Language
The overwhelming majority, including those of recent immigrant background, speak Spanish (in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay) or Portuguese in the case of Brazil. The Spanish-speaking countries of the Southern Cone are divided into three main dialects:
- Paraguayan Spanish, which is highly influenced by the Guarani language that is spoken alongside Rioplatense Spanish;
- Rioplatense Spanish, spoken in Argentina and Uruguay, where the accent and daily language is heavily influenced by the Italian of 19th-20th century immigrants; and
- Chilean Spanish.
These dialects share common traits, such as a number of Lunfardo and Quechua words. Other minor languages and dialects includes Portuñol, a hybrid between Uruguayan Rioplatense and Portuguese, Cuyano, originally a variant of Chilean Spanish now infused with Rioplantense.
Read more about this topic: Southern Cone
Famous quotes containing the word language:
“One who speaks a foreign language just a little takes more pleasure in it than one who speaks it well. Enjoyment belongs to those who know things halfway.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“After all, when you come right down to it, how many people speak the same language even when they speak the same language?”
—Russell Hoban (b. 1925)
“A president, however, must stand somewhat apart, as all great presidents have known instinctively. Then the language which has the power to survive its own utterance is the most likely to move those to whom it is immediately spoken.”
—J.R. Pole (b. 1922)