Buenos Aires Language

Spanish is the official language of Argentina, where it is known more commonly as castellano (from the Castile region of Spain, where modern-day Spanish originated). Argentine castellano is very similar in pronunciation to traditional Spanish, but there are several notable differences. Thanks to Argentina’s rich history of immigration, the castellano accent has a strong connection to Italian. Furthermore, Argentina is one of the few large Spanish-speaking countries that utilizes voseo —the use of the pronoun vos instead of tú for English “you.” Although many porteños speak English, especially in the tourist-mobbed central barrios, knowing at least some basic Spanish will go a long way. Porteños will appreciate the effort, and it will prove useful when you encounter a region where there are few English speakers. It will happen. Trust us.

Pronunciation

Each vowel has only one pronunciation: a (“ah” in “father”); e (“eh” in “pet”); i (“ee” in “eat”); o (“oh” in “oat”); u (“oo” in “boot”); y, by itself, is pronounced ...more