Yeísmo
Encyclopedia
Yeísmo is a distinctive feature of many dialects
of the Spanish language
, which consists of the loss of the traditional palatal lateral approximant
phoneme /ʎ/ (written ‹ll›) and its merger into the phoneme /ʝ/ (written ‹y›), usually realized as a palatal fricative or affricate. In other words, ‹ll› and ‹y› represent the same sound /ʝ/. The term yeísmo comes from the Spanish name of the letter ‹y› (ye). The opposite term lleísmo (ʎeˈizmo), which is attested sparingly in some fewer subvarieties, refers to the merger of /ʝ/ (spelled "y") into /ʎ/ (spelled "ll").
or a plosive (either a voiced postalveolar affricate
[dʒ] as in English gin or a voiced palatal affricate
[ɟ͡ʝ]) or a voiced palatal stop when it occurs after a pause (as at the beginning of a sentence) or after a nasal (as in the words cónyuge and conllevar). In other dialects, such as Rioplatense
, it may be realized as a postalveolar ([ʒ] or [ʃ])
(except highlands), and nowadays it's also common in most of Spain
. The distinction is more common in areas where bilingualism with indigenous languages such as Catalan
and Basque
is common.
At present, the distinction between y and ll remains in Colombia
in a zone around Bogotá and Popayán, the southern Ecuador
an highlands, Andean and south coastal Peru
, most of Bolivia
, San Juan
and La Rioja
provinces in Argentina
, as well as the regions bordering Paraguay
, and in isolated pockets in the south of Chile
. The distinction is more common in areas where bilingualism with indigenous languages such as Aymara
and Guaraní
is common. In Spain, rural areas in the northern part of the country and much of the south except Andalusia
used to retain the distinction, while urban areas have had yeísmo much longer, but the distinction is now lost in most of Spain (see map 1 and map 2).
s in regions that distinguish:
Due to the relatively low frequency of both ‹y› and ‹ll›, confusion is unlikely. However, orthographic mistakes are common (for example, writing llendo instead of yendo — for some reason, most people tend to err towards ‹ll›)). A similar effect took place in the local name of the island of Majorca: Mallorca is a continental Catalan
hypercorrection
of the earlier Maiorca.
Spanish dialects and varieties
Spanish dialects and varieties are the regional variants of the Spanish language, some of which are quite divergent from one another, especially in pronunciation and vocabulary, and less so in grammar....
of the Spanish language
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...
, which consists of the loss of the traditional palatal lateral approximant
Palatal lateral approximant
The palatal lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , a rotated lowercase letter ⟨y⟩ , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is L.-Features:Features of the palatal lateral...
phoneme /ʎ/ (written ‹ll›) and its merger into the phoneme /ʝ/ (written ‹y›), usually realized as a palatal fricative or affricate. In other words, ‹ll› and ‹y› represent the same sound /ʝ/. The term yeísmo comes from the Spanish name of the letter ‹y› (ye). The opposite term lleísmo (ʎeˈizmo), which is attested sparingly in some fewer subvarieties, refers to the merger of /ʝ/ (spelled "y") into /ʎ/ (spelled "ll").
Pronunciation
Most dialects currently realize the merged phoneme as a voiced palatal fricative [ʝ], which becomes an affricateAffricate consonant
Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :...
or a plosive (either a voiced postalveolar affricate
Voiced postalveolar affricate
The voiced palato-alveolar affricate, also described as voiced domed postalveolar affricate, is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The sound is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet with ⟨⟩ , and the equivalent X-SAMPA representation is ⟨dZ⟩...
[dʒ] as in English gin or a voiced palatal affricate
Voiced palatal affricate
The voiced palatal affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . The voiceless alveolar affricate occurs in such languages as Hungarian and Skolt Sami, among others...
[ɟ͡ʝ]) or a voiced palatal stop when it occurs after a pause (as at the beginning of a sentence) or after a nasal (as in the words cónyuge and conllevar). In other dialects, such as Rioplatense
Rioplatense Spanish
Rioplatense Spanish or River Plate Spanish is a dialectal variant of the Spanish language spoken mainly in the areas in and around the Río de la Plata basin of Argentina and Uruguay, and also in Rio Grande do Sul, although features of the dialect are shared with the varieties of Spanish spoken...
, it may be realized as a postalveolar ([ʒ] or [ʃ])
Extent of yeísmo
Yeísmo has always been common in most of Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
(except highlands), and nowadays it's also common in most of 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...
. The distinction is more common in areas where bilingualism with indigenous languages such as Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
and Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
is common.
At present, the distinction between y and ll remains in 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...
in a zone around Bogotá and Popayán, the southern Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
an highlands, Andean and south coastal Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, most of Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, San Juan
San Juan Province (Argentina)
San Juan is a province of Argentina, located in the western part of the country. Neighbouring provinces are, moving clockwise from the north, La Rioja, San Luis and Mendoza. It borders with Chile at the west....
and La Rioja
La Rioja Province (Argentina)
La Rioja is a one of the provinces of Argentina and is located in the west of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan.-History:...
provinces in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, as well as the regions bordering Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, and in isolated pockets in the south of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. The distinction is more common in areas where bilingualism with indigenous languages such as Aymara
Aymara language
Aymara is an Aymaran language spoken by the Aymara people of the Andes. It is one of only a handful of Native American languages with over three million speakers. Aymara, along with Quechua and Spanish, is an official language of Peru and Bolivia...
and Guaraní
Guaraní language
Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...
is common. In Spain, rural areas in the northern part of the country and much of the south except 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...
used to retain the distinction, while urban areas have had yeísmo much longer, but the distinction is now lost in most of Spain (see map 1 and map 2).
Minimal pairs
Yeísmo produces homophony in a number of cases. For example, the following word pairs sound the same to speakers of dialects with yeísmo, but would be minimal pairMinimal pair
In phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of words or phrases in a particular language, which differ in only one phonological element, such as a phone, phoneme, toneme or chroneme and have distinct meanings...
s in regions that distinguish:
- yeísmo ~ lleísmo
- haya ("beech tree" / "that there be") ~ halla ("s/he finds")
- cayó ("s/he fell") ~ calló ("s/he became silent")
- hoya ("pit, hole") ~ olla ("pot")
- baya ("berry") / vaya ("that he go") ~ valla ("fence")
Due to the relatively low frequency of both ‹y› and ‹ll›, confusion is unlikely. However, orthographic mistakes are common (for example, writing llendo instead of yendo — for some reason, most people tend to err towards ‹ll›)). A similar effect took place in the local name of the island of Majorca: Mallorca is a continental Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
hypercorrection
Hypercorrection
In linguistics or usage, hypercorrection is a non-standard usage that results from the over-application of a perceived rule of grammar or a usage prescription...
of the earlier Maiorca.
See also
- Rioplatense SpanishRioplatense SpanishRioplatense Spanish or River Plate Spanish is a dialectal variant of the Spanish language spoken mainly in the areas in and around the Río de la Plata basin of Argentina and Uruguay, and also in Rio Grande do Sul, although features of the dialect are shared with the varieties of Spanish spoken...
- History of the Spanish languageHistory of the Spanish languageThe language known today as Spanish is derived from a dialect of spoken Latin that developed in the north-central part of the Iberian Peninsula in what is now northern Spain. Over the past 1,000 years, the language expanded south to the Mediterranean Sea, and was later transferred to the Spanish...
- List of phonetics topics