Peru

[Don José]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Mario Vargas Llosa is hardly a "localist" for vocabulary, and the country has changed a lot since he wrote those novels, but it's indeed an enriching reading.

Just from the first half page, chapter 1, Los cachorros:

Apareció una mañana, a la bara de la formación, de la mano de su papá...

y en la clase el Hermano Leoncio lo sentó atrás, con nosotros, en esa carpeta vacía,
(In Spain, carpeta=folder)?

Era chanconcito

Qué trome

Él se lustraba las uñas enla solapa del saco
(Nobody wears a "saco" here)

loquibambio

nos convidaba chupetes, ricacho, tofis



They may be old words, they may be found in different countries, but for somebody who has learnt the Spanish spoken in Spain, they sound like:

Searching in Google, "chanconcito" and "trome" are used nowdays in Peru. I haven't looked the others. I would say words like those are frecuent in the novels or tales set in Peru. But I'm not going to do a research on every word he uses.

I agree that reading or listening the media is the best choice.

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by poli

cooks no
crooks yes

To practise Spanish it is very interesting reading Sinlogismos from Peruvian writer Sofocleto, which includes a very applicable one that says "en política siempre se corre el riesgo de pertenecer a las mayorías".

Those who go to Peru should be aware of the little availability of hot water. You may find bathrooms with Italian marble but lacking hot water and long showers using 60 or 80 gallons might be considered sort of a "criminal waste" of both water and fuel.