Language aspects that population from Uruguay will feel identified with

Last update: 28 December 2020

We can’t just start right away with remarks from Uruguayan Spanish without first acknowledging the current confusions with the most-known Argentinian Spanish. Such confusions cross the language border and involve other aspects from culture and society. As a context, both countries share the Rioplatense Spanish, a dialect spoken all over Uruguay and just a few states in Argentina (including Buenos Aires), which makes harder to identify people from these two nations. However, being aware of those little-existing differences will help marketing content be more localised. As Georges St-Pierre said: “When you pay attention to detail, the big picture will take care of itself”.

Language features used by the population of Uruguay

Bo: the proper second person singular
Ta: to keep the flow of the conversation
Dale: the best way to agree on something
Aprontate: be ready for basically everything
Botija: Uruguay’s nation brand

What language is spoken in Uruguay?

The official language of Uruguay is Spanish. However, Portuñol Riverense is another spoken language that a small portion of the Uruguay population share with Brazilian Portuguese speakers across their international border. But no worries! Here we’re just going to go through things that distinguish the Uruguayan Spanish, and if you’ve had already checked the article about copywriting facts in Argentina, this one will be like a piece of cake.

Bo: the proper second person singular

One of the main things that make Uruguayan terms unique is the second personal pronoun. Unlike Argentina, Uruguayan people use the subject bo to refer to each other. It is more popular than the well-known vos, tú and usted, although there is no need to look at bo as an absolute condition since its use will depend on how close the relationship is between the speakers and people’s cultural background. So don’t rule out yet other options, but do keep in mind that the use of bo only takes place in this country.

Ta: to keep the flow of the conversation

In Spanish, there are many ways of confirming or agreeing on something, but no way is comparable to the one used by the population of Uruguay. Ta: as simple as a one-syllable word. Some of us have held boring conversations in which we pretty much reply to everything with an “ok”, right?

Well, this is what ta is about, but it also plays an important role for call-to-action strategies, since it elicits an expected positive reaction from the listener when is asked to do something: join someone for a walk, make some mate, you name it!

Dale: the best way to agree on something

Dale is the equivalent to “alright”. Although within the standardised Spanish dale is a conjugation of the verb “to give”, Uruguay and other South American countries have extended its function and it is also used by local people to express a positive answer.

Another adaptation which will make sense in the region is ¡cómo no¡ (why not?) but the Uruguayan connotation is more polite and vibrant in comparison to the English context. So use dale for informal scenarios and ¡cómo no! for serious matters.

Aprontate: be ready for basically everything

Aprontate means “get ready” and it’s another expression that belongs to the Uruguay language, regardless of demographics. You can take advantage of this verb first, by showing how aware your brand is of the region’s identity. Also, it's probably one of the most important findings in consumer behavior research.

The impact of a message depends a good deal on how related the reader feels towards the content. And second, you can get the most from the use of aprontate by adding relevance to content marketing aimed to elicit expectation.

Botija: Uruguay’s nation brand

The bonus for those who waited until the end (thank you!): Would you give more attention to someone who calls you by your name, instead of calling you by “dear customer”? If your brand target audiences from a wide range of population in Uruguay, you may consider replacing such old-fashioned form for botija, one of the most popular terms that will only make sense in the country.

In English botija has a connotation of “mate” and it accounts for a kind and friendly expression between friends. So it is a good starting point for those who want to set up friendly relationships beyond transactional links.

So now you know what language is spoken in Uruguay along with 5 tips to sound like a local across digital landscapes. This is why translating to Spanish it’s not enough to engage with Latin American audiences since vocabulary and grammar will always differ depending on the region, country and even city. If you have a project for Uruguay or other LatAm markets, contact me and let’s see what we can do to improve the brand performance.

Written by Harold Mosquera