Argentine Castellano, or better said, caste-SH-ano, is significantly different from all other forms of Castellano (which means the Spanish language).    If you have come here to learn Spanish, be aware that there are many differences, and you will be learning a Spanish that differs a lot from Spanish spoken in all other countries.  That being said, it is still the same language, so it is not a bad thing to learn it here.

There are two major differences in Argentine Castellano that distinguish it from the Castellano spoken in other countries.  These differences are the intonation, and the accent.

1- Intonation – the main reason the Argentine intonation is so different is because of the use of the Vos form.

Vos should not be confused with Vosotros.  In Argentina, when speaking using the 2nd person singular form, they use “Vos” instead of using “Tú” as is used in all other forms of castellano.  This Vos form is conjugated differently.
-  When using Vos, the stress comes on the last syllable of the verb, and for this reason, an accent has to be added.  Ex. Vos hablás – Tú hablas.  Vos cumplís – tú cumples.  Vos comés – tú comes.
-  The Vos form does not do the stem changes that the Tu form does  Ex.  Vos almorzás Tú almuerzas.  Vos querés – Tú quieres.  Vos pedís – Tú pides
**Important note – this difference only exists in the present.  The past, future, subjunctive, are all the same as the Tú form, although they still say Vos.  Ex. Vos fuiste

Commands - also change the intonation of Argentinian castellano.  A normal Tu (informal) command from castellano spoken in other countries has the stress on the 2nd to last syllable (assuming no direct or indirect object pronouns are used):  calla, manda, come, escribe.  In the Vos command form, similar to the present conjugation of verbs, the stress is on the last syllable: callá, mandá, comé, escribí.   Of course, most commands usually have a pronoun attached, so here are some comparison examples of how the commands change.

Other Countries    Argentina
mándamelo               mandámelo
ábrelo                        abrilo
cómelo                      comelo

The other thing to note with argentinian commands, is that they don´t have any irregular commands.   The ones that are irregular in other forms of castellano are regular in argentine.

Other Countries    Argentina
di                               decí
ven                             vení
haz                             hacé

Notice that with the Argentine command form, all you need to do is drop the r, and add an accent.  Really, it is easier than the tú commands.

The location of the stress of the vos form makes a big change in the intonation when speaking Spanish.  However, the intonation is also different here because of the countries Italian roots.  Remember, nearly half the population has Italian roots, and at one point, there were a large amount of Italian immigrants in Argentina.  If you´ve ever heard someone speak Italian, you know their intonation goes way up, and way down, various times in one sentence.  The argentines speak someone like that, way more so than Spanish speakers from other countries.

2- Accent – The Argentine accent is significantly different, namely the “shh” sound.  In Castellano, a “ll” o “y” make a “ye” sound.  This varies from country to country.  For example, in Columbia in is more of a “je” sound.  Here in Argentina, and more specifically Buenos Aires, it is a “sh” sound.  Hence, what you would pronounce “caste-YA-no” in Spain, here is pronounced “caste-SHa-no.”  The verb llegar in Spain is pronounced “Yay-gar” and here is pronounced “Shay-gar.”

So there you have it.  You now know why Argentine Spanish sounds so much different, and now you know how to speak proper Argentine Next step is to learn the Argentine slang and expressions!

Questions….comments?   Let me know!

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One difficult thing for English speakers to get used to when speaking Spanish is speaking formally, by using the “usted” form.  In English, you say “you” to everyone, because there is no distinction between formal and informal.  In Spanish, “you” can either be “vos” (remember that in Argentina, they don´t use “tú” they use vos) or “usted.”  When you want to speak to someone formally, to show them respect, you use “usted.”

The problem we English speakers have, is deciding WHEN you need to speak formally, because this is never perfectly clear – there is no “rule” that one can follow.  Do you speak formally to a taxi driver?   How about someone you meet who is older than you, but not a senior?   Your boss?  Your friend’s mom, even if you are now good friends?   How about the shopkeeper?  Yes, it can be very confusing, and to make matters worse, it works differently in all Spanish speaking countries.

Now for the good news – in Argentina, things tend to be informal, much more so than most other countries.  Their use of Spanish follows this same trend. In general, you are ok using the “vos” form in almost any situation.  It is fine to refer to people you don´t know by vos, people you meet randomly that are older, people in services such as taxi drivers, store clerks, hotels, etc.   Basically, you only need to use “usted” with seniors,   family members of your friends, and in professional business situations.   However, if you are ever unsure, then you are better off using usted!!

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