Colombian Spanish

Colombian Spanish (Spanish: español colombiano) is a grouping of the varieties of Spanish spoken in Colombia. The term is of more geographical than linguistic relevance, since the dialects spoken in the various regions of Colombia are quite diverse. The speech of coastal areas tends to exhibit phonological innovations typical of Caribbean Spanish, while highland varieties have been historically more conservative. The Caro and Cuervo Institute in Bogotá is the main institution in Colombia promoting the scholarly study of the language and literature of both Colombia and Spanish America generally. The educated speech of Bogotá, a generally conservative variety of Spanish, holds high popular prestige among Spanish-speakers throughout the Americas.

Like most Spanish dialects, standard Colombian Spanish has five vowels: two high vowels (/i, u/), two mid vowels (/e, o/) and one open vowel (/a/). However, vowel shifts, reductions, and breaking have taken place in many of Colombia's populous regions, particularly in Bogotá and the Paisa region. This means that in Colombian Spanish there may also be an additional number of vowels, making it one of the most phonologically rich varieties of the Spanish language.

Slang speech is frequent in popular culture. In the Paisa Region and Medellín, the local slang is named "Parlache". Many slang expressions have spread outside of their original areas to become commonly understood throughout the country.

Many of these words have been popularized by the Colombian media, such as Alonso Salazar's book, No nacimos pa' semilla,Victor Gaviria's movie Rodrigo D: No Future, or Andrés López Forero's monologue "La pelota de letras" ("The Lettered Ball"), as well as many other cultural expressions, including telenovelas, magazines, news coverage, jokes, etc..

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