Caribbean Spanish
Encyclopedia
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
.
More precisely, the term refers to the Spanish language as spoken in the Caribbean islands of Cuba
, Puerto Rico
, the Dominican Republic
, and in the Caribbean mainland along the coast of Mexico
, Central America
(Guatemala
, Belize
, El Salvador
, Honduras
, Nicaragua
, Costa Rica
and Panama
), Colombia
and Venezuela
.
to [h]. Similarly, syllable-final nasals and /ɾ/ in the infinitival morpheme may also be dropped (e.g. ven [bẽ] 'come', comer [koˈme] 'to eat'); the dropping of final nasals doesn't result in further neutralization compared to other dialects since the nasalization of the vowel is maintained.
Several neutralizations also occur in the syllable coda. The liquids /l/ and /ɾ/ may neutralize to [j] (e.g. Cibaeño Dominican celda/cerda [ˈsejða] 'cell'/'bristle'), [l] (e.g. alma/arma [ˈalma] 'soul'/'weapon'), or as complete regressive assimilation (e.g. pulga/purga [ˈpuɡɡa] 'flea'/'purge').
These deletions and neutralizations show variability in their occurrence, even with the same speaker in the same utterance, implying that nondeleted forms exist in the underlying structure. This is not to say that these dialects are on the path to eliminating coda consonants, since these processes have existed for more than four centuries in these dialects. argues that this is the result of speakers acquiring multiple phonological systems with uneven control similar to that of second language learners.
Other features include
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
region. It closely resembles the Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands
Canarian Spanish
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...
and Andalusia
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...
.
More precisely, the term refers to the Spanish language as spoken in the Caribbean islands of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, and in the Caribbean mainland along the coast of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
(Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
), Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
Characteristics
Frequently, word-final /s/ and /d/ are dropped (as in compás [komˈpa] 'beat', mitad [miˈta] 'half'). Syllable-final /s/ (as well as /f/ in any context) may also be debuccalizedDebuccalization
Debuccalization is a sound change in which a consonant loses its original place of articulation and becomes or . The pronunciation of a consonant as is sometimes called aspiration, but in phonetics aspiration is the burst of air accompanying a plosive...
to [h]. Similarly, syllable-final nasals and /ɾ/ in the infinitival morpheme may also be dropped (e.g. ven [bẽ] 'come', comer [koˈme] 'to eat'); the dropping of final nasals doesn't result in further neutralization compared to other dialects since the nasalization of the vowel is maintained.
Several neutralizations also occur in the syllable coda. The liquids /l/ and /ɾ/ may neutralize to [j] (e.g. Cibaeño Dominican celda/cerda [ˈsejða] 'cell'/'bristle'), [l] (e.g. alma/arma [ˈalma] 'soul'/'weapon'), or as complete regressive assimilation (e.g. pulga/purga [ˈpuɡɡa] 'flea'/'purge').
These deletions and neutralizations show variability in their occurrence, even with the same speaker in the same utterance, implying that nondeleted forms exist in the underlying structure. This is not to say that these dialects are on the path to eliminating coda consonants, since these processes have existed for more than four centuries in these dialects. argues that this is the result of speakers acquiring multiple phonological systems with uneven control similar to that of second language learners.
Other features include
- Intervocalic /d/ is often deleted (at times causing diphthongs): cansado /kanˈsau/ ('tired'), nada /na/ ('nothing'), and perdido /perˈdio/ ('lost'). is glottal [h] is often pronounced [x] and aspirated, especially in Puerto Rico: e.g. revolución [xʰeβoluˈsjoŋ] ('revolution')
- The second-person subject pronouns—tú (or vosVoseoVoseo is the use of the second person singular pronoun vos in many dialects of Spanish. In dialects that have it, it is used either instead of tú, or alongside it....
in Central America) and usted—are used more frequently than in other varieties of Spanish, contrary to the general Spanish tendency to omit them when meaning is clear from the context (see Pro-drop languagePro-drop languageA pro-drop language is a language in which certain classes of pronouns may be omitted when they are in some sense pragmatically inferable...
). Thus, tú estás hablando instead of estás hablando. This tendency is strongest in the island countries and, on the mainland, in Nicaragua, where voseoVoseoVoseo is the use of the second person singular pronoun vos in many dialects of Spanish. In dialects that have it, it is used either instead of tú, or alongside it....
(rather than the use of tú for the second person singular familiar) is predominant. - So-called "wh-questions", which in standard Spanish are marked by subject/verb inversion, often appear without that inversion in Caribbean Spanish. Thus "¿Qué tú quieres?" for standard "¿Qué quieres (tú)?" ("What do you want?").
See also
- Cuban SpanishCuban SpanishCuban Spanish is the dialect of the Spanish language as it is spoken in Cuba. As a Caribbean dialect, Cuban Spanish shares a number of features with nearby varieties, including coda deletion, seseo, and debuccalization.-Overview:...
- Dominican SpanishDominican SpanishDominican Spanish is Spanish as spoken in the Dominican Republic, a Caribbean country, and throughout the Dominican diaspora, which is found mostly in the United States, chiefly in New York City, Boston, and Miami....
- Languages of the CaribbeanLanguages of the CaribbeanThe languages of the Caribbean reflect the region's diverse history and culture. There are four official languages spoken in the Caribbean. However there are also number of creoles and local patois . Dozens of the creole languages of the Caribbean are widely used for inter-ethnic communication...
- Nicaraguan SpanishNicaraguan SpanishNicaraguan Spanish is geographically defined as the form of Spanish spoken in the country of Nicaragua in Central America. Affectionately, Nicaraguan Spanish is often called Nicañol....
- Panamanian SpanishPanamanian SpanishPanamanian Spanish is geographically defined as the form of Spanish spoken in the country of Panama, which is located in Central America.The variations among different speaker groups of the same language can be lexical , phonological , morphological , or in the use of syntax .Historically, Panama...
- Puerto Rican SpanishPuerto Rican SpanishPuerto Rican Spanish is the Spanish language as characteristically spoken in Puerto Rico and by millions of people of Puerto Rican descent living in the United States and elsewhere...