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Colombian Spanish
The Colombian Spanish accent is the variation of Spanish language with an accent spoken in Colombia, which have some distinctive features in comparison to the Spanish spoken in Spain and in other countries of Latin America. The Caro y Cuervo Institute in Bogota is the institution in Colombia that promotes the good use of the Spanish language in Colombia.
Phonology
The pronunciation of "j" is centered in the pharynx, [], which is similar to the observed in the Southern Spain dialects.
The pronunciation of "ch" has a pronounced prepalatal articulation, like in "y," which is similar to Canary Islands Spanish.
There is no phonological difference between the pronunciation of "b" and "v", remaining only as an orthographic difference; exactly the same as in the rest of Spanish-speaking countries, where the pronunciation of 'v' as a labiodental consonant is just a hypercorrection, though rather widespread in some of those countries.
The occlusive consonants /b, d,g/ // ("b" or "v"), // ("d") and // ("g" or "gu") in the general Spanish have allophonic changes when pronounced after other consonant becoming fricatives. This phenomenon does not happen in Colombian Spanish, remaining oclusives. For example: the donkey (El burro) is pronounced [] in Colombia, but [] in the rest of America and Spain. A notable exception is the Costeno people of the Colombian coastline.
Personal pronouns
The plural second person pronoun "vosotros" and its correspondent verbal forms (-ais/-eis), which is very common in Spain, is considered archaic in Colombia and the rest of America, and is restricted to ecclesiastic language.
The singular second person pronoun "tu" is widely used in informal talk, while "usted" is used in the formal talk. In Bogota, the use of the "tu" is very restricted. Interestingly, even when talking with very close relatives such as parents, siblings or spouses, "usted" is used.
Particular forms of pronouns are "vos" (similar to the Argentinian) used in the Paisa region and "sumerce" (literally "your mercy") used in Cundinamarca and Boyaca
Diminutives
In Colombian Spanish, the diminutive forms -ico, -ica are often used in words with a penultimate "t": gato (cat) --> gatico (small cat). This is often seen in Cuban and Costa Rican Spanish.
The diminutive form is also applied to substantives, adjectives, and verbs: corriendo (running) --> corriendito; adverbs: ahora (now) --> ahorita; and prepositions: junto (next to) --> juntico.
Redundant diminutives: when diminutives are applied both to the substantive and the adjective in the same sentence: el chocolate caliente (the hot cocoa) --> el chocolatico calientico.
The emphatic diminutives: when two diminutive forms are applied in the same word, it gives more emphasis to the sentence: For example, with ahora (now) simple diminutive= ahorita. double diminutive= ahoritica. vayase ahora mismo (get out right now) --> vayase ahoritica mismo (get out right now- emphatically).
Bien (good) simple diminutive= buenecito. double diminutive= buenecitico. El carro esta bueno (The car is in good conditions) --> el carro esta buenecitico (the car is in very good conditions).
Common expressions
Paradoxically, in intra-family speech it is common to address the husband as mijo (short for mi hijo= my son), and the wife as mija" (my daughter); while the sons are called papito (daddy) and the daughters are called mamita (mommy).
Sometimes, sentences are started with an out of place preposition que (that), which denotes a hesitant sense to the sentence. For example: que era para decirte ([that] I try to say you). que gracias ([that] thank you).
Slang words
Slang talk is particularly frequent in the paisa region and Medellin subculture, where it is named "Parlache". Nevertheless, usage of slang expressions have been spread outside of their original arenas to become commonly understood countrywide. While some words eventually lose their status as slang, others continue to be considered as such by most speakers. In spite of this, the process tends to lead the original users to replace the words with other, less-recognized terms to maintain group identity. Although many scholars describe this kind of language as unclassy or distasteful, it becomes a linguistic
phenomenon with clear sociologic importance.
During the 1980s and 1990s many of this words were popularized by the Colombian media, such as Alonso Salazar's book, No nacimos pasemilla, Victor Gavirias movie, Rodrigo D. No Futuro and many other cultural expressions including soap operas, magazines, news covering, jokes and so.
Some slang terms with literal translation and meaning are:
plata (silver): money
plomo (lead): bullets
abrirse (to open): to leave
armar videos (to do videos): to lie
caliente (hot): dangerous
camello (camel): job
chino (chinese): child
parce or parcero: friend
perder el ano (to get an F (grade)): to die
tombo: policeman
ligar (to tie): to give money. to bribe
sisas: yes
nonas: no
vientos o maletas? (winds or suitcases): how are you?
caspa (dandruff): a badly-behaved person
paila (saucepan): bad luck
pilas (batteries): wake up
sapo (toad): informant, snitch
chimba: excellent
levantar (to pick up): battery (crime)
gonorrea (gonorrhea): evil, loathsome
rata (rat): robber
mamola: no way
chevere: cool
Colombian Spanish dialects
Some of the most frequent regional dialects in the Colombian Spanish are:
Paisa Dialect
(see Paisa region)
Paisa dialect is spoken in the Colombian coffee production areas, such as Antioquia, Quindio, Risaralda and Caldas. Paisa people speak Spanish with a distinct Castilian sounding "S". This dialect use "vos" for the second singular subject.
Rolo Dialect
The Rolo dialect of Bogota, also called cachaco ("educated" or "refined") and the related Cundiboyacense dialect, are spoken in the higlands of Altiplano Cundiboyacense. Some people from Bogota pride themselves saying that it's the purest form of spanish, due to the supposed lack of intonation when it is spoken.
Caribbean Dialect
The Caribbean or Coastal (costeno) dialect is spoken by the Caribbean people in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. It is characterized by the suppression of the terminal /s/, and the /s/ followed by consonant, for example: cohta instead of costa.
Valley Dialect
This dialect is spoken in the valley of the Cauca River between the Occidental and Central cordilleras.
Andean Dialect
The andean or pastuso dialect is spoken in the southwest area of the country.
References
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/03/25/index.php?section=cultura&article=a05n1cul
http://idioma-espanol-en-colombia.boonic.com
http://www.babylon.com/definition/Idioma_espanol_en_Colombia/Spanish
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Colombian Spanish
