Panamanian Spanish

Panamanian Spanish is geographically defined as the form of Spanish spoken in the country of Panama, which is located in Central America.

The variations among different speaker groups of the same language can be lexical (vocabulary), phonological (pronunciation), morphological (word forms), or in the use of syntax (grammar).

Historically, Panama and Colombia were part of the same political entity. Colombia, governed from the Real Audiencia of Panama during the 16th century, then part of Castilla de Oro, with its capital in Panama, during the 17th century, and after independence from Spain, Panama voluntarily became part of the Republic of Gran Colombia along with Venezuela and Ecuador, with its capital in Bogota. From the colonial times and periods and also during most of the 19th century and until 1903, and even though there are still lexical similarities shared by the two countries (e.g., pelao in both Colombia and Panama means "kid" or "child"), phonetically Panamanian Spanish is more closely associated with the Spanish as spoken in the coastal areas around the Caribbean, specifically the Atlantic coast of Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.