Uruguayan Spanish (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Español uruguayo'' or ''castellano uruguayo'') is the variety of

spoken in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and by the Uruguayan diaspora. Uruguayan Spanish is recognized as a variety of

Rioplatense Spanish Rioplatense Spanish (), also known as Rioplatense Castilian, is a variety of Spanish spoken mainly in and around the Río de la Plata Basin of Argentina and Uruguay. It is also referred to as River Plate Spanish or Argentine Spanish. It is ...

Influences

* There is strong influence of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and its dialects, particularly Genovese, because of the presence of large Italian communities in the country (for example in Montevideo and

Paysandú Paysandú () is the capital of Paysandú Department in western Uruguay. Location The city is located on the banks of the Uruguay River, which forms the Argentina–Uruguay border, border with Argentina. It lies northwest of Montevideo via Rout ...

). The Uruguayan accent differs from the accents of Spain and other Spanish American countries, except for Argentina, due to Italian influence. There are many Italian words incorporated in the language (''nona'', ''cucha'', ''fainá'' (" farinata, chickpea flour crêpe"), ''chapar'', ''parlar'', ''festichola''
"house party"
, etc.), as well as words of Italian derivation (for example: ''mina'' derived from ''femmina'', or ''pibe'' ("child") from ''pivello''). * In the southeastern department of Rocha, as well as along the northern border with Brazil there is some influence of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, with Portuguese/Spanish

code-switching In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualis ...

known as Portuñol.

Tuteo and voseo

The variety of Spanish used in Montevideo and the whole southern region of the country exhibits use of the voseo form of address, with the pronoun ''vos'' instead of the ''tú'' form. In other areas of the country, ''tú'' is more commonly used than ''vos.'' In some places, ''tú'' is used, but with the conjugation corresponding to ''vos'', as in: ''tú tenés'', instead of ''tú tienes'' (

tuteo Some of the regional varieties of the Spanish language are quite divergent from one another, especially in pronunciation and vocabulary, and less so in grammar. While all Spanish dialects adhere to approximately the same written standard, ...

) or ''vos tenés'' (voseo). Tuteo is much more commonly used in Rocha and in some parts of Maldonado. The formal pronoun ''usted'' is used in very formal contexts, such as when speaking to government authorities.

Vocabulary

Below are vocabulary differences between Uruguay and other Spanish-speaking countries:

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Costa Rica,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. It shows how Spanish is different in three continents where there are Spanish-speaking countries (

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, North America, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

) and in different regions of those continents (

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, Caribbean, and Southern Cone).

and

Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (' ), also Portuguese of Brazil (', ) or South American Portuguese (') is the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil and the most influential form of Portuguese worldwide. It is spoken by almost all of ...

have also been influential in Uruguayan Spanish and are also included. While people in Uruguay and most of Argentina speak the dialect Rioplatense, there are some notable differences in vocabulary between the two countries, which are bolded.

References

Spanish dialects of South America Languages of Uruguay European-Uruguayan culture {{Uruguay-stub

Influences

Tuteo and voseo

Vocabulary

See also

References