Canarian Spanish
Encyclopedia
Canarian Spanish is a variant of standard Spanish
spoken in the Canary Islands
by the Canarian people
, and in the southeastern section of Louisiana
in Isleño communities that emigrated to the Americas
as early as the 18th century. The variant is very similar to the Andalusian Spanish
variety spoken in Andalusia
and in much of southern Spain
and (especially) to Caribbean Spanish
because of Canarian emigration to the Caribbean in earlier times. Canarian Spanish, therefore, heavily influenced the development of Caribbean Spanish. The Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands were originally largely settled by colonists from Andalusia, so the dialects of the Caribbean islands were already quite close to Canarian speech. In the Caribbean, Canarian speech patterns were never regarded as foreign or overly distinct.
The incorporation of the Canary Islands into the Crown of Castile
began with Enrique III and ended with the Catholic Monarchs
. The expeditions for their conquest started off mainly from ports of Andalusia
and is the reason why the Andalusians predominated in the Canaries
. There was also an important colonizing contingent coming from Portugal
in the early conquest
of the Canaries, along with the Andalusians and the Castilians from mainland
Spain
. In earlier times, Portuguese settled alongside the Spanish
in the north of La Palma
, but died off or were absorbed by the Spanish. The population that inhabited the islands before the conquest, the Guanches
, spoke a series of Berber dialects, often referred to by the insular term, amazigh. After the conquest, a cultural process took place rapidly and intensely, with the native language disappearing almost completely in the archipelago
. Surviving are some names of plants and animals, terms related to the cattle
ranch, and numerous island placenames.
Due to their geographic situation, the Canary Islands have received much outside influence, causing drastic cultural changes, including linguistic ones. Canarian speech influenced the development of the Spanish spoken in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, as thousands of Canarians emigrated to those islands during the colonial period.
Cuban Spanish and Puerto Rican Spanish are strikingly similar to Canarian Spanish. When visiting Tenerife
or Las Palmas, Cubans and Puerto Ricans are usually taken at first hearing for fellow-Canarians from a distant part of the Canary archipelago. Venezuelans also speak similarly.
In the U.S. state of Louisiana, there is a large community of Canary Islander descendants east of New Orleans called St. Bernard Parish; members of this community continue to speak the Canarian dialect of Spanish.
, especially in the toponymy
where words of Guanche origin have become nativized by the Spanish settlers. In addition, many Canarian names come from the Guanche language, such as Gara, Acerina, Beneharo, Jonay, Tanausú, Chaxiraxi, Ayoze and Yaiza.
The Isleños are the descendants of Canary Islanders living in the southeast region of the U.S. state of Louisiana
. The Isleños speak Canarian Spanish with a few words borrowed from other cultures. The Isleños still have ties with the Canary Islands.
The phonology of the Isleños can be linked diachronically to the Spanish dialects of the Canary Islands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and ultimately to Andalusía in Spain. For example, the aspiration of syllable-final /s/ is a salient characteristic of the Canary Islands and the Caribbean and can also be found in Andalusian Spanish as is the assimilation of /r/ to the /l/ of a following enclitic pronoun. Isleño phonology has other phonetic variations which link it to the Canary Islands and Caribbean dialects: syllable-final /r/ becoming [h], as in [ˈpwehta] for puerta ('door'), and the deletion of /d/ between vowels and word-finally as in [eŋkaenˈao] for encadenado ('padlocked') and [uhˈte] for usted ('you').
The phonetic features of Isleño show their ancestry to Canarian Spanish, Caribbean Spanish, and Andalusian speech.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
spoken in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
by the Canarian people
Canarian people
The Canarians are an ethnic group living in the archipelago of the Canary Islands , near the coast of Western Africa...
, and in the southeastern section of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
in Isleño communities that emigrated to the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
as early as the 18th century. The variant is very similar to the Andalusian Spanish
Andalusian Spanish
The Andalusian varieties of Spanish are spoken in Andalusia, Ceuta, Melilla and Gibraltar. They include perhaps the most distinct of the southern variants of peninsular Spanish, differing in many respects from northern varieties, and also from Standard Spanish...
variety spoken in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
and in much of southern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and (especially) to Caribbean Spanish
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....
because of Canarian emigration to the Caribbean in earlier times. Canarian Spanish, therefore, heavily influenced the development of Caribbean Spanish. The Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands were originally largely settled by colonists from Andalusia, so the dialects of the Caribbean islands were already quite close to Canarian speech. In the Caribbean, Canarian speech patterns were never regarded as foreign or overly distinct.
The incorporation of the Canary Islands into the Crown of Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
began with Enrique III and ended with the Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
. The expeditions for their conquest started off mainly from ports of Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
and is the reason why the Andalusians predominated in the Canaries
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. There was also an important colonizing contingent coming from Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
in the early conquest
Conquest (military)
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. One example is the Norman conquest of England, which provided the subjugation of the Kingdom of England and the acquisition of the English crown by William the Conqueror in 1066...
of the Canaries, along with the Andalusians and the Castilians from mainland
Mainland
Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...
Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. In earlier times, Portuguese settled alongside the Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
in the north of La Palma
La Palma
La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands...
, but died off or were absorbed by the Spanish. The population that inhabited the islands before the conquest, the Guanches
Guanches
Guanches is the name given to the aboriginal Berber inhabitants of the Canary Islands. It is believed that they migrated to the archipelago sometime between 1000 BCE and 100 BCE or perhaps earlier...
, spoke a series of Berber dialects, often referred to by the insular term, amazigh. After the conquest, a cultural process took place rapidly and intensely, with the native language disappearing almost completely in the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
. Surviving are some names of plants and animals, terms related to the cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
ranch, and numerous island placenames.
Due to their geographic situation, the Canary Islands have received much outside influence, causing drastic cultural changes, including linguistic ones. Canarian speech influenced the development of the Spanish spoken in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, as thousands of Canarians emigrated to those islands during the colonial period.
Cuban Spanish and Puerto Rican Spanish are strikingly similar to Canarian Spanish. When visiting Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
or Las Palmas, Cubans and Puerto Ricans are usually taken at first hearing for fellow-Canarians from a distant part of the Canary archipelago. Venezuelans also speak similarly.
In the U.S. state of Louisiana, there is a large community of Canary Islander descendants east of New Orleans called St. Bernard Parish; members of this community continue to speak the Canarian dialect of Spanish.
Uses and pronunciation
- As is the case with most varieties of Spanish outside of mainland Spain, the preterite is generally used instead of the perfect. For example, Visité a Juan ('I visited John') instead of He visitado a Juan ('I have visited John'). &
- As is the case with most varieties of Spanish outside of central and northern Spain, Canarians use ustedes for all 2nd person plurals. Thus, instead of saying vosotros estáis they say ustedes están. Only in few and decreasing areas of the islands of El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera the pronoun vosotros is used, generally only by some of the older speakers. In La Gomera and some parts of La Palma, ustedes vos vais is used. Archaic forms like vaivos are used in some parts.
- The diminutive. As is the case with most varieties of Spanish outside of mainland Spain, -itito exists as an exaggerated use of the diminutive -ito. Example: Hacemos una comidita and if it is an even smaller amount, it is a comiditita, just as chiquito can be chiquitito.
- As is the case with most varieties of Spanish outside of mainland Spain, in some diminutives, syllables are suppressed. Example: Cochito instead of cochecito for small car, or florita instead of florecita.
- The most distinctive non-mainland (and Andalusian) Spanish characteristic is seseo: the merger that consists of pronouncing the sounds of "S" and "Z/soft C" alike. Example: caza ('hunt') is pronounced exactly like casa ('house'). This feature is common to most parts of the Spanish-speaking world outside of the northern three quarters of Spain (Castile and the surrounding provinces which have adopted a very similar way of speaking). & debuccalization. As is the case with many varieties of Spanish, /s/ debuccalized to [h] in coda position. This characteristic is common in Andalusia, the area of the Caribbean, Veracruz, MexicoVeracruz, MexicoVeracruz, Mexico, may refer to:*The state of Veracruz, one of the 32 component federal entities of the United Mexican States*Veracruz, Veracruz, a major seaport and largest city in that state...
, the Colombian Caribbean Coast and Venezuela. - Disappearance of de which means "of" in certain expressions, as is the case with many varieties of Spanish outside of mainland Spain. Example: casa Marta instead of casa de Marta, gofio millo instead of gofio de millo, etc.
Vocabulary
The Canarian vocabulary displays several influences, including archaisms from the Castilian of the time of the conquest, such as apopar (" to flatter"). There is also a notable influence from the Guanche languageGuanche language
Guanche is an extinct language that was spoken by the Guanches of the Canary Islands until the 16th or 17th century. It is only known today through a few sentences and individual words recorded by early travellers, supplemented by several placenames, as well as some words assimilated into the...
, especially in the toponymy
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
where words of Guanche origin have become nativized by the Spanish settlers. In addition, many Canarian names come from the Guanche language, such as Gara, Acerina, Beneharo, Jonay, Tanausú, Chaxiraxi, Ayoze and Yaiza.
The Isleños
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The Isleños speak Canarian Spanish with a few words borrowed from other cultures. The Isleños still have ties with the Canary Islands.
The phonology of the Isleños can be linked diachronically to the Spanish dialects of the Canary Islands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and ultimately to Andalusía in Spain. For example, the aspiration of syllable-final /s/ is a salient characteristic of the Canary Islands and the Caribbean and can also be found in Andalusian Spanish as is the assimilation of /r/ to the /l/ of a following enclitic pronoun. Isleño phonology has other phonetic variations which link it to the Canary Islands and Caribbean dialects: syllable-final /r/ becoming [h], as in [ˈpwehta] for puerta ('door'), and the deletion of /d/ between vowels and word-finally as in [eŋkaenˈao] for encadenado ('padlocked') and [uhˈte] for usted ('you').
The phonetic features of Isleño show their ancestry to Canarian Spanish, Caribbean Spanish, and Andalusian speech.