2024-02-07 17:42:15
Nothing more Argentine than meeting for a coffee or some mates to “chat for a while.” The talk may be about life, lost oxen, politics or sports, but it is always extensive and uninterrupted.
Millions of Argentines enjoy a good conversation and it can happen anywhere: a house, a bar, the plaza, the supermarket line, and it can involve everything from intimate contacts to complete strangers. From a survey carried out by Preply, the language platform, it is clear that Argentines “we speak up to our ears”. The expression does not have a defined origin but it is known that it is not a modern phrase. In the year 1739 it already appeared in the Dictionary of Authorities with the meaning “Vulgar phrase with which it is considered, and exaggerated, that someone speaks a lot.”
When explaining why we are so talkative, it stands out that Argentine culture is known for its emphasis on communication and expression. As a society, we value the ability to debate and argue and we associate expressing oneself clearly and persuasively with intelligence. The history of our country has been marked by heated debates, both political and social. This characteristic could also be one of the causes that fostered the passion for orality.
According to the Preply study, each Argentine speaks on average with 5 people a day for pleasure or leisure. 57% of the women surveyed considered themselves “very sociable in their daily life” and 53% of the men said they were “very talkative.”
The city of Córdoba leads the ranking of oral interaction for pleasure or leisure. Each Cordoba speaks on average with 5.51 people. They are followed by Guaymallén in Mendoza with 5.38 and Santa Fe capital with 5.33. At the bottom of the list appears San Luis with an average of 4.28.
The same study indicates that the cities of Mendoza, Buenos Aires and Córdoba are the most sociable and talkative. These cities obtained an average score of 6.80. Salta capital, Resistencia en el Chaco and Corrientes capital, on the other hand, are the least talkative and had a score of 6.3, 6.2 and 6.1 respectively.
San Miguel de Tucumán (Tucumán) came out sixth, along with Salta, in the ranking of the most talkative cities.
Although Argentines “talk up and down,” we are not the most talkative in the region. Mexico takes first place with an average oral interaction for pleasure or leisure of 5.4 people per day. 44% of Mexican men consider themselves “very talkative” while this characteristic is mentioned by only 39% of Mexican women.
In second place are Colombians who talk to an average of 5.3 people a day. 44% of men consider themselves talkative, as do 48% of women.
The Preply study was carried out during January of this year and 1,502 people from the 20 most populated cities in Argentina participated. 647 respondents were men and 855 were women. To calculate the most and least talkative cities, as well as the situations in which they talk the most, a rating scale from 1 to 10 was applied to each of the responses collected. Next, an average was made with the data obtained for each of the items and, through the sum of average scores, the total value for each city and specific situation was determined. Based on these results, classifications were developed for each question.