Venezuelan Spanish

Venezuelan Spanish is a dialect of the Spanish language spoken in Venezuela. It is related to the Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican dialects of Spanish.

Spanish was introduced in Venezuela by the conquistadors. Most of them were from Andalusia, and they brought their peculiar accent and usage of words. Others were from the Canary Islands, and because they were extremely isolated from mainland Spain, they had a distinctive accent, too. Portuguese and Italian immigrants came later.

The Spaniards additionally brought African slaves. This is the origin of expressions such as chévere ("excellent"), which comes from Yoruba ché egberi. Other non-Romance words came from Native languages, such as guayoyo (a type of coffee) and caraota ("kidney bean").

Dialectal features

• Venezuelan Spanish often shortens words, for example, changing padre "father" into pai (pronounced like English pie), and para "for" into pa. In addition, /d/ between vowels is often dropped (elision), as happens in Andalusian Spanish: helado "ice cream" becomes /eˈlao/.

• Another common feature is the aspiration of syllable-final -s, whereby adiós "goodbye" becomes [aˈðjɔh]).

• As in most American dialects, also, Venezuelan Spanish has yeísmo (a merger of /ʎ/ and /ʝ/), and seseo (traditional /θ/ merges with /s/). That is, calló "s/he became silent" and cayó "s/he fell" are homophones, and casa "house" is homophonous with caza "hunt".

• A characteristic common to the Venezuelan, Cuban, Costa Rican and Colombian dialects (also found in Aragonese Spanish) is the use of the diminutive -ico and -ica instead of the standard -ito and -ita. But this use is restricted to words with -t in the last syllable; for example, rata "rat" becomes ratica "little rat".

• The second-person singular informal pronoun is usually tú, as in most of Latin America and also in Spain. However, in the north-west states, such as Falcón, Zulia and some parts of Trujillo, it is common to find voseo, that is, the use of vos instead of tú. This phenomenon is present in many other Latin American dialects (notably Rioplatense), but Zulian voseo is diptongado, that is, the conjugation preserves the diphthongs of the historical vos conjugation that have been monophthongized in Rioplatense (which means the Zulian forms are the same as those used in Castilian for the second person plural vosotros): instead of tú eres, tú estás, Zulian says vos sois, vos estáis (compare with Castilian plural forms vosotros sois, vosotros estáis; and with Rioplatense forms vos sos, vos estás). The formal pronoun usted is only found in the states of Mérida and Táchira.

• The word vaina is used with a variety of meanings (such as "shame", "pity" and many others) and often as an interjection or a nonsensical filler.

• Venezuelan Spanish has a lot of Anglicisms.

Regional variations

There are several sub-dialects within Venezuelan Spanish.

• The Caracas dialect, spoken in the capital and also used in most forms of media in the country.
• The Zulian dialect in the north-west of the country, also called maracucho or marabino, which uses voseo, like in the Lara area.
• The Lara dialect, where voseo is also used, but where the verbal declension of Old Spanish is kept (vos coméis)
• The Andean dialect, in particular the state of Táchira near the Colombian border. It is characterized by a non-aspirated pronunciation of s and use of Usted instead of tu, even within informal contexts.
• The Margaritan dialect, spoken in Isla Margarita and in the north-east of continental Venezuela. The Margaritan dialect presents sometimes an interdental when pronouncing pre-vowel 's'.

Some examples of native Venezuelanisms (slang)

• achanta'o/achantá = A person of slow thought or slow reasoning. Someone that is lacking skills with the other gender.
• amapuche = A passionate demonstration of affection. A warm hug.
• arrecochinar = To gather people disorderly in a small space.
• arrocear = To turn up at a party without being invited.
• arepa = The most beloved corn cake of Venezuela.
• bachaco = leafcutter ant. (Alt.) a mulatto with red hair.
• bajarse de la mula = To pay for something. To be demanded for money. To be robbed. Literally: to get down of a mule.
• bala fría = Junk food. A quick snack. Literally: a cold bullet.
• balurdo = An awkward or ridiculous person.
• bochinche = A gathering or lively reunion.
• bolo(s) = A bolívar. One unit of the Venezuelan's currency, a Venezuelan bolívar.
• bonche = A party.
• bucear = To skin dive. (Alt.) To discretely admire the physical attributes of an individual.
• bululú = A fuss. synonymous to "bochinche"
• burda = Superlative. Very much.
• cambur = Banana. (Alt.) a well remunerated public position.
• cachapa = A sweet corn pancake.
• caraotas = Black beans.
• catire(a) = Blond person. (Alt.) A beer.
• chamo(a) = Boy/girl. With suffix -ito : a kid.
• chisme = Gossip.
• chévere! = An exclamation of approval. Cool!. (supposed derivation from Yoruba ché egberi).
• chimbo(a) = Of low quality.
• chivo = Goat. (alt.) someone of a high hierarchy in an organization.
• choro = Thief.
• corotos = Stuff, belongings.
• criollo = Local, native of Venezuela.
• cuatro = Typical instrument shaped as a small guitar with four strings. Essential for native music arrangements.
• filo = Hunger.
• franela = T-shirt.
• gringo = A person from the United States.
• gringolandia = The United States ("gringo-land").
• guáramo = Iron will. Courage.
• güasa = To make fun of something/someone.
• guayabo = To be romantically desilusioned. "To have the Blues".
• guayoyo = Black coffee prepared in such fashion that is not too strong. Excellent after meals.
• musiú = Foreigner. A native from non-hispanic countries (it's believed to have come from a bastardization of the french word Monsieur).
• nota = Note (Alt.) Something nice, pleasant.
• palo = Stick (Alt.) Alcoholic beverage (¡Tómate un palito, pue!: "have a [little] drink!")
• pana = A dear, close friend. A pal.
• papear = To eat.
• pasapalos = Snacks. Hors d'ouvres.
• peaje = Toll.
• perico = Parakeet. (Alt.) Venezuelan-style scrambled eggs. (Alt.) Cocaine
• peroles = see corotos.
• ratón = Mouse (Alt.) Hung over (Tengo ratón.: "I'm hung over")
• rumba = A party.
• santamaría = Rollup metal fence that covers the front part of a store when closed.
• sifrino = Yuppie. A wealthy uppish person.
• tequeño = A deep fried flour roll filled with cheese. Very common as a snack.
• vaina = Any inanimate object.
• yesquero = A lighter.
• zanahoria = Carrot (Alt.) Someone that zeals greatly for its own health. A vegetarian.
• zancudo = mosquito.
• zumba'o = crazy, nutty.

See also

• Spanish dialects and varieties

Reference

• Español venezolano, Español maracucho and Voseo in the Spanish Wikipedia.

External links

• Template:Es icon Venezuelan Slang
• Template:En icon Venezuelan Language school