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Spanish language
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Chilean Spanish (Spanish: Español chileno or Castellano chileno) is the variety of Spanish spoken in most of Chile. Though still entirely mutually intelligible with standard Spanish, Chilean Spanish has distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and slang usage.

Contents 1 Variation and accents 2 Phonetics and phonology 3 Pronouns 4 Vocabulary 4.1 Mapudungun loanwords 4.2 Quechua loanwords 5 Example 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links

In Chile, there are significant differences between the Spanish spoken in the Northern, Central and Southern areas of the country, though overall the speech of the country is remarkably homogeneous, considering its geographical extent.^[1]

There are a number of phonetic features common to most Chilean accents, though none of them individually are unique to Chilean Spanish. Rather, it is the particular combination of features that sets Chilean Spanish apart from other regional Spanish dialects. These features include:^[2][3]

• Yeismo, the merger of the phonemes /ʎ/, spelled , with /ʝ/, spelled . Thus, cayó ("fell") and calló ("fell silent") are homophones, both pronounced [kaˈʝo]. In dialects which lack yeísmo, the two words would be pronounced respectively [kaˈʝo] and [kaˈʎo]. Though yeísmo is common to most of Latin America, it is not the case that this feature should be considered a Latin American one, because both in Spain and Latin America there are regions with and without "yeísmo". Even in Chile, there are some people, mostly in rural zones, that are not "yeístas".
• Word- and syllable-final /s/ is aspirated to [h] or lost entirely, another feature common to much of Latin America. Whether final /s/ aspirates or is elided depends on a number of social, regional, and phonological factors, but in general aspiration is more common, especially when preceding a consonant. Complete elision is most commonly found word-finally, but is somewhat less common overall in formal or upper-class speech. Thus, los chilenos ("the Chileans") becomes [lɔh ʃiˈleːnɔ].
• The velar consonants /k/, /ɡ/, and /x/ are fronted or palatalized before front vowels. Thus, queso ("cheese"), guía ("guide"), and jinete ("rider/horseman") become respectively [ˈk̟ʲeːso], [ˈɡ̟ʲia], and [x̟ʲiˈn̪eːt̪e].
• The voiceless postalveolar affricate /ʧ/ is pronounced as a fricative [ʃ] (so Chile becomes [ˈʃiːle]). Another variant is a fronted, almost alveolar affricate, [ʦ].
• A number of processes apply to the rhotics /r/ and /ɾ/. Word-finally, especially in verb infinitives, /ɾ/ is frequently lost (e.g., contar, "to tell", becomes [kon̪ˈt̪aː]) or assibilated to a voiceless fricative or approximant similar to [ʂ] or [ɹ̥] (e.g., [kon̪ˈt̪aːɹ̥]). A similar assibilation occurs with the trill /r/ (e.g., rosa, "rose", becomes [ˈɹoːsa]). The sequence /tɾ/ is also commonly assibilated to a voiceless apical postalveolar affricate, [tɹ̥] or [tʂ].
• Between vowels and word-finally, /d/ commonly elides (a process common throughout the Spanish-speaking world), so that contado ("told") and ciudad ("city") become respectively [kon̪ˈt̪aːo] and [sjuˈð̞aː].
• The sequences [h]+[β̞] and [h]+[ɰ] (where the [h]s are the results of /s/-weakening) are devoiced to, respectively, [f] and [x]. Thus, resbaló ("slid") and rasgó ("tore") become respectively [ɹɛfaˈloː] and [ɹaˈxoː].
• The sequence /ɾn/ is assimilated to [nn]. Thus, jornada ("workday") becomes [xonˈn̪aː].
• In the sequence /bl/, the /b/ is vocalized to [u]. Thus, inolvidable ("unforgettable") becomes [in̪olˈβ̞jaːule].
• Lipski also mentions as distinctive the devoicing of word-final, unstressed vowels.

Chileans variably use the voseo and tuteo forms in the second person familiar, as in many Latin American countries. Voseo consists of using the pronoun vos (in Chile, [boh] or [bo]) in place of tú for the second person singular familiar/informal, or the use of corresponding verb forms ((tú) tienes vs. (vos) tenís, (tú) hablas vs. (vos) hablái, etc.). It is common in Chile, although not as widespread, or as accepted, as in neighboring Argentina. Frequently, the pronoun tú is used with the vos forms of verbs: tú tenís, tú hablái, etc.^[4]

Chilean Spanish has a great deal of distinctive slang and vocabulary. Some examples of distinctive Chilean slang include chiches (money), gallo/a (guy/gal), fome (boring), pelambre (gossip), and poto (buttocks).^[5] In addition, several of words in Chilean Spanish are loaned from neighboring Amerindian languages:

The Mapudungun language has left a relatively small number of words in Chilean Spanish, given its relatively large geographic expanse. Most Mapudungun loands are names for plants and animals for example:^[6]

• Copihue - Chile's national flower
• Coypo, a species of rodent.^[7]
• Culpeo - a fox species
• Huala
• Maqui
• Luma - a genus of the Myrtaceae plant family
• Yeco

The Quechua language is probably the Amerindian language that has given Chilean Spanish the largest number of loan words. For example, the names of many vegetables in Chilean Spanish are derived from Quechuan names, rather than from Nahuatl as in Standard Spanish. Some of the words of Quechuan origin include:^[6]

• Callampa - "mushroom" (seta in Standard Spanish)
• Chasca -
• Choclo - "maize/corn" (maíz in Standard Spanish)
• Chúcaro -
• Chupalla - a straw hat used by huasos
• Chupe
• Cocaví
• Guagua - "baby" (bebé in Standard Spanish)
• Guanaco
• Huacho - an orphan or illegitimate son
• Humita
• Locro
• Mate
• Mote
• Palta "avocado" (aguacate in Standard Spanish)
• Poroto "bean" (frijol in Standard Spanish)
• Yapa
• Zapallo - "squash/pumpkin" (calabaza in Standard Spanish)

An example of a text in normal, relaxed pronunciation in Chilean Spanish, from [1]:

Text	¡Cómo corrieron los chilenos Salas y Zamorano! Pelearon como leones. Chocaron una y otra vez contra la defensa azul. ¡Qué gentío llenaba el estadio! En verdad fue una jornada inolvidable. Ajustado cabezazo de Salas y ¡gol! Al celebrar [Salas] resbaló y se rasgó la camiseta.
Pronunciation ("Standard", careful, Latin American Spanish)	[ˈkomo koˈrjeɾon̪ los ʧiˈlen̪os ˈsalas i samoˈɾan̪o | peleˈaɾoŋ komo leˈon̪es | ʧoˈkaɾon̪ ˈun̪a j‿ˈot̪ɾa ˈβ̞es ˈkon̪t̪ɾa la ð̞eˈfens aˈsul | ˈke xen̪ˈt̪io ʝeˈn̪aβ̞a‿el esˈt̪að̞jo | ʔem beɾˈð̞að̞ ˈfwe‿un̪a xoɾˈn̪að̞a‿in̪olβ̞iˈð̞aβ̞le | ʔaxusˈt̪að̞o kaβ̞eˈsaso ð̞e ˈsalas i ˈɰol | ʔal seleˈβ̞ɾaɾ resβ̞aˈlo‿i se rasˈɰo la kamiˈset̪a]
Pronunciation (Chilean Spanish)	[ˈkoːmo kɔˈɹjeːɾon̪ lɔh ʃiˈleːn̪o ˈsaːla‿i samoˈɾaːn̪o | peˈljaːɾoŋ komo ˈljoːn̪ɛh | ʃoˈkaːɾon̪ ˈuːn̪a j‿ot̪ɹ̻a ˈβ̞eːh kon̪t̪ɹ̻a la‿eˈfeːns aˈsuːl | ˈk̟ʲeː x̟en̪ˈt̪iːo jeˈn̪aː‿el eˈʰt̪aːð̞e̝o | ʔem bɛɾˈð̞aː ˈfo̝eː‿un̪a xonˈn̪aː‿in̪olˈβ̞jaːule | ʔaxuˈʰt̪aːo kaeˈsaːso‿e ˈsaːla‿i ˈɰoːl | ʔal seleˈβ̞ɾaː ɹɛfaˈloː‿i se ɹaˈxoː la kamiˈseːt̪a]
Translation	"How those Chileans Salas and Zamorano ran! They fought like lions. They beat again and again against the blue defense. What a crowd filled the stadium! In truth it was an unforgettable day. A tight header from Salas and...goal! Celebrating, Salas slid and ripped his shirt."

• Chile
• Spanish language
• Spanish dialects and varieties

• Lipski, John M. (1994). Latin American Spanish. Essex, England: Longman Group Limited.

• Que Wea! - An interactive list with Chilean Spanish - American English vocabulary.
• (Spanish) Diccionario de Modismos Chilenos - Comprehensive "Dictionary of Chilean Terms".
• Chile 14 Chilean Slang - list of popular Chilean slang terms.
• Pepe's Chile Chilean Slang - basic list of Chilean slang/unique colloquialisms.
• Contact Chile Chilean Spanish - short guide to Chilean Spanish.
• Elcastellano.org