Why do Chileans have such a thick Spanish accent?
Item
Title
Why do Chileans have such a thick Spanish accent?
issuer
Quora
list of contributors
Estanislao Deloserrata
content
Most chilenos don’t have a “thick Spanish accent” unless they’ve lived in Spain. Many, however, have a thick chileno accent.
Chilean speech is typically (but not universally) characterised by trying to speak 4000 syllables per second without opening your mouth very much, and then attempting to make the final sounds of word disappear. In English, this is sometimes called “mumbling.”
Outsiders may find a great deal of spoken chilensis to be other than a Spanish they can deal with. For example, many people insert such terms as huevón and cachai into every fourth word in a phrase, then end that phrase with po or pu though it must be understood that these are not scatological references. Add to that nonstandard usage such as ¿tenís…..? and estoy raja and real Spanish-speakers often have to question exactly WTF is going on. When the shop-girl asks for your RUT it sounds like she is asking about your root, but you must understand that she is probably not trying to get into your pants but rather, is asking for your tax-ID number on a credit-card document.
Chilean speech is typically (but not universally) characterised by trying to speak 4000 syllables per second without opening your mouth very much, and then attempting to make the final sounds of word disappear. In English, this is sometimes called “mumbling.”
Outsiders may find a great deal of spoken chilensis to be other than a Spanish they can deal with. For example, many people insert such terms as huevón and cachai into every fourth word in a phrase, then end that phrase with po or pu though it must be understood that these are not scatological references. Add to that nonstandard usage such as ¿tenís…..? and estoy raja and real Spanish-speakers often have to question exactly WTF is going on. When the shop-girl asks for your RUT it sounds like she is asking about your root, but you must understand that she is probably not trying to get into your pants but rather, is asking for your tax-ID number on a credit-card document.
Language
English
Date Accepted
12/27/19