I can assure you this is nothing you’ll read about in travel guides or watch in documentaries; in this post I’ll present to you something so common to hear far and wide here: a short introduction into the everyday Language of Argentinians.
Apart from our official language, Spanish, another “language” is spoken in the streets. These are words we use daily, though even most Argentinians aren’t aware they came from an argot called Lunfardo. We ‘re referring to a set of terms (about 6,000) that originated in the River Plate area in the 18th century. It’s said that back then, lombards (coming from Italy) who worked as moneylenders started using these terms borrowed from the different languages brought in by immigrants from around the world through Buenos Aires ports. They would do this so as not to be understood by law enforcement officers.
As years went by, Lunfardo words were being used by most of society’s lowest strata, and continued spreading until they‘d gone across and settled among members of all social classes. It’s worth saying, though, that they still remain as part of very informal communication. Nowadays, Lunfardo is in constant change, as some terms are brought back to being in fashion whereas others are just left behind.
What used to be ‘the secret language of criminals’ it’s now such a big part of our culture that in 2015 the first Lunfardo novel was released La muerte del Pibe Oscar de Luis C. Villamayor by Oscar Conde and two editions of the Lunfardo Dictionary have been published already.
Now, wait no more and have a look at this Glossary that compiles just some of the most widely used words you’re likely to hear from an Argentinian (I’m doing my best here translate them as accurately as possible):
- Bancar (v): to support or be an accomplice to someone else’s actions, also to tolerate a person.
- Bondi (n): a bus (from Brazilian Portuguese)
- Bardo (n) a problem – Bardear (v) to insult someone – Bardera/o: a troublemaker
- Cancherear (v) being really good at something or acting like it. Canchera/o (adj)
- Chabón: a young man
- Chamuyar (v): the act of persuading someone into doing something or trick them into believing something that isn’t true – Chamuyo (n) – Chamuyera/o (adj)
- Facha (n): a man’s good looks - Fachero (adj.): being handsome
- Grosa/o (adj): important, outstanding, used to describe a person or a situation (from Portuguese)
- Mina (n) : young woman (see also Minón: a really attractive young woman)
- Piba/Pibe: young woman/man
- Piola (adj): relaxed, easy going, to refer to a person or a situation
- Quilombo (n): (from Brazil but brought into America by African slaves) a mess, a disaster – Enquilombar (v) emquilombado (adj)
- Sarpar (v) from the Spanish pasar, made through “verse” (a frequently used process in Lunfardo in which words are formed by switching syllable order) it means to cross the line, to be beyond limitations (with a postisive or negative connotation sarpada/o (adj)
- Trucho (n) : something fake, bad quality, a cheap imitation
- Yuta/Cana (n): the police
Well, as you might have noticed, I’m kind of a language nerd (guilty!)! Now seriously, I’ve done my best to sum up the very basics of Lunfardo for you. I hope they come in handy when interacting with Argentinians in your next visit. However, I recommend that if you’re up to start using these new words, do so with people you are close with, at least until you feel canchero at it 
Have you ever used/heard these words? What’s the most frequently used slang word in your language?
This post is included in a series about Argentina, as part of a Team Challenge proposed by @ErmesT .It’s about introducing our country, its culture and traditions.
Read more in the post series Living Argentina.
Find out more #teamChallenge and #teamArgentina.
Siempre me ha facinado que cada país de habla hispana tenga su propia jerga y que a veces incluso las personas que hablan el mismo idioma no se puedan entender ente sí mismos. 
Lo que no sabía es que en Argentina lo tienen como si fuera un idioma aparte, algo como el Hockney en Londres. 
