Colombia is known for its culture, vivid biodiversity, high-quality coffee beans, and stunning landscapes, including the Amazon rainforest. The South American country of some 52 million people also has a vibrant music scene and hosts numerous festivals annually.
Colombia’s inhabitants are primarily concentrated in the nation’s mountainous interior, where the capital, Bogota, is situated in the northern Andes Mountains. Surviving indigenous groups continue to follow the traditions of old, and modern municipalities are juxtaposed with rural farming communities. The Atlantic lowlands, with their ethnically rich population, have a distinct character.
Colombia’s population is largely of mixed European and indigenous descent, in addition to those of African ancestry. Spanish is the dominant language, reflecting the country’s history as a colony of Spain. Colombia also has diverse regional accents, owing to its geographical and cultural mix. Here are some of the top accents in Colombia.
ROLO
Spoken largely in Bogota and its surrounding, Rolo, also known as Bogotano, is known for its formality and clarity. As such, it’s frequently used in government communications.
The accent features a rising intonation at the end of sentences and a slight stress at the end of words. Cachacos, as Bogotá’s residents are often called, generally speak slowly and clearly.
PAISA
This accent, spoken in the coffee-growing regions of Medellin, Antioquia, Caldas, and Risaralda, is commonly associated with a friendly demeanor. Paisa is one of the best-known Colombian accents.
It has a distinctive sing-song intonation as well as a soft /s/ sound that can resemble /sh/, giving the accent a nearly whisper-like quality when spoken quietly and quickly, as it commonly is.
VALLUNO
The Valluno accent, spoken along the Rio Cauca valley, makes use of the jejeo — the change of an /s/ in between vowels to an /h/ sound. For example, “necesitar” becomes “nehesitar” and “los hombres” turns to “lohombres.” Beyond that, other “s” sounds are strongly pronounced.
Also, the /n/ sound at the end of sentences is frequently changed to an /m/ sound. Thus, “tren” turns to “trem” and “pasion” becomes “pasiom.”
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COSTENO
Also known as Caribeno, Costeno is characterized by fast speech and heavy use of local slang. Due to its rapid pace, the accent is frequently considered the least comprehensible for foreigners. Aspiration of final /s/ sounds means that “mas o menos” sounds more like “ma o meno.” Also, the /d/ in words that end in “-ado” is usually skipped. To the untrained ear, the accent can be challenging to understand.
PASTUSO
Spoken in the Andean departments of Putumayo and Narino, this accent is known for its purity of Spanish and unique intonation that almost sounds like singing. Also, the /k/ sound sounds as if the speaker is sucking it in, as a lot of air is released in the occlusion.
Pastuso includes a rich set of local words and expressions that are adopted from the Quechua language. For example, it uses “cuiche” for rainbow, “achachay” for cold, and “guato” for small. When pronounced, the /r/ has a hissing sound.
SANTANDEREANO
The accent, primarily used in Santander and Norte de Santander, has a generally sharp delivery and staccato speech pattern, and thus can sound angry (“arrecho”). It’s also characterized by the dominant use of usted in both informal and formal contexts, meaning the pronoun “tu” is rarely heard.
There are also pronunciation variations. The /s/ sound at the end of a syllable, for example, can often be aspirated, changing to an /h/ sound. That can be seen in words such as “pela’o” (“guy”) and “pesca’o (“fish”). The accent also incorporates unique words and phrases not often used in other Columbia regions.
CHOCOANO
This accent is also called Pacifico, as it’s largely spoken on the Pacific Coast, with its extreme isolation and heavy African influence. It borrows a great deal from its ancestry in intonation and rhythms.
As with accents on the Atlantic coast, final /s/ sounds are commonly left out, so that “estos senores” becomes “eto senore.”
LLANERO
Spoken in the eastern plains of Casanare, Meta, Arauca, and Vichada, this accent is influenced by indigenous languages, reflecting the region’s cultural heritage. As such, many local native words have been incorporated into the regional language.
Llanero is noted for a marked weakening or complete suppression of redundant /s/ sounds, such as in “los caballo.” There is also a tendency to pronounce /l/ as /r/ as well as the preservation of the /h/ sound that other accents have dropped.”
Accent Reduction, Call Centers, and Tomato.ai
Colombia’s rich linguistic tapestry notwithstanding, people are commonly judged by the way in which they speak. That’s just a fact. And those who have speaking patterns that are considered unfavorable frequently find their accent a barrier to employment.
This is particularly true in roles that call for a great deal of verbal communication. Call center representatives are in that number. Many offshore representatives have accents that callers deem undesirable or “foreign,” often subconsciously. In turn, these agents are often treated impatiently and rudely by customers, and have their incompetence questioned.
With its accent softening tool, Tomato.ai has the solution. Its AI linguistic filter clarifies offshore agents’ voices in real time, transforming words into those that sound to callers like a language’s native speaker. The result of such accent neutralization is improved customer experiences, perceived intelligibility, and call center performance.