Mexican Accents

Mexican Spanish is one in itself. It's, you can say, the "standard accent" used in the whole country. However, when you travel from a place to other in the Republic, you'll hear that the way to speak is different depending on the region.

In spite of the hundreds of accents, we can divide them in five big groups: coast, centre, "del bajío" (south-west of Mexico), north and the peninsula of Yucatan.

-

We've got here the description of each one:

a) Coast.- It's the accent of those people who live near the sea, but it's much stronger in the southern and south-eastern states (Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Veracruz and Tabasco). The main characteristic of this accent is that the 's' is pronounced with a breathing... ok, like Southamericans or Sevillans, in Spain. Sometimes, just like an exaggeration, we could say that it sounds like a Cuban accent (but actually they have nothing to do with each other).

b) Del Bajío.- It's very similar to the central accent, although everyone can notice about a particular way to speak when these guys shout or talk with feeling. More than pronunciation, the difference is in 'entonation' to give an emphasis for some phrases... it's like a song while speaking, sort of, hahaha. You can hear this accent in states like Zacatecas and Jalisco, and also in Michoacán, Colima, Nayarit and Aguascalientes; perhaps in Guanajuato, but it's not very common there.

c) North.- A very 'beating' way to speak, like being upset or shouting at someone, but it's more like a sung beat. Have you ever seen Edgar's video (video de Edgar)? I recommend it to you, it's in 'youtube', about a boy who falls. Well, he's a good example for a northern accent.

d) Yucatán.- Their accent was directly inherited from the Mayan language. To speak with this accent (which is really difficult for every Mexican who was not born in the Peninsula of Yucatan) you must do short pauses in each word so that you give it an entonation... um... like a Scottish... well, it's really difficult to describe this way of speaking. You should visit the states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana-Roo, and you'll hear this funny accent for sure.

e) Centre.- We could say that the central Mexico has got the "standard" accent... the one that you learn when you study this language. There are also some differences though, no matter if it's the same accent. So people may discover that you're not a local guy if you speak passionately. I'll put all of those little details here:

* San Luis Potosí (my birth state).- If you find a "Potosino" in Mexico City, you'll hardly notice that he's not from there if you just hear the accent in a current phrase. So how can you get it? Make him to ask you something... Voilà! Exactly, for a strange reason, the Potosino will always make a question with a descending entonation, i.e. he'll start in a high tone and then will finish lower... The opposite to what a question should be!!

* Querétaro, Guanajuato, Puebla, Hidalgo, Colima, Estado de México and Morelos.- It's probably the less sung accent and the most standard in the country. The variations are so few and actually it's impossible to know, by a simple ear, if you're talking to a "Queretano", "Guanajuatense", "Mexiquense", etc... although I have no doubt that they've got their own attributes.

* Tlaxcala, Puebla, Hidalgo, Estado de México.- A "Tlaxcalteca" will speak exactly the same way than the others, but they'll use more often some native words (from Nahuatl), and if you go to some "municipios" you'll hear a small difference. I recommend two specific places in Tlaxcala so that you hear that accent: Calpulalpan and Españita. When you go to this state, don't forget these two towns... and talk to the people!!

* Distrito Federal and Estado de México.- The accent from the capital is called "Chilango". It's a very slangy way to speak, used by people from poor neighbourhoods (like Tepito); it was adopted later by the whole population of the city. Every person who lives in Mexico City (born there or not) will get that Chilango accent in some words or phrases. That happens a lot in times of desperation and protest; it's very common in upset children too. You can hear this accent in the film Nosotros los Pobres (with Pedro Infante)... there's a bit of exaggeration though: we don't speak exactly like that.