Maracucho Spanish (also called maracaibero, marabino or zuliano) is a variety of Spanish generally spoken in

Zulia Zulia State (, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It is also one of t ...

in the northwest of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and in the west of Falcón ( Mauroa Municipality). Unlike other varieties from

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, Venezuelan Llanos or the Venezuelan Andean region, Maracucho is typically voseante. Preserves for this combination the shape of the second person plural familiar (''vosotros''), without

apocope In phonology, apocope () is the omission (elision) or loss of a sound or sounds at the end of a word. While it most commonly refers to the loss of a final vowel, it can also describe the deletion of final consonants or even entire syllables. ...

or syncope, which distinguishes it from Chilean and Rioplatense voseo, respectively. Maracucho is characterized by its use of many words and expressions that are different from Venezuelan Spanish and its markedly different accent from those of other regions of the country. In terms of pronunciation, it has much in common with Venezuelan and other Caribbean dialects, more obviously aspiration of and syllable-final /s/. An interesting fact is that the

demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...

s of

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

are due to the type of speech used by the people of

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. The Maracuchos are characterized, often by people in other states of Venezuela, for being foul-mouthed and vulgar, but these jugements differ by region. The Maracuchos are distinguished by their use of unique phrases in

and their use of colloquial language, some examples of which are: , , that indicate astonishment, to mean something big. Other expressions such as "" and "", for example "" and the "" when something seems surprising also to emphasize that if in the size, color, odor and other characteristics of what they refer to, example; "" or "" usually it is used by the maracaiberos as these expressions are seen as rude or vulgar.

References

Sources

* Spanish dialects of South America Culture of Venezuela Languages of Venezuela Zulia Venezuelan Spanish {{Spanish-lang-stub