Language 195THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE of Chile is Spanish, the language
brought by the conquistadors several hundred years ago.
Despite the time and distance, Spanish spoken in Latin
America is remarkably similar to the Spanish spoken
in Spain. There are many more pronunciation and
vocabulary differences between the English spoken in
the US and England. As a result, all Spanish speakers can
communicate with one another quite easily.
Having said that, the Chilean accent is one of the most
difficult accents to understand for students of Spanish.
In fact, many Chileans readily admit that theirs is not
the prettiest Spanish. Often it sounds like the speaker
is mumbling as letters and
sounds are dropped and words
are mashed together. Add to
this the words borrowed from
the indigenous peoples and
the slang that Chileans love
to use and learning to speak
Spanish in Chile can become
quite trying. But, bear with it
and eventually you’ll be able to
understand what is being said to
you and you might even catch
yourself starting to speak as
the Chileans do.
Speaking Spanish
When Susan first arrived in
Chile, having studied Spanish
for over four years, she became
frustrated and dismayed when
she was unable to understand
the Chileans she was meeting.
She started to believe that all the
effort she had put into learning
Spanish had been an utter waste
of time. Only when she heard an
interview on the news with the
President of Mexico and was
able to understand him did she
realise that it was the Chilean
accent, not her, that had made
everything so difficult.