Latin America Localization: 5 must-know Tips

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Latin America Localization: 5 must-know Tips

1. Latin America Division

2. Latin America Spanish

2.1 Does Neutral or Universal Spanish exist?

3. Brazilian Portuguese

4. Indigenous Languages of Latin America

5. African Cultures Influence

Latin America is a cultural and geopolitical division, but there is no single definition about that. 

Due to European colonization, its countries speak romance languages (derived from Latin), in this case: Spanish, Portuguese and to a lesser extent French, that coexist with thousands of indigenous native languages.

But before the arrival of Europeans, the region was home to extremely advanced civilizations, such as the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas. This also justified the sharing of this region in terms of history and formation.  

Working in a translation project that involves native people from Latin America requires sensibility to the particularities in terms of culture. 

Believe it or not, there are people out there who still think Latin American Spanish is one homogenous thing to all native speakers, or are unaware of the strength of Brazilian Portuguese in the digital media culture or even think Latin America is just South America.

There is a lot to understand about the linguistic landscape of the region to hit the audience of this powerful market. 

We don’t want you going blindfolded to address this target, so here it is: 5 must-know tips about Localization for Latin America.

1. Latin America Division‍

Throughout history, researchers and historians have differed on the notion of this group and it refers to which countries are included or not.

Latin America is composed of countries of South, Central and North America, including the Caribbean Sea region.

For many traditional researchers, it encompasses only the 20 countries in the Americas colonized by Portugal and Spain: Argentina, Haiti, Bolivia, Honduras, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Nicaragua, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Cuba, Peru, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Uruguay, Guatemala and Venezuela.

Other researchers include countries that had French colonization, Haiti and Guyana.

2. Latin America Spanish

Spanish is the second language in the world by the number of native speakers.Around the world, about 485 million people speak Spanish as their native language, according to Ethnologue. Over 90% of these are in Latin America.

Although the Latin America Spanish being mutually intelligible between the countries of the region, there are many peculiarities. Especially if you are learning the language now, you’ll struggle to understand why the same personal pronoun has different sounds and uses in Argentina and Chile. 

You can say a nice dude is a “guey chido” in Mexico but if you want to call him to “hang out” in Puerto Rico, you can use the verb “janguear”. 

Let’s see some peculiarities below:

• Argentine Spanish, particularly the Rioplatense variant spoken in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas, is often considered less ideal for beginners because of the “voseo” (the use of Vos instead of tú) for informal "you." E.g., "Vos tenés" instead of "Tú tienes" (You have). Also particularities of accent and pronunciation such as “Sh sound” for 'll' and 'y': E.g., "llave" sounds like "shave" and "yo" sounds like "sho."

• Have you heard about Lunfardo? It is a unique slang influenced by Italian and other immigrant languages, that lived in working-class neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. It’s still used in Argentina, especially Buenos Aires and in the lyrics of tangos argentinos. In this slang language, you use “pibes” to “boys”; Fiaca to Laziness ("Hoy tengo mucha fiaca" / Today I feel very lazy) or Morfarse: To eat (devour). "Nos morfamos toda la pizza" (We devoured the entire pizza).

• In Chile, diminutives are frequently used, like "-ito/a" (e.g., "cafecito" for a small coffee). In this country, it is common to pronounce dropping the final "s" and softening consonants. E.g., "los chilenos" might sound like "lo' chileno'."

• Mexico may be the most recommended to beginners in Spanish due to the strong and clear pronunciation of this variant. Consonants are pronounced clearly, especially "s."
  
  
• Nahuatl (the language used by Aztec) has influence in Mexican Spanish: words like "chocolate," "tomate," and "aguacate."
  

• Colombia and Peru have neutral and clear accents/pronunciation, especially in Bogotá and Lima, respectively. They are considered one of the clearest forms of Spanish.
  
  
• The Colombian use "usted" frequently. Even among young people and in informal settings, showing respect.
  
  
• Peru has Quechua influence (indigenous language) that shows in words like "chullo" (hat), "guagua" (baby).
  
  
• Examples of Spanish local slang in Peru? "chamba" (work) and "pata" (friend).
  

• Cuba has African influences in vocabulary and rhythm of speech due to the beautiful Afro-Cuban culture. These people have fast speech: words are often shortened, and final consonants may be dropped.
  
  
• African and Taino influences is also present in Dominican Republic: "conuco" (small farm), "bachata" (a music genre). These people use the linguistic use of elision of syllables and dropping of "s" and other syllables. E.g., "está bien" becomes "ta bien” (It's fine).
  
  
• In Puerto Rico, it is common to replace "r" with "l" at the end of syllables. E.g., "puerta" (door) sounds like "puelta." They have English influence, due to the island's relationship with the United States.
  
  
• Something very curious about Venezuela is the “softening of consonants”: "s" often aspirated to "h" or dropped. E.g., "más o menos" becomes "máh o meno" (more or less).
  
  
• Ecuador also has Quechua influence, especially in the Andean region. But the peculiarity of this region is Highland vs. Coastal speech: Highland Spanish is more formal and clear, while Coastal Spanish is faster and softer.

2.1 Does Neutral or Universal Spanish exist? ‍

Universal Spanish is an artificial construct created to answer an economic demand, but it doesn't exist as a living language, properly used in everyday communication. 

It’s useful for technical content, even cheaper than translating to a specific variant – the choice was made to make the content as widely understood as possible.

The ideal to avoid misunderstanding is always opt for Localization, using specific glossaries to each project demand and attending to the expectation of the public. 

Universal Spanish can sound dry and inefficient depending on the content goals. 

3. Brazilian Portuguese

Brazil is a point outside the curve in Latin America. It’s the most extense country in Latin America (8.5M km²), with the biggest population (215M) and the only one that speaks portuguese.

Speakers of the Brazilian variant of Portuguese and other variants of the language understand each other, both in writing and speaking. 

The Portuguese Language Spelling Agreement (Acordo Ortográfico da Língua Portuguesa), signed by some member countries of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, unified the regulations for writing the language.

But there are peculiarities of the Brazilian variant of Portuguese, in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary. They use more gerund than other variants. E.g., if you want to say “I’m cleaning the house to have guests over”, in Brazilian Portuguese is said “Estou limpando a casa para receber as visitas” while in Angola Portuguese it would be “Estou a limpar a casa para receber as visitas.” 

Because it’s a massive country, each region of Brazil (there are 5) has different accents, and even inside the region, people from different states have their own slangs and specific vocabularies due to the culture variations. For example, the same food can have different names. 

For Brazilian speakers, it’s easily noticeable if you are talking with someone from the Northeast or South. 

The tip is: depending on the type of content you are translating (ads, for example), it can be useful to know where your target is from.

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4. Indigenous Languages of Latin America

Although it has this name based on heritage of colonization, Latin America also includes indigenous and african heritages. 

Indigenous Languages were spoken by various indigenous groups long before European colonization and continue to be used by millions today, although many are endangered due to factors such as urbanization, globalization, and historical suppression.

Prominent examples include Quechua, spoken by approximately 8-10 million people primarily in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador; Nahuatl, with around 1.5 million speakers in Mexico; and Guarani, with millions of speakers in Paraguay (where it is recognized as an official language alongside Spanish) and in parts of Brazil.

5. African Cultures Influence

This cultural fusion is particularly evident in countries with large Afro-descendant populations, such as Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia.

In Brazil, the influence of African languages is notably present in Brazilian Portuguese. The lexicon includes numerous words of African origin, especially from Bantu languages. Words such as "samba" (a popular dance and music genre), "quilombo" (a settlement founded by escaped slaves), and "dendê" (palm oil) are examples of this linguistic integration. 

If you want to immerse yourself in this African influence, traveling to Bahia (state of Brazil), is a good tip to improve your understanding.

This linguistic influence got a way through religion. The Afro-Cuban religion of Santería incorporates many Lucumí words, derived from the Yoruba language. These terms are used in religious rituals, songs, and chants, preserving linguistic elements of Yoruba culture. 

Practices like Candomblé and Umbanda, which blend African spiritual traditions with Catholicism, have their own rich vocabularies influenced by Yoruba, Kimbundu, and other African languages.

What a range of information in a few minutes! And these #5 tips are just the beginning. There are a lot more to explore in Localization to Latin America. 

This potential market has many opportunities in the content translation field. So go ahead with your research and check out another guide about Localization Strategies we produce here.