South American Spanish (Spanish: español sudamericano or suramericano) is a broad geographical term for dialects of Spanish spoken on the continent of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

.

The term is only geographical and has little or no linguistic relevance, since the diverse Spanish dialects of the continent have no unifying feature to set them apart from non-South American varieties. The Spanish of the Andean highlands

Andean Spanish

Andean Spanish is a dialect of Spanish spoken in the central Andes, from southern Colombia, with influence as far south as northern Chile and Northwestern Argentina, passing through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia...

 is historically conservative, having some traits in common with the Spanish of central Mexico

Mexican Spanish

Mexican Spanish is a version of the Spanish language, as spoken in Mexico and in various places of Canada and the United States of America, where there are communities of Mexican origin....

, while varieties spoken in Argentina

Rioplatense Spanish

Rioplatense Spanish or River Plate Spanish is a dialectal variant of the Spanish language spoken mainly in the areas in and around the Río de la Plata basin of Argentina and Uruguay, and also in Rio Grande do Sul, although features of the dialect are shared with the varieties of Spanish spoken...

 and Venezuela

Venezuelan Spanish

Venezuelan Spanish is a dialect of the Spanish language spoken in Venezuela.Spanish was introduced in Venezuela by the conquistadors. Most of them were from Andalusia, Galicia, Basque Country, and the Canary Islands...

 share some phonological innovations with the Spanish spoken on Caribbean islands

Caribbean Spanish

Caribbean Spanish is the general name of the Spanish dialects spoken in the Caribbean region. It closely resembles the Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands and Andalusia....

. In some cases a single South American country—for example Colombia

Colombian Spanish

Colombian Spanish is a term that refers to the varieties of Spanish spoken in Colombia. The term is of more geographical than linguistic relevance, since the dialects spoken in the various regions of Colombia are quite diverse...

—presents a broad spectrum of conservative and innovative dialects.

• Andean Spanish
  Andean Spanish
  Andean Spanish is a dialect of Spanish spoken in the central Andes, from southern Colombia, with influence as far south as northern Chile and Northwestern Argentina, passing through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia...
  
    (Highland Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia; highland southern Colombia and northern Chile)
• Argentine variations
  • Rioplatense Spanish
    Rioplatense Spanish
    Rioplatense Spanish or River Plate Spanish is a dialectal variant of the Spanish language spoken mainly in the areas in and around the Río de la Plata basin of Argentina and Uruguay, and also in Rio Grande do Sul, although features of the dialect are shared with the varieties of Spanish spoken...
    
    
  • Cuyo Spanish
    Cuyo Spanish
    The Cuyo Spanish is the dialect of Spanish that evolved in the historical province of Cuyo and that is now spoken in the Argentine provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. To a lesser extent it is also spoken in the provinces of San Luis and La Rioja. The Cuyo Spanish shares a series of common traits...
    
    
• Bolivian Spanish
• Chilean Spanish
  Chilean Spanish
  Chilean Spanish is the variety of Spanish spoken in most of Chile. Though still entirely mutually intelligible with standard Spanish, Chilean Spanish has distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and slang usage...
  
  
  • Chilote Spanish
    Chilote Spanish
    Chilote is a dialect of Spanish language spoken on the southern Chilean islands of Chiloé Archipelago...
    
    
• Colombian Spanish
  Colombian Spanish
  Colombian Spanish is a term that refers to the varieties of Spanish spoken in Colombia. The term is of more geographical than linguistic relevance, since the dialects spoken in the various regions of Colombia are quite diverse...
  
  
• Ecuadorian Spanish
• Paraguayan Spanish
  Paraguayan Spanish
  Paraguayan Spanish is a dialect of the Spanish language spoken in Paraguay, and influencing the speech of the Argentine provinces of Misiones, Corrientes, Formosa, and, to a lesser extent, Chaco...
  
  
• Peruvian Spanish
  • Peruvian Coast Spanish
    Peruvian Coast Spanish
    Peruvian Coast Spanish is the form of the Spanish language spoken in the coastal region of Peru. The Spanish spoken in Coastal Peru has four characteristic forms today: the original one, that of the inhabitants of Lima near the Pacific coast and parts south, ; the inland...
    
    
  • Amazonic Spanish
    Amazonic Spanish
    Amazonic Spanish , also known as Loreto-Ucayali Spanish or Jungle Spanish , is a variety of Spanish spoken in the Amazon, especially in the Peruvian Amazon provinces of Loreto and Ucayali...
    
     (also in nearby Brazil and Colombia)
• Uruguayan Spanish
  Uruguayan Spanish
  Uruguayan Spanish or Uruguayan Castilian is Castilian as spoken in Uruguay and by the Uruguayan Diaspora. Uruguayan spanish is rioplatense spanish but it differ with the rioplatense spoken in Argentina in few words for example, "championes" instead of the argentine word "zapatillas"...
  
  
  • Rioplatense Spanish
    Rioplatense Spanish
    Rioplatense Spanish or River Plate Spanish is a dialectal variant of the Spanish language spoken mainly in the areas in and around the Río de la Plata basin of Argentina and Uruguay, and also in Rio Grande do Sul, although features of the dialect are shared with the varieties of Spanish spoken...
    
    
• Venezuelan Spanish
  Venezuelan Spanish
  Venezuelan Spanish is a dialect of the Spanish language spoken in Venezuela.Spanish was introduced in Venezuela by the conquistadors. Most of them were from Andalusia, Galicia, Basque Country, and the Canary Islands...