People in Chile speak Spanish

People in Chile speak Spanish

Ok, it sounds obvious but there are some things you need to know…

I recommend that you make an effort to learn some Spanish either before you come or while you are here in Chile (or other Spanish-speaking countries). Not only because it will make your experience a lot more enjoyable but because not many Chileans speak English. Here we’re not talking about being totally fluent or bring able to have light conversations about brain surgery. No, we recommend that you learn the basics and enough to get by. You can always do night classes in your country or even try learning Spanish online. There are loads of free Spanish learning activities on the internet.

Learning Spanish in Chile
There are a handful of Spanish Schools in Chile where you can do a short course once you are in the country. You don’t really need to book in advance and once here you should never book weeks of Spanish lessons before you start one of the courses, just to be on the safe side. We recommend that you try out a school for a week or two to see the quality of what they do before committing to more hours or weeks. In fact, visit a few schools to get a feel for them before deciding on which you will enroll in and follow your instinct!!! (Of course we recommend www.spanish.cl).

Chilean Spanish
Many people say that Chilean Spanish is very difficult and full of idioms, colloquialisms and general grammatical mass destruction. They also say that if you can learn and dominate Chilean Spanish, you can understand everyone else on the continent with ease. I personally think that every country has their weird and wonderful way of pronunciation with many of their own colloquialisms and the regional differences in vocabulary is just fascinating.

I won’t go into all the details and nuances of Chilean Spanish though the main tendency is not to pronounce the S at the end of the word and sometimes the D near the end. Chileans generally speak VERY quickly with their entire sentence often sounding like one long word. Some nationalities say that Chileans sing instead of speaking (especially in the South).
See what Adam wrote about why you should learn Spanish in Chile.

Chilean Friends
Many foreigners end up teaching English to get by in Chile so are more immersed in English than in Spanish. And, when they leave work and hangout with other expats, it’s not like you use Spanish amongst yourselves. How are you ever going to improve your Spanish if you are speaking English all day? If you can, try and have Chilean friends. Not just to help improve your Spanish (even though many Chileans like foreigner friends so they can practice their English), but to learn more about the Chilean lifestyle and culture.

How did I learn Spanish?
I took night classes once a week at a High School for about a year or so but once I arrived in Chile, it was like I had learnt Pigmy or something. I basically had to start from scratch.
Because of this you can say that I really started to learn Spanish the first time I was in Chile (May 94 – May 95). However, the first three months I was here I didn’t learn much since I kept quiet, only listened and read a lot but never plucked up the courage to actually say something to someone.
It wasn’t until I started trying to speak with all of my glorious mistakes and mispronunciations that I really started to learn/advance. I would realise by trial and error what I needed to work on more, what vocabulary I was lacking (which I would later look up) and after another 6 months I was speaking like a local.

Why did I learn so quickly?
I avoided English speakers like the plague since my objective was to learn Spanish. I immersed myself in Chilean Society with my friends being Chilean, Peruvian or other Spanish speakers. It also helped living in a very poor part of town where English was non-existent. I HAD to use Spanish to get by.

A pet peeve I have…
Why is it that many English-speakers have the arrogance to expect everyone to speak their language? Some people even think that when the locals don’t understand the first time that if they say it again, only louder, they miraculously become bilingual and understand. How would you feel if every foreigner to your country only spoke their language?

Questions for you
For those that have been in Chile a while, how have you found the language barrier?
Did you learn any Spanish before you came?
What do you think of Chilean Spanish? Did you find it difficult to learn?
What experiences have you had with Spanish in other parts of South America?

Tagged as: Chile, Expat, Experiences, Opinions, Spanish, Tips