Article: Espa?ol, con acento en la "che"

An article was published recently in BBC Mundo about Argentina's new found popularity as a place to study Spanish. It's quite ironic that the economic crisis of Argentina at the begin of this decade is what accounts for it being an attractive and economic venue to study Spanish, a language that's enjoying its highest level of international popularity among the top five most spoken languages in the world.


After the collapse of Argentina's economy at the end of 2001 and persistent high unemployment and poverty until 2003, the country became a haven for bargain basement deals which has attracted tourists from Europe, USA and Brazil. Hotels, food, airfare, and basic commodities became available at cheap prices and even today visiting Argentina is considered a deal and the lower prices have played a role in the surge of its tourism during the past five years post the economic crisis/ collapse.

It's interesting how such a grave economic crisis in an otherwise stable Latin country as compared to others in the region is benefiting from its own demise. Not only has Argentina made a gradual comeback since 2003 and still is in the 'recuperation phase', it's an added bonus the fact that there is profound interest by many all over the world to learn Spanish. A prestige French once had (and up until not too long ago, less than two decades) which Spanish now enjoys. Students are choosing Argentina as a country of choice to pursue their studies because it's affordable. The influx of tourists for a bargain vacation (compared to what the prices used to be) and now a prime location to study Spanish are some instant remedies for an economy that collapsed completely leaving many in abject poverty, without access to their own funds and unprepared for the struggled that lay ahead.

I think the article is food for thought about studying Spanish abroad. What should students or adults pursuing studies in Spanish consider when choosing their country of study? Other than costs, accommodation and safety which are a given, what are the academic objectives that should be considered?

A student's choice will most likely depend on the purpose of studying abroad whether it's for casual learning or part of a degree program. However, IMO, I think the choice of study should be one that fulfills the objective of the student or adult learner. It's quite the journey from any European country to Argentina therefore, the study program should be worthwhile. According to the article, Buenos Aires is second to Madrid as the prime place to study Spanish.

As well, one must consider the academic standards in certain countries. In general, in Latin America to find quality education can be a challenge but some universities, foreign language schools and programs etc. are better than others. As well, many question what will be taught. It should be the standard but in the case of Argentina, the vernacular influence of 'vos' and its conjugation may be a factor but the student can adjust. In the article, it is mentioned that the 't?' forms are taught and students are made aware of the 'vos' variant that is part of Argentina's vernacular.

Specific to the DR, in your opinion is the DR a good place to study Spanish? Taking into consideration the DR vernacular, the education standards and some of the non standard speech patterns, how does the DR compare to other Latin American countries that have better education standards etc?

The article: BBC Mundo | Cultura y Sociedad | Espa?ol, con acento en la "che"


-LDG.

My thoughts-

*LONG POST*

I think the key factor here is short term vs. long term study. According to the article Buenos Aires is the second most popular venue where foreigners choose to pursue their Spanish studies however, the average length of the courses per student is two to four weeks. Therefore, by classification these are intense lessons most likely at all levels or special foreign study programs either offered by universities or language centers that offer Spanish lessons for foreigners.

The choice of where to study other than the key factors already mentioned in my first post should revolve around the students? objective(s) and level of Spanish. Keep in mind some students may also be bilingual already but may be looking for something completely specific about the course work. It could be part of their language degree requirement, or more of a personal venture such as academics combined with travel etc. The reasons for taking a Spanish course are numerous and that?s not discussed in the article at all other than a general sense for the passion to learn the language.

Having stated the above, I think the DR can be a good place but certainly with limited options. One good university IMO does not make it a competitive choice and again one has to look at what it has to offer. Short term vs. long term program studies vs. intense courses is what needs to be considered. As well, the quality of teaching by the faculty (el profesorado) is very important. In a two week or four week intense program it?s not as important but for long term study, you have to get what you pay for. Good quality teaching should go a long way although much depends on the aptitude, effort, willingness and commitment of the student to learn. One can have an excellent teacher or professor but with a lazy student it is not a formula for success; actually it?s a waste of the teacher or professor?s time. However, I would hope that adults who sacrifice their time and money to study abroad have a clear focused objective.

In terms of what is taught in Spanish courses, I refer to any institute of education in Latin America, it should be the standard. If the teachers or professors are good and have a broad knowledge of the language they will surely be able to address some of the vernacular differences that people will hear in country which is an important part of language learning as well. Not only does it show the diversity in the regional and colloquial speech of the language but it will address a lot of the issues about language that the students will have especially the advanced or bilingual speakers. The diversity makes for interesting discussions about the variety of the language.

The article mentioned one variant that is specific to Latin America and Argentina in particular which is the usage of vos and the conjugations that one will hear but it should have also mentioned the pronunciation of certain words which was alluded to in the title of the article 'con acento en la che'. Each country will have its own speech varieties whether it?s lexicon, syntax, morphology, pronunciation etc. That?s what makes Spanish in the Americas unique but amazingly still very unified. Here?s is a comment from a participant of a recent academic congress held in Cartagena, Colombia in 2007 in which twenty two directors of the RAE affiliates in Latin America participated and had to bring to the discussion table peculiarities of Spanish spoken in their respective countries ('los rasgos distintivos del espa?ol hablado en cada uno de sus pa?ses'):

El fen?meno del voseo en Argentina y Nicaragua ha sido explicado por el desarrollo m?s lento e irregular de la variante andaluza o atl?ntica del espa?ol, por estar ambos territorios, durante la ?poca colonial, alejados de los centros virreinales. No fue el caso, por ejemplo, de M?xico y Per?, y del espa?ol hablado del Caribe hispano, donde se destaca la presencia del t? sujeto en expresiones de tipo ??Qu? dices??, ??D?nde est?s??, ??D?nde vives??, utilizadas en las restantes provincias de la lengua. Sin embargo, en Cuba, Puerto Rico y Rep?blica Dominicana, la presencia de dicho pronombre forma parte de la norma de prestigio: ?Qu? t? dices??. ??C?mo t? est?s??. ??D?nde t? vives??. El t?, incrustado en las estructuras indicadas, constituye un principio dialectal y una variante del sistema.

Click to expand...

-This a classic example of one of the variants in Spanish specific to the Caribbean basin. It?s non standard and it?s important for those learning Spanish to acknowledge that this is part of the syntax structure of those speakers raised in the aforementioned countries or regions which includes the coastal regions of Colombia, Venezuela and parts of Panama.

I don?t believe one should choose their country of study based on preferred regional speech varieties at least not for short term studies. The primary concern should be the quality of Spanish and then regionalisms, colloquialisms, slang etc. will be added bonuses which one can learn overtime by either living in the country, interacting with the locals or out of sheer interest. And yes, cultural similarities should be taking into account as well. I completely agree with that.


-LDG.

Spanish grammar is universal that is the standard with exceptions...

wildnfree,

I don't agree with your point.

Please keep in mind, when discussing the standard this means what is taught in the classroom by teachers and professors, i.e. grammar, phonetics, spelling, not the opinions of locals or friends you associate with. Yes, then of course it turns into a matter of opinion. In formal studies teachers don't teach their own preferred local version of the language. The standard refers to references such as grammar books, dictionaries etc. that all speakers use then regionalisms and colloquialisms are a different level of speech.


-LDG.