5 En chiva or en guagua. Regional variations in vocabulary
There are several different words for ‘bus’ used by speakers of Spanish from different countries: for example, autobús and colectivo. This is called regional variations in vocabulary. Here you will learn more about these variations.
Paso A
Read the text and, using the information about regional variations in words, fill in the gaps in the sentences with one of these choices:
autobús • camión • colectivo • guagua • micro • ómnibus
Ejemplo:
En Cuba, Ricardo va al trabajo en guagua.
As with American and British English, you may find that the same thing is referred to by different words in different places. Usually these do not create great communication problems, though sometimes they may be the source of humorous confusions. For example, in Spain the word saco means ‘sack’, but in many Latin American countries it is also the most a common word for ‘jacket’. When you use your dictionary, you will find that regional variations are often given.
Transport is a subject in which terms certainly vary between places. For example, a bus is el autobús in Spain, la micro in Chile, el colectivo in Argentina and Venezuela, el ómnibus in Uruguay, la guagua in Cuba and the Canary Islands and el camión in México. However, whichever word you use, you will probably be understood in most places.
1. En Chile, Saulo va a la universidad en _____ .
Answer
En Chile, Saulo va a la universidad en micro.
2. En Argentina, Pedro va a la biblioteca en _______ .
Answer
En Argentina, Pedro va a la biblioteca en colectivo.
3. En España, Juan va al trabajo en ________ .
Answer
En España, Juan va al trabajo en autobús.
Paso B
Look up the following words in the dictionary and list them in the table according to where they are used. (Some have more than one meaning; for this step, choose the meaning that refers to transport.)
la taquilla • la parada • el carro • el paradero • el coche • la boletería • el auto
| España | Chile | |
|---|---|---|
bus |
el autobús |
la micro |
ticket office |
||
car |
||
bus stop |
Answer
| España | Chile | |
|---|---|---|
bus |
el autobús |
la micro |
ticket office |
la taquilla |
la boletería |
car |
el coche |
el carro, el auto |
bus stop |
la parada |
el paradero |
Bear in mind that some of these terms may be used in several countries or regions.