Venezuelan Spanish - Regional Variations

Regional Variations

There are several sub-dialects within Venezuelan Spanish.

• The Caracas dialect, spoken in the capital: is perceived and projected by the media to be the standard Spanish of Venezuela, with its variants generally related to the social classes found therein. It is mostly used in the capital, Caracas, and in other areas of the country such as Valencia.
• The Zulian dialect in the north-west of the country, also called maracucho or marabino, which uses voseo.
• The Lara dialect, where voseo is also used, but where the Old Spanish verbal declensions -ades, -edes, -odes gave -ais, -eis, and -ois ("vos cantáis", "vos coméis", "vos sois").
• The Andean dialect, in particular the state of Táchira near the Colombian border. It is characterized by a non-aspirated pronunciation of 's' and use of Usted instead of tú, even within informal contexts. Another variant, in the states of Mérida and Trujillo, still uses Usted instead of tú, but uses the aspirated pronunciation of the s.
• The Margaritan dialect, spoken in Isla Margarita and in the north-east of mainland Venezuela. The Margaritan dialect presents sometimes an interdental when pronouncing pre-vowel 's' and use of a strong 'r' instead of 'l' in most of the words.