar /s/ in Andalucian
all (latin)American dialects; <j> and <rr>.  Syllabe-final consonants, like
aspiration of silabiants ([s] -> [h] shift) change ([r] <-> [l] in
Puertorriquean) or droping. Tonal differences and prosody. And use of
addressing.

Most (all?) American dialects use "ustedes"/"les" for second person plural,
and "vosotros"/"os" is only used in liturgy.  I guess those who learn
Spanish as second language, were told "tu' " is the informal addressing and
"usted" the formal one.

Rioplatence, Chilenean basilect, _valluno_ (from Cali), _paisa_ and some
Central Americans dialects uses "vos" for informal addressing.  Present
indicative and imperative of "vos" is similar to "vosotros" simplifying
finals ("vosotros come'is", "vos come's"; "comed", "come' ") (based on
_valluno_).

In Cundinamarca (central Colombia), "usted" is used for both formal and
informal addressing.  "yo a usted la amo"  would say a Cundinamarca farmer
to his wife.

Tradicional Bogota dialect is called _cachaco_, but after a great population
grow due to inmigration, this tradicional dialect is not very common
nowadays.  Most of us, _cachacos_ or not, use a specially trilled /rr/ which
gave us the nickname of _rolos_.

In my dialect, which is not _cachaco_ but it is still _bogotano_, "tu' " is
seldom use between men, but is very common for both formal and informal
speech between man and woman or between women.  I still use "usted" for
addressing an older woman, and had no problem using "tu' " with little boys.

And, of course, vocabulary is an important part of dialects.

Some words I remember, for children and blonds (standard Spanish, meaning
what we all can understand, at least pasivelly: nin~os and rubios)

Child:
Bogota: chino
Other Colombia: pelado /pe'la.o/
Peru, Chile and _pastuso_: guagua

Blond:
Colombia: mono
Venezuela: catire
Mexico: gu:ero /'gwe.ro/

_____
  Carlos Eugenio Thompson Pinzsn
  http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/9028/