Porteño of the Week

Eddy Mendoza Sculpture/Carpenter Age: 45 San Martín (province of Buenos Aires) Q: How long have you been here and where are you originally from? I’ve been here 18 years. I’m from Trujillo, La Libertad, Peru. • How did you end up in Buenos Aires? I came as a tourist and I ended up staying because [...]

Lunfardo

Lunfardo is a jargon of about 5,000 words that emerged among the lower classes in Buenos Aires in the second half of the 19th century. It first grew out of cocoliche, a pidgin used by immigrants during the first wave of immigration to Argentina. The Argentine Creole was born out of a need to communicate [...]

Argentinismos

  The most Argentine word in existence is che, a filler word that was maladapted from the native Mapuche language and has since become widely used across the country. It’s commonly used to call someone’s attention, express surprise or emphasize a statement; it oddly seems to resonate with the English word ‘hey!’ Although used to [...]

¿Spanish, Castellano, Lunfardo? — Intricacies of the Argentine Idiom

Those who come to Argentina to learn the language will find that its interpretation of the Spanish language is every bit as unique as the country itself. Visitors quickly find out that those textbook Spanish classes can serve as a comfort but not a compass when trying to navigate this country’s Italian-flavored version of Spanish. Argentines [...]