So far, Spanish-speaking teams have dominated this year’s World Cup. Four of the eight teams in the quarter-finals were from Spanish-speaking nations: Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Spain. Two of the four, Spain and Uruguay, remain.
Although the players’ linguistic exchanges draw less attention than their athletic prowess, they serve as examples of the rich variations of the Spanish language.
One might first think that the main differences would pop up between “European” Spanish and “Latin American” Spanish. However, even within Spain there are a number of regional Spanish dialects; in Latin America, national and regional differences can be equally significant.
Spanish terms in Latin America can vary wildly – even when referring to a specific field such as soccer. “If a clubmate shouts, 'keeper', he could say any one of the following: 'Arquero', 'portero', 'golero', 'guardameta', 'guardavalla', 'cuidavalla', 'cuidapalos' or 'cancerbero',” explains a June 26 article from supersport.com. “Each means goalkeeper in different parts of Latin America.”
The problem is not just communication with the opponent; members of the same team sometimes speak different dialects, complicating matters further.
It will be interesting to see the linguistic mix of the teams that make the finals; a Spanish-Spanish (Uruguay vs. Spain) pairing is still possible.
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Betty Carlson | 
