Spanish American Traits, Verbal Periphrasis, and Verbal Locutions

Posted on Mar 25, 2025 in English

Traits of Spanish American Spanish

Phonetics

  • Seseo: Pronunciation of c before e or i, and z as [s] (e.g., [sapato] for zapato).
  • Yeísmo: Merging of the sounds of ll and y. This also occurs in most of Spain.
  • Aspiration, assimilation, or loss of final or implosive s: [mismo] > [mihmo] > [mimmo].
  • Aspiration of initial h (from Latin f) or initial g: hente for gente.
  • In the Caribbean and Central America, confusion of r and l at the end of a syllable or word: [amol] for amor.
  • Loss of intervocalic -d-, especially in the participle: cansao for cansado.

Morphology

  • Voseo: The most distinctive feature. It is the use of vos (as in vos tratás) instead of tú, with verb forms that may be diphthongized (cantáis), contracted (cantás), or the unstressed form of the singular (canta).
  • Ustedes is used for the second person plural, formal or informal: ustedes cantan for vosotros cantáis.
  • Use of the simple past tense instead of the present perfect: he venido for he venido.
  • Frequent use of infinitive periphrasis for future meaning: voy a decir.
  • Frequent use of gerund periphrasis.
  • Use of adjectives with adverbial value: camina lento, pinta bonito.
  • Use of adverbial diminutives: ahorita.
  • Use of reflexive verbs or pronouns that are not collaborative in Spain: enfermarse.
  • Adverbial expressions such as no más, recién.

Lexicon

  • Archaisms: bravo (angry), parlar (to speak).
  • Indigenous words: cacique, tomate, canoa.
  • African words: conga, banana, mambo.
  • Terms from Andalusia, León, Canary Islands, Galicia, Portugal, etc., due to the diverse origins of conquerors and colonizers.
  • Recent loanwords from English, due to proximity and economic dependence: parking for aparcamiento.

Verbal Periphrasis

Modal Periphrasis

  • Obligation: deber + infinitive, haber + infinitive, haber de + infinitive, tener que + infinitive.
  • Probability: deber de + infinitive.
  • Frequentative/Possibility: soler + infinitive, poder + infinitive.

Aspectual Periphrasis

  • Ingressive/Inchoative: ir a + infinitive, pasar (a) + infinitive, comenzar a + infinitive, empezar a + infinitive, echarse a + infinitive, romper a + infinitive, meterse a + infinitive.
  • Reiterative: volver a + infinitive.
  • Terminative: acabar de + infinitive, terminar de + infinitive, cesar de + infinitive, dejar de + infinitive, llegar a + infinitive.
  • Durative: andar + gerund, estar + gerund, ir + gerund, llevar + gerund, seguir + gerund, continuar + gerund, venir + gerund.
  • Perfective/Resultative: dejar + participle, llevar + participle, tener + participle.

Verbal Locutions

These units are not fragmented into separate functions; at least one element is a verb. They are grammaticalized expressions that function as a single verb. Examples:

Andar con rodeos, arrimar el hombro, darse cuenta, dar a luz, dar coba, dar en el clavo, dar la lata, echar ajos, dar lugar, llevar a cabo, hacer caso omiso, hacer frente, echar la culpa, volverse loco, sacar provecho, tomar nota, irse de juerga, tener en cuenta, prestar atención, hacer hincapié, poner de relieve, etc.

Values of “Se”

With Inflection (me, te, se, nos, os)

With its own syntactic function (direct object or indirect object):

  • Spurious, False, or Substitute Se: Compré un libro (direct object) a él (indirect object) -> Le (indirect object) compré un libro (direct object) -> Se (indirect object) lo (direct object) compré.
  • Reflexive: Él se (indirect object) puso el abrigo (direct object) -> Él se (direct object) peina.
  • Reciprocal: Rubén y él se (direct object) saludan -> Rubén y él se (indirect object) pidieron perdón (direct object).
  • Dative of Interest or Emphatic: Rigoberta se (indirect object) bebe dos litros de agua al día; Se enjugó las lágrimas.

Without its own syntactic function:

  • Pronominal Verb Morpheme: Ella se jacta de ser la más lista.
  • Morpheme Switching the Semantic Meaning of Double Verbs: Contaba historias / Se contaba entre los afortunados.
  • Modifier of Verbal Aspect:
    • Intransitivizer: Despidió a su empleado / Se despidió de todos.
    • Middle Voice: Dormir / Dormirse, Acabar / Acabarse.

Without Inflection

Without its own syntactic function:

  • Passive Reflexive: Se vendieron alfombras estupendas en la oficina de Hamid -> Se destruyeron las pruebas para no inculpar al muchacho.
  • Impersonal Reflexive: Se come bien en el restaurante de Vladimiro -> Se come y se bebe mejor aún en el de la señora.