Even though the official language of Chile is Spanish, many surprised foreigners affirm that in this country they speak Chileno, because oral expression is different to that of Spain and the rest of the countries in Latin America.
The Spanish language of Chile, also called Castellano for the influence of the first Spaniards that came from the Castilla region, incorporates native vocabulary and a variety of expressions that give it the shape of a completely unique language.
The original indigenous tongues, most notably the mapudungún and aymara have left words, expressions, and different forms of speaking. It is no wonder that visitors to Chile find that the Spanish language sounds and is pronounced differently.
It is common to use words of the mapudungún, like guata and guagua from quechua, which mean stomach and baby respectively. In any case this mix of vocabulary and expressions, most present in the names of towns and cities, has not modified the grammar nor the written form of the Spanish language.
As one might imagine, mapudungún, language of the indigenous mapuches, is still spoken in Chile, along with aymara in the northern Andean region and rapanui in Polynesian Easter Island. The different ethnic groups in Chile represent 4.6% of the total population. Of this percentage, 87.3% correspond to the mapuche people, 7% aymara, and 7% pascuenses from Easter Island.
What does Chile mean?
La flor y nata de la tierra (the flower and cream of the earth), for example, or país del frío (the cold country); also donde termina la tierra (the end of the earth) y gaviota (seagull), are all meanings of the word Chile according to the different indigenous dialects.
This is a very common question from the country’s visitors. The Mexicans use the expression Chile to refer to chili peppers, the spicy fruit used in a variety of their dishes. It is not strange, then, that many relate the expression to the Mexicans. However, the fact is that the word Chile, like many other words used to name places within the country, has its origin in the dialect of the first indigenous people to inhabit the territory.
Fotografía Sernatur
“La flor y nata de la tierra” (the flower and cream of the earth), for example, or “país del frío” (the cold country); also “donde termina la tierra” (the end of the earth) y “gaviota” (seagull), are all meanings of the word Chile according to the different indigenous dialects.
In the northern language quechua, Chili-Chilli means “la flor y nata de la tierra” and alludes to an unknown territory that reaches the end of the world. In the aymara language, also from the north of the country, Chile would be a derivative of the word “ch’iwi”, that means where the earth ends. In mapudungún, the language of the indigenous mapuche from the south of the country, Chile would have its phonetic roots in the expression “chëlle”, which is the name for seagull.
The different answers continue with the opinion of some historians who are certain that the name of the country has its origin in tili, the singing of a bird that is known as the trile and inhabits and extensive part of the country, from Atacama to Llanquihue.
The origin of the name of the country is an interesting subject for study and debate, but it prevailed only after the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Its own conqueror, Pedro de Valdivia, wanted to change the name of the country and baptize it as Nueva Extremadura