Argentina is a country that has a special relationship with its language. It has seen an influx of immigrants from Spain, Italy and other parts of Europe and had a variety of indigenous languages before it became colony. All of this has led to an interesting mix and a special variety of Spanish, with vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation that reflect its rich and turbulent history. Writers such as Cortázar, Borges, Quiroga and many others have spread the culture and language of the Río de la Plata around the world and cemented literary and linguistic categories.
Today, the difference between the Rioplatense variety of Spanish and peninsular Spanish is the similar to that between the North American and the British varieties of English. The very Spanish Instituto Cervantes nowadays promotes – in its DELE proficiency tests – a Pan-Hispanic variety of Spanish, including the South American grammar forms, local pronunciation and local vocabulary.
Studying Spanish in the Río de la Plata region implies learning about history and culture at the same time as learning the language. It means learning with teachers who are extremely qualified and knowledgeable, as a result of demanding university training. A large pool of teachers, a large number of Spanish-language institutes and a long tradition of teaching Spanish as a foreign language have led to a professionalized market and a high standard of teaching. The creation of language school associations and external quality control mechanisms, such as the accreditation by the Instituto Cervantes, have raised the level of Spanish instruction even further.
POTENTIAL PROGRAMS
- Spanish as a foreign language on all levels from beginner to teacher training
- The role of indigenous languages in Argentina: past and present
- An overview of Hispano-American Literature in the XXth century
- Classic and contemporary authors of the Rio de la Plata