Thread: Ayudame, por favor

I was recently in Ecuador. I discovered that the Spanish spoken there (Guayaquil) was often difficult for me to understand. There were numerous words that were different from the Spanish I learned (Mexican Spanish). Anybody else have the same views as me? An example comes to mind. I have always heard/used the Spanish word for "straw" as "popote." In Ecuador they say, "sorbete" which in Guatamala means "sorbet" or ice cream.

Yeah, most Latin American countries vary a bit on some words and expressions. In Argentina, for example, straw is "pajita", but they would understand "sorbete." I've never heard of popote, though.

Anyway, I bet that you managed to understand and be understood, right?

Hi, thanks for your reply. I had friends there who helped a lot. It's nice having your own personal interpreter. Lucky me.

There were numerous words that were different from the Spanish I learned (Mexican Spanish). Anybody else have the same views as me?

In Translation studies this is what we call Language Variaties. People from different countries and even within the same country who share the very same language vary according to: geographical places, age, social status, education, etc. (See J. C. Catford "A Linguistic Theory of Translation") So, this is something you will see in every language of the world.

Hope it helps! Lady