For this week's post, I wanted to share with you this very interesting video that depicts (in a very hilarious way) Chilean culture and language , under the eyes of our Latin American neighbours .What would happen if Chile was invited to a kind of group therapy with other countries? The following video shows some of the Chilean culture features that maybe are a little bit annoying for others to understand, but somehow determine our language as well. "Chilean Intervention" deals with many of our characteristics as a country: we speak terribly fast,we have a very changeable weather, we experience earthquakes almost everyday and we are absolutely convinced that we are the inventors of Pisco ( a very popular alcoholic drink) which is a no ending debate with our Peruvian brothers.
I firmly believe that the way we speak , has a tremendous impact on how others see us and the image we project as speakers. In her article, Amy Tan talked about how people perceived her mother based on her level English.The same phenomenon can be seen in how we speak our own language .Chile is a paradigma, in the sense that from all the Spanish speaking countries, we are considered the most difficult to understand
What ar your perceptions about Chilean culture and especially its language?
Does this video show some of your perceptions about Chile?
Do you have perceptions of your own that I could confirm or debunk?
That was a fun video! I personally do not know much about Chilean Spanish or Spanish in general unfortunately. One of my good friends is Mexican so the only perspective I've really been granted about regional differences in Spanish is from him. He lives in Northern Mexico, so he has mostly talked to me about differences between Northern and Southern Mexican culture and language. I do however remember a few years ago we were talking about what dialect of Spanish is the hardest to understand for speakers and he told me it was Argentinian -- particularly due to its differing vocabularies. Does Chilean Spanish utilize a lot of different vocabulary as well? What are some of the distinctive hallmarks of Chilean language?
I have studied French for many years but have always wanted to learn Spanish as well -- I have noticed a fair amount of overlap between the two languages.
Hey kylar! Aswering your question, we have looots of different words that you wont find in any other country apart from Chile. In this video, other latinos try to find out what some popular chilean slangs mean. This is really funny! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqLq7_G0D4c
Like Kaylar, I'm not very familiar with Spanish, except for some overlap with the French language that my teacher pointed out when I was learning French in high school. I think from this video, we can see that there is a good portion of tension within Latin America, some of which is linguistically based. Just as in English, it appears that judgment is cast within the Spanish-speaking community for speaking differently. I think it's interesting that even other Spanish speakers struggle with how fast Chileans speak. I know that when I was learning French, it was hard for me to understand someone who spoke it at a fast pace. However, this was simply because I had just a basic familiarity with the language, and I had an easier time breaking it down when it was spoken to me slowly. However, if someone were to speak English to me very quickly, I would not have an issue, so I think it's interesting that even other Spanish speakers become frustrated with Chilean pacing.
HEy Kate! I'm glad you could find something interesting about this post. And it is true.That is why it was so dofficult for me to speak chilean spanish when I was in th US, because it is so difficult to understand, even for othe Spanish speakers!! Being in this class has helped me a lot to be aware of my culture and the distinctive features of chilean spanish and one of them is that we speak really fast, and that we have looots of slangas that only make sense in the Chilean culture.For instance, every latino is very familiar with Mexican slangs( i use lots of them in my every day languaje!) but unfortunately we can't say the same about Chile :(
The video was cool! It reminded me of a sketch comedy video about the United States called "International Relations." In this video, they make fun of how the US, UK, France, Canada, and other countries have gotten along in the past. Anyway, just a side connection!
Until I met you, I didn't have any personal interactions with someone from Chile. But at work, there is a woman from Puerto Rico and another from the Dominican. Both of them speak extremely fast, and it is very difficult for me to understand their Spanish. On the other hand, when I went to Mexico, it was much easier for me to follow conversations because they spoke Spanish at a slower rate.
How does Chilean Spanish compare to the Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico and the Dominican?
Also, in the video there was a lot of Spanglish. Do you see this a lot in the media? And are most people bilingual where you live?
That was a really fun video to watch! I found it very ironic that at the beginning of the video they thought that he spoke very quickly. I have also heard that people think English speakers speak at a very fast rate. I took three years of Spanish and initially thought my teacher spoke way to fast, but after learning more of the language and how it was spoken it was easier to comprehend and wasn't as fast as I initially thought.
That was a fun video! I personally do not know much about Chilean Spanish or Spanish in general unfortunately. One of my good friends is Mexican so the only perspective I've really been granted about regional differences in Spanish is from him. He lives in Northern Mexico, so he has mostly talked to me about differences between Northern and Southern Mexican culture and language. I do however remember a few years ago we were talking about what dialect of Spanish is the hardest to understand for speakers and he told me it was Argentinian -- particularly due to its differing vocabularies. Does Chilean Spanish utilize a lot of different vocabulary as well? What are some of the distinctive hallmarks of Chilean language?
ReplyDeleteI have studied French for many years but have always wanted to learn Spanish as well -- I have noticed a fair amount of overlap between the two languages.
Hey kylar! Aswering your question, we have looots of different words that you wont find in any other country apart from Chile.
DeleteIn this video, other latinos try to find out what some popular chilean slangs mean. This is really funny!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqLq7_G0D4c
Like Kaylar, I'm not very familiar with Spanish, except for some overlap with the French language that my teacher pointed out when I was learning French in high school. I think from this video, we can see that there is a good portion of tension within Latin America, some of which is linguistically based. Just as in English, it appears that judgment is cast within the Spanish-speaking community for speaking differently. I think it's interesting that even other Spanish speakers struggle with how fast Chileans speak. I know that when I was learning French, it was hard for me to understand someone who spoke it at a fast pace. However, this was simply because I had just a basic familiarity with the language, and I had an easier time breaking it down when it was spoken to me slowly. However, if someone were to speak English to me very quickly, I would not have an issue, so I think it's interesting that even other Spanish speakers become frustrated with Chilean pacing.
ReplyDeleteHEy Kate! I'm glad you could find something interesting about this post. And it is true.That is why it was so dofficult for me to speak chilean spanish when I was in th US, because it is so difficult to understand, even for othe Spanish speakers!! Being in this class has helped me a lot to be aware of my culture and the distinctive features of chilean spanish and one of them is that we speak really fast, and that we have looots of slangas that only make sense in the Chilean culture.For instance, every latino is very familiar with Mexican slangs( i use lots of them in my every day languaje!) but unfortunately we can't say the same about Chile :(
DeleteThe video was cool! It reminded me of a sketch comedy video about the United States called "International Relations." In this video, they make fun of how the US, UK, France, Canada, and other countries have gotten along in the past. Anyway, just a side connection!
ReplyDeleteUntil I met you, I didn't have any personal interactions with someone from Chile. But at work, there is a woman from Puerto Rico and another from the Dominican. Both of them speak extremely fast, and it is very difficult for me to understand their Spanish. On the other hand, when I went to Mexico, it was much easier for me to follow conversations because they spoke Spanish at a slower rate.
How does Chilean Spanish compare to the Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico and the Dominican?
Also, in the video there was a lot of Spanglish. Do you see this a lot in the media? And are most people bilingual where you live?
That was a really fun video to watch! I found it very ironic that at the beginning of the video they thought that he spoke very quickly. I have also heard that people think English speakers speak at a very fast rate. I took three years of Spanish and initially thought my teacher spoke way to fast, but after learning more of the language and how it was spoken it was easier to comprehend and wasn't as fast as I initially thought.
ReplyDeleteThat was a fun post, Yessie--and we need that these days! Hope you are doing well "down there". Come back as soon as restrictions loosen up again!
ReplyDelete