Dictionary of Argentine Spanish Celebrates the Nation’s Distinct Voice

The Argentine Academy of Letters has just released the second edition of their dictionary, Diccionario del habla de los argentinos (Dictionary of the speech of Argentines). According to La Nación, the dictionary contains 4,500 phrases or sayings and 9,000 word meanings that are distinct to Argentina. The president of the Argentine Academy of Letters, Pedro Luis Barcia, said that language change begins with the people on the street speaking, then writers pick it up and use it, then finally the academy makes it “official” by placing it in something like a dictionary. Since language is always changing, the Argentine dictionary is different from the official Spanish dictionary that the Real Academia in Spain publishes. It captures the richness of Argentine Spanish and all of its fascinating—if at times confusing—turns of phrase.