Chilean Spanish voice overs: what you need to know

Chilean Spanish is a group of Spanish language variants that are spoken in Chile. Almost all of Chile’s inhabitants speak Chilean Spanish as a first language. It’s considered that 17.4 million people are native speakers of this Spanish variety (as of 2015).

Chilean Spanish belongs to the Western Romance language group, just like its ancestor European Spanish. This Spanish variety is also one of the most spoken Spanish varieties in the world.

Just like the name suggests, Chilean Spanish is spoken in Chile and doesn’t have notable expatriate communities in other countries.

Chilean Spanish History

Spanish appeared in Chile during the Spanish colonization of the Americas period. Chile’s colonization began in the 1540s. That’s when the European settlers brought their own language — Spanish — that over the centuries would become the dominant language of the continent.

After the Spanish invasion, Spanish became the lingua franca of the region and contributed to the extinction of the minority languages.

In Prehispanic Chile, various indigenous languages were widespread and used both for everyday communication and for official matters. Not many local languages survived, although Chile has 9 indigenous languages that are still used by small isolated communities throughout the country.

Chile gained its independence from Spain in 1818. After the battle for independence, the language that the colonialists once brought became the official language of the country.

Chilean Spanish vs Other Spanish Varieties

If there was a battle for the title of the most unique Spanish variety, Chilean might just win. What’s so distinct about Chilean Spanish is the pronunciation and the vocabulary — it’s very different from other South American Spanish variants. This unique Chilean dialect is one of the hardest for other Spanish speakers to understand.

Because of German immigration to the country, Chilean Spanish has some German features in pronunciation and accent. This phenomenon is mostly noticed in the Southern part of the country.

Chilean vocabulary is very unique, with thousands of locally-specific phrases and words that are most often not understood by outsiders. Argentine dialects have also influenced Chilean vocabulary.

However, Chilean also has many common features with its sister South American Spanish varieties. For example, the final -s is usually dropped or pronounced as ‘h’ instead. The most well-known feature of the Latin American Spanish varieties is the pronunciation of ‘c’ and ‘z’ as ‘s’. In contrast, European Spanish speakers pronounce it as ‘th’.

Accents and Voice Over Tips

Chilean Spanish doesn’t have distinct regional varieties throughout the country. However, there are a few exceptions in the Far South regions where the spoken language greatly differs from the standard.

When recording a Chilean Spanish voice over, it’s important to note that Chilean Spanish is considered the fastest-paced variety among all Spanish dialects. It also has a very distinct tone with extreme rises and falls. In general, think of Chilean Spanish as a rollercoaster — exceptionally fast and with many highs and lows.

Because of the fast pace, make sure you know your target audience very well. You might need to slow down a great deal if your listeners are not native speakers.

Chilean Spanish is very rich with region-specific vocabulary and slang. If the recording allows for informal speech, make sure you include unique idioms.

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