The Spanish Language in America: History, Variations, and Influences

Posted on Sep 22, 2024 in Latin

The Spanish Language in America

History and Distribution

Castilian Spanish was brought to America by the conquistadors starting in 1492. Today, 90% of Spanish speakers reside in Latin America, where it is the official language in 19 countries, as well as in US territories. While educated speakers across Latin America and Spain maintain relatively few differences, there is significant linguistic diversity among the general population.

Linguistic Variations in Latin America

Geographical and Historical Influences

Different approaches help explain the variations in Spanish across Latin America:

  • Geographical: Highland areas often show distinct linguistic features compared to lowland regions.
  • Historical and Social: Coastal areas with a large number of Andalusian immigrants developed differently from inland areas where Castilian settlers predominated.
  • Substrate Influence: Before Spanish colonization, the Americas had a diverse array of indigenous languages. When Spanish was imposed, these languages influenced its lexicon, phonology, and morphosyntax, contributing to its diversification.

Substrate Areas

Based on substrate influence, several areas can be identified:

  • Nahuatl substrate: Southern US, Mexico, and Central America.
  • Arawak and Carib substrate: The Caribbean and Venezuela.
  • Quechua substrate: Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.
  • Araucano substrate: Chile.
  • Guarani substrate: Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

In recent years, linguistic studies have shifted away from these geographical classifications and focused on the distribution of specific phenomena like yeísmo (pronouncing “ll” as “y”) and voseo (using “vos” instead of “tú”).

Characteristic Features of Latin American Spanish

Phonetic Level

  • Seseo: Pronouncing “c” before “i” and “e” as “s” (e.g., “corason” instead of “corazón”).
  • Yeísmo: Pronouncing “ll” as “y” (e.g., “yave” instead of “llave”).
  • Aspiration or weakening of implosive “s” (e.g., “Mihmo” instead of “mismo”).
  • Neutralization of implosive “r” and “l” (e.g., “arma” for “alma”).
  • Loss of intervocalic “d” (e.g., “comío” for “comido”).

Semantic Level

  • Retention of archaisms (e.g., “gustar” for “parecer”).
  • Loanwords from pre-Columbian languages (e.g., “aguacate,” “cacahuete”).

Morphosyntactic Level

  • Extensive use of diminutives and augmentatives, including with adverbs (e.g., “ahorita”).
  • Presence of adjectival adverbs (e.g., “habla bonito”).
  • Voseo: Using “vos” instead of “tú,” and “ustedes” for both “vosotros” and “ustedes.”
  • Near disappearance of the preterite perfect tense, replaced by the preterite (e.g., “canté” instead of “he cantado”).

US Spanish

Spanish has been present in the southern US since the 19th century, particularly in California and Arizona. In recent years, it has spread to cities like New York and Los Angeles. A hybrid language called Spanglish has emerged, particularly in Puerto Rico, blending English and Spanish (e.g., “chatear” or “chopear” from English “chat” and “chop” with a Spanish verb suffix).

Current Trends in Castilian Spanish

As a well-established language, Castilian Spanish does not experience significant morphological or syntactic changes. However, its lexicon is constantly evolving:

  • Disappearance of rural vocabulary due to changing lifestyles.
  • Increase in neologisms, many borrowed from English, especially in scientific and technical fields.
  • Rise in the use of acronyms and abbreviations.

Phonetic Level

  • Variation in stress placement (e.g., “cállate” vs. “caláte”).
  • Different intonation patterns.
  • Yeísmo.
  • Ceceo and seseo (confusion of “s,” “c,” and “z”).

Dialects within Spain

Northern Dialects

  • Western Area (Asturias, León, Zamora, Salamanca): Influenced by Astur-Leonese, characterized by diminutives in “/ina,” omission of subject pronouns, closure of final vowels, and shortening of final “e.”
  • Eastern Zone (Navarre and Aragon): Influenced by Navarrese-Aragonese, characterized by stressing the antepenultimate syllable, using the conditional perfect instead of the subjunctive, and forming diminutives with “-ico/-ica.”
  • Rioja: A transitional dialect between Catalan and Aragonese.

Southern Dialects

  • Andalusia, Canary Islands, Extremadura, and Murcia: Characterized by confusion of “r” and “l,” yeísmo, aspiration of final “s,” “j,” and initial “h,” loss of intervocalic “d.”
  • Andalusian: Notable for seseo and ceceo.
  • Canarian: Influenced by Andalusian, with seseo and use of “ustedes” for “vosotros.”
  • Extremaduran: A transitional dialect between Leonese and Andalusian, characterized by preservation of final “e” and use of diminutives in “-ino/-ina.”
  • Murcian: Influenced by Aragonese, Valencian, and Andalusian, characterized by seseo, tendency to add nasal sounds, and presence of diminutives in “-ico/-ica.”

Bilingual Influences

Castilian spoken in bilingual regions shows influences from other languages:

  • Basque: Use of the imperfect subjunctive with conditional value.
  • Catalan: Changing final “d” to “t.”
  • Asturian and Galician: Use of the present perfect with indefinite past meaning.