See Spanish Language for the Spanish language in general.
The Spanish Language is the second most widely spoken native language in the world after Mandarin Chinese, being the native language of 6% of the world, the world's most widely spoken Romance language, the de facto lingua franca of the Americas, the national language of 20 countries, and a major secondary language of another 4 countries including the United States. As a result, the Spanish language is an extremely diverse language full of regional interpretations, local words and a few local grammatical quirks. While all regional dialects of Spanish are deep down the same language, their local variations are more than enough to make them at the same time entirely different ways of expressing one's thoughts and feelings; therefore, the purpose of this page is to document all the different ways the language of Cervantes is spoken around the world.
European (Spanish) Spanish Variants
Andalusian accents and dialects
The dialect in southern Spain with the largest number of speakers. The Castillian language arrived fairly late to Andalusia in about the Thirteenth Century. However, its use was not overly extensive until the Reconquista in 1492. There are competing theories on the development of the Andalusian dialect. Although the Arabic language had some influence on the language there, many of those who spoke Arabic languages were exiled, killed or forced to convert during La Reconquista. Most of the Arabisms in Castillian actually entered the language through the Christian Mozarabic population in central Spanish cities such as Toledo. Upon their reconquest, these bilingual individuals were then sent to adminster cities such as Sevilla, and so codified and spread the language in those parts.The dialect could have also developed further without much interference due to the large barrier of the Sierra Madre, and the general disinterest shown by the Castillan kingdom and the rest of Spain. Many of the immigrants to South America came from here, and the dialect would later serve as a base for the Latin American dialects. Within Spain, the dialect was often socially stigmatized. One reason was for being considered a corruption of pure Spanish, the other because the speakers were often economic immigrants and considered ignorant, poor and bad mannered.
This dialect can be found in Sevilla, Cordóba, Ceuta etc. Depending on the cultural background of the speaker, features can commonly include:
Seseo, which is the use of /s/ in place of /z/ or /c/. Cena becomes sena etc. This is more popular in Sevilla and Cordóba and other urban centres, while Ceceo is more popular in the rest of Andalusia.
Ceceo, which refers to the use of /z/ instead of /s/. e.g Zeguro instead of seguro. This is considered a less cultured feature than Seseo and is more common in Malaga and Cadíz(but not the city).
Yeísmo, which is the phenomena of pronouncing /ll/ and /y/ the exact same way. For example yover and not llover.
Aspiration of the intervocalic constonant /j/.
Loss of intervocalic /d/, /g/, /l/ and /r/. Quemaura in place of Quemadura etc. Pesao instead of pesado. These can also be outright lost at the end of words.
Neutralisation of l, r, and b. This means l can become r, r becomes l and b becomes g. Therefore, alto becomes arto, beber comes bebel and abuelo becomes agüelo.
The dropping of /s/ at the end of words. This means it can frequently be hard to distinguish if someone is talking about plurals or not e.g Casa instead of casas. The /s/ can also be aspirated. For example libertá instead of libertad.
The pronounciation of /ch/ in a similar way to the English /sh/. For example, musho instead of mucho. mushasho instead of the standard muchacho.
Reductions of frequent words. This can include mu for muy, pa for para etc.
Use of the verb ser in place of haber.
The substitution of Vosotros for Ustedes. Similar to Latin America and the Canary Islands.
A large stock of dialect specific words. This includes many archaic words like escarpín instead of calcetin and fario instead of destino.
No laísmo or leísmo.
Aragonese dialect and accent in Spanish
This dialect is spoken in the former kingdom of Aragon; this includes Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel. The integration of Castillan Spanish began in the region around the fifteenth century, after the merging of the Kingdoms of Aragon and Castille. From the east, Catalan also influenced the dialect. The dialect can be split roughly into three parts, south-western(the closest to standard Spanish), central and north-eastern. Many of the features of the dialect derive from the Aragonese language which in turns derives from Navarro-Aragonese. Aragonese has been preserved, and given certain rights in the region, as well as being taught in schools. It still has about twelve thousand speakers and has been popularised in cinema and literature in recent times.Common features can include:
An ascending intonation, which leads to the extension of the final vowel of a sentence. For example, muchóo and not mucho. This is one of the more popularised features of the accent.
The dislocation of esdrújulas(words with their stress on the third to last syllable). So for example, pájaro becomes pajáro and médico becomes medíco.
The reduction of consonant clusters frequent in rural Spanish dialects. For example, perfecto would become perfeto and repugnante could become repunante.
The use of the diminutive suffix -ico e.g pequeñico and not pequeñito. This is typically Aragonese.
The use of gender with interrogatives. So cuál can become cualó, cuála, cuálos.
The use of Pues at the end of a sentence. As well as other slang words interjected frequently. These include maño(friendly form of address), hala(surprise), co(mate or buddy), jodo etc.
Absence of leísmo. which referes to using the indirect object pronouns le and les in place of the direct object pronouns lo, la, los, and las.
The accompaniment of personal pronouns with prepositions. For example, con yo and para tú
The conservation of vocabulary from medieval Navarro-Aragonese.
Extremaduran Language
Extremaduran or Estremeñu is an obscure, almost extinct language spoken mostly in very localized zones of north-west Extremadura, as well as south-west Salamanca. The rest of Extremadurans speak a language not different enough from standard Spanish to be considered anything but dialects. There have been attempts to both artificially revive Extremaduran Language, especially promoted by celebrated poet José María Gabriel y Galán, and even more oddly, to transform the most distintict Extremaduran dialects into a separate language, called Castúo by another poet, Luis Chamizo, but both initiatives have currently little support even from Extremadurans themselves, who often consider them to be just poorly spoken Spanish.Extremaduran dialect and accents
Although it has strong Leonese influences, Extremaduran dialects are related and similar to some forms of western Andalusian. Southern Extremadurans, from the area of Badajoz, are sometimes mistaken with northwestern Andalusians.Common features include:
Aspiration of the intervocalic constonant /j/, or conversely, turning soft /h/ into /j/ depending of the dialect.
Loss of intervocalic /d/ in potentially any position of the word. It is common at the end, turning arreglado into arreglao, but can also happen at the beginning, with words like destrozo turning into estrozo.
Loss of /s/ at the end of words.
Loss of intervocalic /g/, /l/ and /r/, as well as at the end of words.
Reductions of frequent words, like mu for muy.
No laísmo, although leísmo has some presence.
The use of the diminutive suffix -ino, which is strongly characteristic of these dialects. Ej. pequeñito - pequeñino.
Galician Language
There was a time when there was little to no difference between languages on Northwestern Spain; that time was immediately following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and the specific vulgar Latin that was spoken in the area eventually would evolve into both Spanish and Galician languages, as well as Portuguese Language.During the Middle Ages, Portuguese and Galician were the same language known as Galaico-Portuguese, with, along with Occitan, saw great attention as a lingua franca for chilvalric poetry and wandering minstrels. Also, medieval castilian bore no great differences with Galaico-Portuguese, sharing many features such as sibilant structures.
It is by the 12th Century, when the Portus Callae county gets independence from the Kingdom of Leon, eventually becoming the Kingdom of Portugal, that Galician and Portuguese start its divergence. Portuguese develops from Galician as its territory was growing under the Portuguese Reconquista, while Galician gets confined to the mountains of North-Western Spain and lose relevancy over Castillian Spanish, which would itself shape different over the next century both from Galician and Portuguese.
Galician Language gets an upgrade on the 19th Century with a quite a few renamed poets and it's one of the four official languages of the Spanish nation, but this is all about dialects and accents and we'll talk about how Galician affects speakers when talking Castilian Spanish, and not about the language itself, which is neither an accent nor a dialect.
The Other Wiki has an entry about Galician language
if you want to expand your knowledge about it.
Galician accents
Galician accent is notoriously rhythmical with a very distinctive, slightly high, pitch and idiosyncratic intonation which is often regarded as a very smooth form of Spanish. Its pronounciation has very close vowels at the end of words, most notably the O vowel, which is pronounced in standard Spanish as an open-mid back rounded vowel (ɔ), while in the Galician dialect, it is pronounced as a closed-mid back rounded vowel (o). For example, castro, a kind of fortification for Celtic pre-Roman tribes which is a common landmark and a surname for Galician Spaniards, would be [kastro̞] in standard Spanish and [kastro] in Galician Spanish. Meanwhile, the E vowel (e̞) may get closer to the I vowel (e) in some instances.
The gheada or debbuccalization of the phoneme /g/ may exist, but it is not very common nowadays and it is most often not protrayed (or even known about) by media.
Also, it is common the simplification of consonant clusters by skipping weaker phonemes on these instances, for example concepto (concept) would be [konˈθep.to] in standard spanish but may become [konˈθeto] in galician spanish. Repugnante (Disgusting) may be shortened from [re.puɣˈnan.te] to [re.punan.te], an acto (an act) [ˈak.to] may be an ['ato] and so on.
Grammatically, as is common in all northern dialects, galicians will never use compound tenses, always preterite: Supe (I knew) instead of He sabido. It is safe to say you can identify somebody who as a northerner (from Galicia to the french border through the Cantabrian Mountains) because they will use preterite like a Latino while speaking with a Spaniard-ish pronounciation; in the rest of Spain, the present perfect is almost universally used for speaking in past tense (e.g. He dicho instead of Dije for "I said").
At last, Galicians are very high on localisms and crosswords between galician and spanish languages, which would be too extensive to list here, but the most common feature is the diminutive -Iño, -Iña instead the more standard -Ito, -Ita (e.g. futboliño instead of futbolito for a foosball table). (This is a cognate of the neighboring Portuguese diminutive suffix -inho, -inha — compare futboliño with its Portuguese cognate futébolzinho)
The stereotype for the galician dialect traditionally it's not a very positive one. Galicians were (and, often, are) regarded as rustic, backwards simpletons with odd sex partners who live in the mountains and are often stuck fifty years or a century ago; in Latin America, they are the butt of dumb people jokes. In media, this is invariably the accent for the Kindhearted Simpleton (In recent times), the Fish out of Water (When regarding townsfolk in a big city), The Fool, the Cloudcuckoolander and Too Dumb to Fool. Think Homer Simpson for the kind of character.
Examples in fiction:
- Ramón Sampedro (Played by Javier Bardem) pretty much destroys the stereotype for soul-wrenching drama in Mar adentro.
- Xoan from Pedro Almodovar's Julieta gives this trope a positive twist and makes him a handsome, badass Galician fisherman.
Common features include:
The exchange of /d/ for /z/ at the end of words. For example Madrid becomes Madriz
The loss of /d/ from the past participle. For example abandonado becomes abandonao.
Yeísmo, which is the phenomena of pronouncing /ll/ and /y/ the exact same way. For example yover and not llover.
Leísmo, which referes to using the indirect object pronouns le and les in place of the direct object pronouns lo, la, los, and las.
The use of ejque instead of es que
The aspiration of the first constonant. Doctor becomes Dohtor etc.
Among older speakers, the aspiration of the /s/ is frequent.
Murcian accent and dialect
Often considered one of the most exceedingly difficult peninsular accents to comprehend. It can be found around Murcia but also Albacete, parts of Alicante and Granada, and Almería. It is commonly looked down upon as 'bad' pronounciation, but actually derives from the Murcian language and medieval kingdom. Due to various occupations over the centuries, the dialect contains features from surrounding regions and other parts of Spain. There is also a higher degree of Arabic influence when compared to the rest of southern Spain.Similar to most southern peninsular dialects, it features seseo and yeísmo. Seseo being the pronounciation of z, and c when before e or i, as /s/ as opposed to /θ/ (th sound). For example, coser and cocer would be pronounced the same. Yeísmo is the pronounciation of ⟨ll⟩ and ⟨y⟩ as the same sound /ʝ/.
Additional features can include:
The aspiration of /s/ in the final position of a syllable. e.g ehperanza and not esperanza. The loss of the intervocalic /d/. For example, venido becomes venío. This can also happen with the intervocalic /b/. caeza instead of cabeza.
Confusion between r and l, especially at the end of words. For example, mujer would become mujel In some cases, a conservation of fl, cl and pl from Latin. llama becomes flama . The loss of final implosives such as a /s/, /r/ or /l/. For example, casas would become casa, caná instead of canal.
Opening of the a in the diphtong ei. Treinta becomes treinte.
Aspiration of j. Corahe instead of coraje
Use of intervocalic consonant clusters ns. Paso becomes panso.
The exchange of e for i. For example siñor instead of señor.
The use of the diminutive suffix -ico e.g pequeñico and not pequeñito. This is also typically Aragonese.
Mexican Spanish Variants
The main feature common to Mexican dialects of Spanish in contrast to other New World variants (and especially the nearby Caribbean ones) is the remarkably-consistent-even-for-Spanish rhythm of syllables and clear enunciation of consonants. Mexicans frequently complain that their Caribbean neighbors have mushmouth; Caribbeans just as frequently complain that Mexican Spanish sounds like machine-gun fire. Mexicans are also noted for their very creative and unique swearing.
The speech of the North has experienced heavy influences from the several indigenous tongues of the region, most notably the Yaqui Indian language. For example, here is the sample line, "El buki bichi a papuchi dando tatahuila en el zoquete (The naked kid, mounted on someone's shoulders, turning around in the mud)."
Other than Yaqui, English has a lot of clout in this dialect as well, being closest to the Anglophone country, The United States of America. Think words like watchear (to watch), parkear (to park), and truka (truck).
While wey or guey is quintessentially Mexican to most Americans, it's almost foreign to the Northerners as well. The Norteno lexicon prefers alternatives like vato, compadre, or compa.
One curious idiosyncrasy of the North is that personal names are not proper nouns; they are instead improper nouns, and therefore get an article. Whereas elsewhere a man called Diego or a woman called María would be simply addressed as "Diego" or "María", in Northern Mexico they are likely to be addressed as "el Diego" or "la María".
The Northerners also have a slang lexicon of their own. For example, to get drunk is pistear in the North whereas emborracharse elsewhere. Similarly, to bathe is pasarse here, banarse elsewhere. It can also be mamarse if you're intending to be vulgar.
This accent sounds Norteno in grammar and diction. Words like watchear and parkear are as at home in Mexicali as they are in Ciudad Juarez. The only thing setting it apart from Norteno is its vocabulary.
Vocabulary
- Bichi note : Nude or naked
- Chilo note : Cool
- Morro note : A young man
- Paro note : A favor. "Tírame un paro" can be more or less translated as "do me a solid".
- Pistear note : To drink alcohol
- Pirata note : Crazy
- Cura or curada note : Funny; both cura and curada are gender-neutral, i.e. end in -a in both feminine and masculine forms.
- Lángaro note : A cheap or greedy person
- Sobrerruedas note : Flea market; all flea markets are tianguis in Central Mexico. But in Baja California, only one in a fixed building is tianguis; the one on the street is sobrerruedas.
- ¡Arre! or ¡fierro!: Go ahead! Get it on!
- La refri note : Air-conditioner; Careful with the gender here because the masculine el refri is slang for refrigerator in all Mexican Spanish dialects.
A lot of English words have also creeped into the Spanish spoken here. Words like troca (truck) and baika (bike) are commonplace. Another interesting quirk of this accent is that when making diminutives, -illo/illa is often preferred to -ito/ita.
Vocabulary
- ¡Ajalas!: An interjection that expresses positive surprise.
- ¡Ámola!: "Let's go!"
- Ajustarnote : To afford something.
- Birote: A short sourdough baguette that can only be made in Guadalajara due to atmospheric pressure and microbiota; but sometimes used to refer to any bread in general.
- Bule: A strip club.
- Caguama note : One-liter beer bottle
- Calar note : To taste, to test
- Carrilla note : Teasing
- Casconote : Glass bottle, usually for soda or beer
- Charpearnote : To splash
- Charcharnote : To operate
- No charchar el asunto: To have erectile dysfunction (literally, "'pissness' not working")
- Chesco note : Soft drink
- Chile note : Salsa
- Coto note : Gated community, most prevalent in the southern outskirts of Tlajomulco.
- Asquil, asquilín note : Ant
- Bien mucho note : Too much
- ¿Edá? note : an interjection that can be more or less translated as "gnome sayin'?".
- Ey note : Yes, I agree. Often uttered in response to "¿edá?".
- Chucho note : Dog
- Guanatos: The local nickname for Guadalajara.
- Fajo note : Belt.
- The traditional Mexican embroidered belt comes from northern Jalisco, and its proper name is fajo piteado.
- The traditional Mexican embroidered belt comes from northern Jalisco, and its proper name is fajo piteado
- Ocupar note : To have a need
- Lonche note : A loaf bread sandwich, known in the rest of the country as "torta" (except for the torta ahogada, a meat sandwich drenched in tomato sauce).
- Mijo note : A corruption of "mi hijo", which can be best translated as "buddy".
- Melolengo note : Idiot
- Moruzasnote : Crumbs
- Enchiloso note : Spicy
- Rait note : A ride in an acquaintance's car (e.g. not an Uber ride)
- Chuchulucos note : Sweet things
- Guzgues note : Street snacks
- Chispear note : Light rain
- Echar lío note : To flirt, to chat
- Sabe: An abbreviation of "quién sabe", which means "who knows". Often pronounced as "saaaaaaabe", with a long A.
- Támaro: A traffic cop. The word is a corruption of "tamarindo", in reference to a brown uniform they used to wear in the past.
- Toro, torito: A sobriety checkpoint.
- Truchanote : To be alert and aware.
One similarity between the Costeño accent and the Cuban accent is in what they do with the word-final and inter-vocalic d. They don't pronounce it. Thus hablado sounds like hablao and verdad sounds like verda. Word-final -s also meets the same fate. It's ignored. That's why, for instance, pues sounds like pueh. Also, like the Caribbean dialects, unstressed vowels are blurred or altogether elided in these regions as well. The dialect is also marked by a softer volume and higher rate of speech compared to Norteno.
Unsurprisingly, coast people are usually depicted as fun-loving boat tour operators, snack peddlers and hotel staff; those who hail from Baja California Sur are likewise depicted as fans of adventure and water sports, never seen without an all terrain vehicle thanks to the well known Baja 1000 rally.
In this accent, vowels tend to be drawn out a bit more, especially where the stress of a word is located. The sound 'sh' does not exist much in the Spanish language, but in the Yucatan you may hear it more since in Mayan, it does exist. A prime example is a neighbor who clearly says 'shincuenta' instead of 'Cincuenta' for the number 50. The "n (enyay)" which usually has a sharp "nya" sound is drawn out more to sound like "nia" or "nio". An example would for the 'nino' which would be pronounced 'ninio.' Sometimes the letter 'h' is pronounced like a soft 'j.' In other Spanish dialects, the 'h' is silent.
Another distinguishing feature of Yucatán Spanish is the strong presence of Mayan words. The Yucatán dialect has lots of them, to the point that some sentences may sound completely obscure and incomprehensible to other Mexican ears.
A good example of the Yucatán accent can be found on standup comedians Puruxona Cahuich and Tila María Sesto.
Vocabulary
- Charros note : Corkscrew
- Botaxix note : Ass or asshole.
- Pirix note : Ass.
- Pelana note : "Fuck!".
- Wixar note : To urinate.
- Queso note : Pussy.
- Menudo note : Change (of money)
- Vereda note : Parting in hair
- Costurar note : To sew
- Tirahule note : Slingshot
- Papagayo note : Kite
- Xix note : The last few remnants left after consuming something.
- Tirix tah: Diarrhea.
- Purux note : Fat.
- Xik note : Armpit.
- Pek note : Dog.
- Huiro note : A person of poor culture.
- Huach note : Foreigner.
- Weputa: A slurred corruption of hijo de puta, which means "motherfucker".
American (USA) Spanish Variants
Central American Spanish Variants
Caribbean Spanish Variants
South American Spanish Variants
Another feature of the Colombian dialect (which is also shared with the northern-eastern dialects of Mexican Spanish) is the pronounciation of certain letter clusters: One of the most notorious one is the Colombian pronounciation of the "sh" cluster, which is normally pronounced as "ch" instead. This is especially notorious when a Colombian tries to pronounce foreign words when this cluster is used continuously, especially those from languages like Japanese, when names or words like Kenshin Himura, Geisha, Sushi or Shoko Nakagawa (aka Shoko-tan) are pronounced in Colombian Spanish as "Kenchin Himura", "Geicha", "Suchi" or "Choko Nakagawa/Choko-tan" respectively.
