If you want to know where to learn Spanish or which is the the best country to learn Spanish, this article will be of interest to you. One thing that I have noticed about the Spanish here in Medellín, Colombia is that the Spanish here is very “puro” or pure.
When I compare the Spanish here in Medellín, Colombia with the Spanish that I used to hear my Puerto Rican and Dominican friends in New York speak it is very apparent that the Spanish here has not been heavily influenced by American English. But in many parts of the Spanish speaking world the Spanish has been “infiltrado” by American English.
Here are a some examples:
In New York I used to hear my Puerto Rican and Dominican friends say things like:
1. Ven acá (come here)
2. Ven aquí (come here)
3. Llamame pa’ tras (call me back)
In fact, I had a friend from Puerto Rico who spoke no English at all and she would often say the above Spanish phrases.
No one in Medellin would ever say “ven acá” or “ven aquí” for “come”
That’s because the word “here” is implied. In both proper English and correct Spanish you can not “come there” and you cannot “come over there,” so it is implied that you are talking about “here.” You can only “GO there” or “GO over there.”
So when you say “come” in English or “ven” in Spanish the words “here” or “acá” or “aquí” are implied. But as American English speakers we often say “come here” instead of just “come.”
So that’s why you will hear the “gente” of Puerto Rico and other places that have been influenced by American English say things such as “ven acá” or “ven aquí.”
When speaking over the phone, I have also heard my Puerto Rican friends in Nueva York say “llámame pa’ tras.” (literally, call me back)
When I say that phrase over the phone here in Medellín, Colombia, the “gente” here “se ríe mucho” —
(get a good laugh). That’s because “llámame pa’ tras” is a literal translation of the American phrase which is often said on the phone: “call me back.”
But in Spanish “llamame pa’ tras” actually translates to “call me in the part farthest from the front.” You can only imagine what the Colombian listener thought that I was trying to suggest over the phone.
To ask someone to “call you back” or to “return your call” the “gente” (people) of Medellín and other parts of Colombia say:
Me devuelve la llamada
(literally, you return my call)
The reason why I am sharing this with you is not to pick on the Spanish of Puerto Rico. Absolutely not. But to let you know that if you are looking for a place in the Spanish speaking world to travel to in order to continue learning Latin American Spanish, Colombia is a great place because the Spanish here is very “puro” or pure and with very little influence by American English.
I guess there is some benefit to the U.S. media constantly making FALSE reports that Colombia is nothing more than a country of “asesinatos” (killings),”robos” (robberies), “secuestros” (kidnappings) and other “crimen” (crime). The benefit is that it discourages a lot of gringos from coming to Colombia and influencing the Spanish here with American English.
