Idioms and Pronunciation

Idioms and Pronunciation
Argentina has several Spanish words and expressions that are different from what you
might hear in other countries. For example, in Argentina and some other countries like
Uruguay, Honduras, and El Salvador vos is used instead of tú. So, instead of saying
“¿Cómo estás tú?” you would say “¿Cómo estás vos?” Many times the
pronunciation and even spelling will change on the verb conjugation when you use vos.
“¿Qué haces?” would become “¿Qué hacés?” Also, Argentina’s slang is called
lunfardo. Because of the large Italian influence, many of Argentina’s lunfardo are
Italian words, such as the use of the word gambas for legs.
You’ll definitely notice that Argentines pronounce certain sounds and letters very
differently.
For example:
In Mexico you may hear
In Argentina you will hear
Yo me llamo Luis.
Yo me llamo Luis.
Can you hear the difference? The y’s and the double l’s are not pronounced like in
Mexico. They are closer to the English sound “sh.”
Let’s take a closer look now at some words or phrases that you may hear a lot in
Argentina.
Che
hey you, dude
There is really no translation for che and it’s basically used in the same way that the
word tío may be used in Spain. It’s basically a filler word, or is used to attract
someone’s attention or talk about anyone.
For example:
Victoria: Hola, che, ¿cómo estás?
Facundo: Bien. Che, decíme, ¿tenés la hora?
Victoria: Sí, son las dos.
Facundo: Gracias.
Macanudo
good, nice
When you agree with a plan, you could say this word.
Victoria: ¿Querés ir a cenar?
Facundo: Macanudo.
Also, you can use this word to describe a person that you like… to say that they are
good, nice, or simply pleasant. Victoria es muy macanuda.
¡A la marosca!
oh no!
This expression is used with trouble or complications of any sort.
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Idioms and Pronunciation
Profesora: Clase, hoy vamos a tener un examen sorpresa.
Facundo: ¡A la marosca!
¡Qué bárbaro!
cool, great- You could also use this phrase
sarcastically.
You might say this when something cool is happening, or when something bad happens
to express disbelief. The intonation will change accordingly.
Victoria: Hoy no tenemos clase de matemáticas.
Facundo: ¡Qué bárbaro!
Hacerse bolsa
to get really hurt (literally to turn oneself into a bag)
Situation: suppose you are skateboarding and you try a new trick, but you trip and fall.
You get a few scrapes and bruises. You tell everyone me hice bolsa con la patineta (I
got hurt while skateboarding) to explain what happened.
Idioms and Pronunciation
© 2012 Middlebury Interactive Languages.
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