Colombian Spanish covers the varieties of Spanish spoken across Colombia, a term that describes geography more than any single set of linguistic features given the country's internal diversity. It is the country's dominant language, with about 46.3 million first language speakers and roughly 93,500 second language speakers as of 2015. Linguists commonly divide the country into eleven dialect areas, including the Caribbean or coastal variety, Paisa in the coffee growing regions, the Cundiboyacense highlands, Rolo in Bogota, Llanero in the eastern plains, and Pastuso in the southwest, among others. The northern coastal dialects show phonological changes typical of Caribbean Spanish, while the highland varieties are considered more historically conservative, and the educated speech of Bogota carries particularly high prestige among Spanish speakers across the Americas. The Colombian Academy of Language, founded in 1871, is the country's official language regulator and the oldest Spanish language academy after Spain's own Royal Spanish Academy.
Facts
RegionA grouping of the varieties of Spanish spoken across Colombia's regions, with the northern coastal area showing phonological innovations typical of Caribbean Spanish while highland varieties have historically been more conservative. 1 Speaker CommunityThe educated speech of Bogota, a generally conservative variety of Spanish, carries high popular prestige among Spanish speakers throughout the Americas. 1 Distinguishing FeaturesAn apico-alveolar, Northern-Spain-style pronunciation of /s/, made with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, is current in many Andean regions, especially Antioquia Department around Medellin, a trait unique among American Spanish varieties. 1 Classification
Variety Kind Sources
1. Wikipedia: Colombian Spanish
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
The educated speech of Bogotá, a generally conservative variety of Spanish, has high popular prestige among Spanish-speakers throughout the Americas.
Phonology section
an apico-alveolar, Northern-Spain-style /s/, [s̺], made with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, is current in many Andean regions, especially in Antioquia Department (Medellín). That trait (unique in the Americas) is to be associated w
Variety kind, Colombian Spanish entity page
Colombian Spanish covers the varieties of Spanish spoken across Colombia, a term that describes geography more than any single set of linguistic features given the country's internal diversity.
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