The Many Languages of Buenos Aires

Role of Language in Health Tourism

People around the world increasingly add medical treatment to their lists of reasons to travel. But, some are held back by their inability to speak the local language as this would be a hurdle while communicating with the medical fraternity there. This is true of Buenos Aires, which is quickly becoming a major medical tourism destination. A little knowledge of Spanish is helpful since many locals there don’t speak English. However, increasingly, medical facilities (hospitals, dental clinics, etc) have multi-lingual personnel on hand to take care of any interactions

Languages Spoken in Buenos Aires

A great center of trade ever since its foundation in 1536, the city has attracted immigrants from almost every European country. The language most commonly heard here is the Rioplatenese dialect, a form of Spanish influenced by the Andalusian and Murcian dialects of the language. The presence of tens of thousands of Italian immigrants, who came from Naples during the twentieth century, has lent an accent to the speech that is close to the Neapolitan dialect of Italian. Galician immigrants from northwestern Spain have a major presence in the city as well. In fact, Galician language, cuisine, and culture still have an important place in the city. The prevalence of a number of Italian dialects has resulted in the creation of a pidgin of these dialects and spoken Spanish which locals call cocoliche.

Some Less Popular but Regionally Powerful Dialects

Large numbers of colonial prisoners gave birth to the lunfardo slang, a Creole that uses words from Brazilian Portuguese, Italian dialects, English, and those of African and Caribbean origin. Yiddish is prevalent in the Jewish districts of Balvanera and Villa Crespo. Many Asian immigrants have brought in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean in the last quarter of a century. The jingle of various dialects adds music to the ears, just as the beautiful natural scenery all around entertains the eyes.

Music and Culture

The Celtic music of the Galicians and the popular tango lyrics which are in the lunfardo dialect and sung with the vigorous tango dance add to the cultural delights. This rich cultural scenario is highly encouraging for medical tourism as music, dance, and the variety of delicious food items are sure to have a soothing effect on a patient. “Buenos Aires,” which means “fair winds,” is fast emerging as a favored destination for those who have medical treatment, apart from other purposes of travel, as an item in their tourism plan.