B: "Máh o menoh..."
A: "¿Qué te pasa weon?"
B: "Es que tengo que hacer una wea para mi clase y me apesta, ¿Cachay?
A: "Sí poh te cacho...Puta qué lata...
B: "Y así no máh poh, voy para mi casa, nos vemos weon"
A: "Chau, cuídate"
That was my attempt to recreate an informal conversation between two Chileans my age to provide a taste of the kind of Spanish that fills my ears as I walk to class or through the mall downtown. It was a pretty humbling to come to Chile after 6 years of decent grades in Spanish and yet not understand half of what was said to me by the natives. However, my desire to talk like everyone else here, or at least understand them has helped me slowly piece together the general structure of certain phrases that are can only be found in this region of the world. To make sure the conversation was somewhat authentic, I sent my friend Adrian a copy over MSN Messenger and he told me that it was not too shabby and I only had to change one "la" to "una" to make it believable. I think it was pretty entertaining for him to see the conversational tidbits I'd picked up from him and other Chileans. I will now try and break down the conversation above so that anyone can appreciate this mysterious form of Spanish that I had never once encountered in my textbooks in Spanish class...
As demonstrated in the first line of the hypothetical conversation, instead of the grammatically correct ¿Como estás? you can sound way more cool and causal by saying ¿Como estay? Probably because it is easier to pronounce and finishes a little more smoothly, but that's just my guess.
"Weon" is a word that I hear constantly throughout the day when I'm around people my age. Sometimes when I leave a party, I actually have it stuck in my head where a catchy song would normally be. The extreme informality of the word makes it a double-edged sword that can either solidify close friendships or offend pretty much anyone when used with the right tone and context. I believe that the word "wea" is derived from "weon" and refers to objects that are not specified and carries the same precarious balance of informal/offensive depending on the circumstances. As a gringa, I have to be super attentive to these kind of things, because I don't inherently know which words are taboo or sound inappropriate to certain people. For example, the difference between "chuta" (Shoot!) and "chucha" (something much worse...) for me is just a few letters but they make a world of difference to a Chilean.
In Chile the new verb "cachar" has been widely embraced by the newer generations. It means more or less to understand or "get" something. Ironically, it comes from the English word "to catch" in the "catch my drift" sense of the verb. Therefore, sentences continually end with the phrase ¿Cachay? which means "Ya know?" or "Get it?" If you want to say that you understand them, the response would be "Te cacho" meaning "I gotcha."
"Máh o menoh" is the typical Spanish saying "Más o menos" (More or less) but spoken with a Chilean accent where the "s" sound at the end of words becomes more of a heavy outward breath that I have yet to master.
In addition to swallowing the "s" sound at the end of words, Chileans use the word "poh" to add emphasis to their responses. Sí=Yes, meanwhile Sí poh=Of course!
"Qué lata" means "bummer" or "lame." Someone explained to me that the Chilean expression actually relates back to the dictatorship under Pinochet. Lata refers to a can used to preserve food. "!Qué lata!" literally means "What can!" Apparently in Pinochet's rule there were a lot of food rations that came in cans and were not very highly regarded among the people.
"Así no máh poh" is one of my favorite sayings that I learned in here in Chile because it is said when there is an awkward silence in the conversation or people want to change the subject. It literally translates to something like "Like this no more" and in English can be summed up by the phrase "Sooo yeahh..." or "Well anyways..." Whenever I say this saying at the appropriate time it almost always starts a new conversation about how a gringa like me learned a such a "Chilean" saying.
When I first got here I said "Adios" until I quickly realized that no one uses that word. I think it is occupied for more formal goodbyes. "Chau" is such a fun word to say that I can't blame Chileans for wanting to say it as much as possible.
So yes, hopefully whether or not you know any Spanish you were able to take something away from the conversation and see how Chilean Spanish is not the same as Spanish from Spain, Mexico, Argentina, or any other country in the world. It makes it a little difficult at times to understand, but all the more rewarding when I get to truthfully say with pride, "Te cacho."
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