After being in Panama for more than two years, I finally feel like I can understand "social" Spanish (or better said, Panamanian). Its not that hard to understand that we speak differently in a business or church setting (which just happens to be most of my experience in Panama) than we do when we are with our friends. It is equally easily comprehensible that, after all my chagrin of not understanding social Spanish, the way teens and "young adults" speak isn't all that different from English. After all, English is the language of the world, and here in Panama, its the cool thing to do, or at least to show how much money you have, you can speak English. So without further preamble, here is a list of Panamanian slang that comes from what, after a little investigation, is clearly English. Make your guess of what they mean.
1. ¡qué cul, man!
2. wachiman
3. güichi-güiper (pronounced wishy-wiper)
4. daim
5. cuara
6. mi fren
7. plees
8. ofi
9. flutch
10. güapin (pronounced whoppin)
11. cofi brek
12. fukup
13. chilin
14. camaron
15. "Arraijan" and "Perejil"
16. tinaco
17. meto
18. pritty
Any ideas? Make your best guesses. Answers are posted here.
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