Una conversación por Skype


Translation

ELENA: Hi Adri. ADRIANA: Hi Elena. How was your trip? ELENA: Good, a little long, but good. Yes. ADRIANA: And the arrival to New York? ELENA: Fine. The suitcases arrived on time, and, well, then I took the train to get to Middletown. So all is fine. ADRIANA: Then you are home already. How is the house? ELENA: Yes. The house is a typical American one like in the movies. Its big, nothing like our apartment in Buenos Aires, and it’s in a very quiet zone. There are many trees, and there is almost no traffic. ADRIANA: Nice! And your room? Show me. ELENA: I’ll show you. OK, it’s a little dirty. But OK. Here I have some shelves, and then are the windows, then I have a desk, a dresser, a closet. Do you see it? ADRIANA: Yes. It’s big ELENA: It’s nice. ADRIANA: Well, and Javier? What is Javier like? ELENA: A nice person. He went to get me at the station, and not much more, very nice…Che, by the way, how is your dad? ADRIANA: My dad is fine. He’s getting better. It’s obvious that the medicines are helping him a lot. ELENA: I’m happy to hear. Well, send him my regards. ADRIANA: Of course. Listen, how’s the weather over there? ELENA: It’s hot, and, well, it’s sunny…I don’t know. Everything is green because it is quite humid. And over there? ADRIANA: Here it is ugly. Here it’s cold and it’s raining. You are lucky that you left just in the summer. Here we are still in winter. ELENA: Well, later all’s going to change, so… Che, I have to go, because they are waiting for me. So we’ll talk later. ADRIANA: Yes. Go. Take good care. ELENA: Good. You too. A big kiss. ADRIANA: A little kiss. ELENA: Bye.

 

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 Argentinian and Uruguayan Spanish: vos, che, dale, and pronunciation of y/ll

  •  Vos instead of tú images

In this scene, you hear Elena and Adri using vos, the norm in their respective countries, Argentina and Uruguay, as well as in most Central American Spanish-speaking countries. The form vos is the equivalent of  tú (in some countries both vos and tú are used. ) Vos has its own forms in some verb tenses, mainly the present tense indicative and commands. Here are some examples:

Osmosis: “Igual que vos” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6fxuXAw_l4)
Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)

  present indicative forms command forms
infinitives vos tú vos tú
comprar tener vivir ser querer mostrar comprás tenés vivís sos querés mostrá compras tienes vives eres quieres muestras comprás tenés vivís sos querés mostrá compra ten vive sé quiere muestra

256px-CheHigh

  •  Che

Do you know why Ernesto Guevara is known all over the world as Che? It is because Guevara was from Argentina, and Argentinians and Uruguayans say che to call someone’s attention or initiate a conversation. This is a dialectal feature well known to Spanish speakers from other countries. In  Skype conversation in this video scene, Elena uses che a couple of times talking to her Uruguayan housemate in Buenos Aires. — Che, por cierto ¿cómo está tu papá? 

 

By Alberto Korda (Museo Che Guevara, Havana Cuba) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

  • Dale

Another expression often heard among Argentines and Uruguayans is dale, meaning OK, sure, let’s go, etc. — Che, me tengo que ir, que me están esperando. Así que hablamos después. — Sí, dale. Cuídate mucho.  

  • Pronunciation of ll and y

A very distinctive feature of the Spanish of the Río de la Plata region, shared by Uruguay and Argentina, is the strong pronunciation of y/ll, close to English pronunciation of the j in judge. Can you hear it in Adri’s pronunciation of  llegada and lloviendo?

 
Saying goodbye with kisses
Spanish-speaking people all over, in their goodbyes over the phone and in writing,  say what they would do if they were physically together–kisses and hugs. It can be un beso grande (a big kiss), un besito (a little kiss), besos (several kisses), or un fuerte abrazo (a strong hug ). Notice how Elena and Adri “exchange” kisses at the end of the scene.

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