Spanish language in South America

The Spanish language in South America varies within the different countries and regions of the continent. The term "South American 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''español sudamericano'' or ''español suramericano'') is sometimes used as a broad name for the dialects of Spanish spoken on the continent, but such a term is only ''geographical'' and has little or no ''linguistic'' relevance. Spanish is the most widely spoken language of the South American continent, followed closely by Portuguese. The diverse Spanish dialects of the continent have no unifying feature to set them apart from non-South American varieties. The Spanish of the Andean highlands is historically conservative, having some traits in common with the Spanish of central

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, while varieties spoken in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

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 ...

share some phonological innovations with the Spanish spoken on

Caribbean islands Most of the Caribbean countries are islands in the Caribbean Sea, with only a few in inland lakes. The largest islands include Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Some of the smaller islands are referred to as a ''rock'' or ''reef.'' ''I ...

. In some cases a single South American country—for example

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

—presents a broad spectrum of conservative and innovative dialects. * Amazonic Spanish (Mainly in Eastern Peru, also in nearby Ecuador and Southeast Colombia) * Andean Spanish (Mainly in highlands of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru; also in Southwest Colombia, Northern Chile and Northwest Argentina) *

Caribbean Spanish * Caribbean Spanish (, ) is the general name of the Spanish dialects spoken in the Caribbean region. The Spanish language was introduced to the Caribbean in 1492 with the voyages of Christopher Columbus. It resembles the Spanish spoken in the Ca ...

(Venezuela and the Caribbean coast of Colombia) *

Chilean Spanish Chilean Spanish ( or ) is any of several varieties of the Spanish language spoken in most of Chile. Chilean Spanish dialects have distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and slang usages that differ from those of Standard Spanish, with ...

Chilote Spanish Chilote is a dialect of Spanish language spoken on the southern Chilean islands of Chiloé Archipelago ( or simply, ''Chiloé''). It has distinct differences from standard Chilean Spanish in accent, pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary, especia ...

** Cuyo Spanish (A branch of Chilean Spanish spoken in Western Argentina and influenced by Rioplatense Spanish) *Varieties of

Colombian Spanish Colombian Spanish () is a grouping of the varieties of Spanish spoken in Colombia. The term is of more geographical than linguistic relevance, since the dialects spoken in the various regions of Colombia are quite diverse. The speech of the nor ...

* Equatorial Spanish (Pacific coast of Colombia, Ecuador and Northern Peru) *

Paraguayan Spanish Paraguayan Spanish () is the set of dialects of the Spanish language spoken in Paraguay. In addition, it influences the speech of the Argentine provinces of Misiones, Corrientes, Formosa, and, to a lesser extent, Chaco. Paraguayan Spanish ...

(Paraguay, Northeast Argentina and Eastern Bolivia) * Peruvian Coast Spanish *

Rioplatense Spanish Rioplatense Spanish ( , ), also known as Rioplatense Castilian, or River Plate Spanish, is a variety of SpanishAlvar, Manuel, "''Manual de dialectología hispánica. El español de América''", ("Handbook of Hispanic Dialectology. Spanish Lan ...

(Coastal

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

) {{Spanish variants by continent