Learning the local language is tough, and learning various pronunciations for all the countries you may travel while in South America can be a bit tricky, as well. In Argentina the dialect spoken differs from typical Latin American Spanish in two major ways – the pronunciation of the 'll' and 'y', and the use of 'vos'. Here is a brief overview of how to survive in the midst of Argentine Spanish.

The 'll' and 'y'.

In most Latin American countries, the 'll' and 'y' are pronounced like the English 'y', as in the word year. In Argentina, both are pronounced as 'zh', like the g in mirage. So, to say the phrase yo tampoco (meaning, me neither) sounds like zho tampoco, and the word calle (street) is pronounced cah-zhay.

The 'Vos'.

Now that you've got the pronunciation of the first person pronoun down (yo, or I in English), let's move on to the second person pronoun (you in English), which is "Tú" in Spanish. Simple enough, right? Wrong. During an informal, friendly environment, many Argentineans will use "vos" (pronounced vohs) instead of "tú", and "vos" has its own set of verb conjugations. Take the following for example:

Is it similar to "vosotros", you ask? No, sorry, it's not. On the bright side, you don't have to worry about "vosotros" in Argentina because they don't use it! Instead, you can just use "ustedes", which is the plural form of "you" in Spanish.

Lunfardo and other handy Argentine Spanish words.

No, it's not a type-o; Lunfardo is the word for Argentinean slang, which originated as a prison language. In Argentina, you will find that young and old alike use various jargon. For instance, you may hear an old man say talk about the "onda". This is a term used to describe people, places, and things. A person who has buena onda is a kind and easy-going person.

Knowing some lunfardo and other frequently used words can help you get by (or avoid) the things you want to. For a more complete list of lunfardo words, here is a Lunfardo dictionary:

Food & Drink:

Lunfardo:

Your time in Buenos Aires will be filled with many new sites and experiences, no doubt, and some will be more interesting than others. It is often difficult to know from your guidebook which activities are truly worthwhile. So, we thought it might be helpful to get advice from fellow students. We parsed the people at AMAUTA for must do activities in Buenos Aires, and we condensed it into a list of the top 10 things. We hope you have time to enjoy them all!

As a student, knowing what food will get you through your studies is essential. Perhaps you remember late nights slumped over a computer chowing down on a cold piece of pizza. Or, perhaps twinkies were more your style. Whatever was your handy side-kick, we all know that we probably would not have made it through high school, college, etc. without it.

In this series, we will discuss essential foods to help you through your Spanish language courses. The first is the oh-so-delicious Argentinean alfajor (pronounced 'all-fah-hor'). Actually, alfajores are found in multiple Latin American countries, but Argentina's alfajores are spectacular! No trip to Argentina would be complete without sinking your teeth into one (or twelve) of these sweets.

Picture this – two layers of sweet biscuits glued together by a rich layer of thick caramel sauce (called "dulce de leche") then coated with chocolate. Mmmmm! There are many variations, and this is just one of them.

Argentineans eat alfajores at all times of the day, so there's no reason you shouldn't either. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Directions:

In a large bowl beat the butter, sugar, honey and egg, then add the orange zest. Sift dry ingredients over it, and mix well until it is a firm dough. It might still be a little sticky. Wrap with saran wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll the dough onto a floured surface until about 1/5 inch thick. Cut the cookies using a 2-inch cookie cutter, and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let them cool.

Once the cookies have cooled, you can assemble the alfajores. Spread dulce de leche on the flat side of the cookie and place another cookie on top making a sandwich (again, flat side to the dulce de leche), squeeze them lightly together then I even out the dulce de leche around it with a knife and dip them in the chocolate, tempered. With a fork, lift the alfajor out of the chocolate, lightly tap the fork against the bowl to get rid of any excess chocolate and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let cool. Makes about 25 alfajores.