Salvadoran Spanish
Salvadoran Spanish is geographically defined as the form of Spanish spoken in the country of El Salvador. The Spanish dialect in El Salvador shares many similarities to that of its neighbors in the region, but it has its stark differences in pronunciation and usage. El Salvador, like most of Central America, uses voseo Spanish as its written and spoken form, similar to that of Argentina. Vos is used, but many Salvadorans understand tuteo. Vos can be heard in television programs and can be seen in written form in publications. Usted is used as a show of respect, when someone is speaking to an elderly person.
Phonetics and phonology
Notable characteristics of Salvadoran phonology include the following:- The presence of seseo wherein and are not distinguished. Seseo is common to Andalusian and Canarian Spanish varieties.
- Syllable-final is realized as glottal . In the casual speech of some speakers, this may also occur syllable or even word-initially.
- is realized as glottal.
- The pronunciation of intervocalic is "weak", without friction.
- Intervocalic often disappears; the ending -ado is often.
- There is no confusion between and, as in the Caribbean.
- Word-final is pronounced velar.
- As El Salvador was part of the First Mexican Empire, the Salvadoran dialect adopted the voiceless alveolar affricate and the cluster represented by the respective digraphs
and in loanwords of Nahuatl origin, quetzal and tlapalería . Even words of Greek and Latin origin with , such as and, are pronounced with the affricate:, . Pronouns and verb conjugation
Voseo
"Vos" is the dominant second person singular pronoun used by many speakers in familiar or informal contexts. Salvadoran vos comes from Gothic Spain and was brought to El Salvador by militaristic Spaniards migrated to the land. Its counterparts are French vous, Portuguese vós. Voseo is most commonly used among people in the same age group in addressing one another. It is common to hear young children address each other with "vos." The phenomenon also occurs among adults who address one another in familiar or informal contexts. "Vos" is also used by adults in addressing children or juveniles. However, the relationship does not reoccur when children address adults. Children address adults with usted regardless of age, status or context. The preservation of voseo in Salvadoran Spanish was thanks to El Salvador's ties to the United States and Great Britain. When El Salvador became independent, it discontinued to have trade links with Spain, unlike other tuteo countries. El Salvador's main trading partners were the United States and Great Britain, thus Spain did not influence El Salvador's language anymore, and Spain changed to tuteo. In turn, English words influenced Salvadoran Spanish and voseo was conserved.Ustedeo
"Usted" is the formal second person singular pronoun in Salvadoran Castilian. "Usted" is used in addressing foreigners formally, for acquaintances, and in business settings. Unlike nearby Costa Rica, "usted" is not the dominant second person pronoun for addressing a person.Tuteo
"Tú" is hardly used; the use of tú is limited strictly to foreigners. It is used in addressing foreigners familiarly and when writing correspondence to foreigners.Salvadoran Caliche/Caliche Salvadoreño
The definition for Caliche is an informal term for Salvadoran Spanish due to colloquialisms and unique indigenous lexical words that are different from Salvadoran Spanish. Caliche refers to the Nawat influenced dialect of Spanish spoken in El Salvador. Many words have gone through the process of deletion, vowel assimilation, or epenthesis to make it easier for the speaker to understand. Salvadoran Caliche is used across social classes, although professional individuals tend to avoid it because it is not considered "proper" Spanish.For example, this table shows the difference between Standard Salvadoran Spanish and Caliche:
| Salvadoran Spanish | Salvadoran Caliche | English gloss |
| Acá, así es la situación | La onda está así | This is the situation |
| Moneda | Tostón | Coin |
| Un Colón salvadoreño | Un Peso/ Un bola | One Salvadoran Colon |
| Está difícil | Está yuca/Paloma | It is difficult |
| Está muy ebrio/borracho | Está muy bolo/ A verga/Pedo | He/She is very drunk |
| Sabemos progresar | Sabemos socarla/ Le hacemos huevos | We know how to progress |
| Nos gusta salir a pasear | Nos gusta chotiar/Vacilar | We like to walk |
| Está fácil | Está mamado/Cagado de risa | It is easy |
Unfortunately, Caliche is not described in studies on Salvadoran Spanish. The philologist John M. Lipski points out that Centro American Spanish lacks adequate sources for linguistic and literary research. Lipski further elaborates that such linguistic shortage indicates a possible generalization that in recent decades Salvadoran dialectology has failed to advance as rapidly as the comparative work in other Latin American nations.