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I dont think that Mexicans have their own version of Spanish. It was mentioned already that in our language we include words from the Nauatl. As as much as the words vary depending on your social level. You will find a very different way of expression in the ghetto than upper class
Mexicans speak Spanish, but not the Castilian version. All Spanish speaking countries speak the same language, but we all have our own versions. However, a person from Mexico will not have any problems understanding a Spaniard or Venezuelan. Furthermore, we all write with the same grammar. If Mexicans decide to incorporate some Nauatl words into their daily conversations, that would be consider improper Spanish, but nevertheless, it is still Spanish language.
Of course not. Castillian Spanish is solely spoken around, well Castille. I am pretty sure less than half of Spaniards speak Castillian.
Castillian Spanish is spoken in all of Spain. Each region, like Galicia, the Basque Country and Calaluña have their own language, but Spanish is recognized and understood by all Spaniards.
let us educate ourselves and stop spreading this myth.
Number one, a lisp is the inability to pronounce the sound "s". Spaniards can and do pronounce the s sound. It is even in their country and language name "España, español". Any Spaniard, except those with a true lisp, will pronounce those words with an s sound!
I am including a link where this MYTH is explained.
Myth #1: The zeta sound (unvoiced interdental fricative /θ/) entered Peninsular Spanish when the defective speech of a lisping king was imitated by the court – either because of his prestige or to avoid offending him – whence it spread to the general population. This myth is widespread among Spanish teachers in the United States and I have seen reference to it on Spanish American websites as well. Since American varieties of Spanish do not have the unvoiced interdental fricative /θ/ in their speech, its presence in Peninsular varieties is viewed as an eccentricity in need of explanation.
Sorry to put it so bluntly, but what you are describing is a different phenomenom.
The speakers you are talking about are probably from Andalusia or the Canary Islands. Many speakers in these regions do drop their s sounds when next to a consonant sound, as well as their final consonant sounds, but will pronounce their s sounds at the beginning of words, for example, Sevilla. This is different from a lisp, which, again, is the inability to pronounce an s sound and pronouncing it instead with an "th" sound.
You will find many interesting pronunciation variations within Andalusia!
The Spanish spoken in Cuba is pretty similar to that from the Canary Islands. Why? because most of the Spanish colonist in Cuba came from that region in Spain. It is interesting that the word for bus in "Cuban" is guagua (english pronunciation would be something like wuawua), just like in the Canary Islands. The reason why it is guagua is because that is the sound the bus would make as it would approach the bus stop, so people started calling the bus, guagua.
The Spanish spoken in Cuba is pretty similar to that from the Canary Islands. Why? because most of the Spanish colonist in Cuba came from that region in Spain. It is interesting that the word for bus in "Cuban" is guagua (english pronunciation would be something like wuawua), just like in the Canary Islands. The reason why it is guagua is because that is the sound the bus would make as it would approach the bus stop, so people started calling the bus, guagua.
Yes, you are right.
Taken from the same link I gave above, this is explained further:
"The same leveling process that results in the birth of the Andalusian variety is also a major factor in the formation of the many local speech varieties in Spanish America. The majority of conquistadors and settlers are Castilians, Andalusians, or Canary Islanders (whose dialect is very much akin to that of western Andalusia), but immigrants from Galicia and the entire eastern half of Spain are also common. Here, the leveling process leads to the universal adoption of the Andalusian seseo and replacement of vosotros. Two additional factors are decisive in the determination of local speech characteristics in America. First is the intensity and nature of contact with Spain that applied in each area. Lowland areas, i.e., coastal areas and the islands of the Caribbean, for example, maintain strong contact with the evolving language of Andalusia through that region’s dominance in transatlantic transportation. This factor explains the fact that American lowlands varieties share additional significant traits with Andalusian, including all four of those listed above. The Spanish that arises in areas far from the coasts is less subject to this influence since, in administrative centers far from the sea – such as Bogotá and Mexico City – the prestige of Castilian remains paramount, though not to such a degree as to impede the leveling process. The second factor is patterns of immigration to Spanish America, especially in the nineteenth century. Records show that Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela received so many Andalusians and especially Canary Islanders through this century that their speech had a decisive effect on local speech patterns. Indeed, to an outsider’s ear the Spanish of the Caribbean, Canary Islands, and Andalusia are strikingly similar."
This is such an interesting subject, yet also much misunderstood!
There are actually Spaniards who pronounce the S as English TH. They're called ceceantes (or zezeantes) and are found in parts of Andalusia. This is not to be confused with seseantes and "Standard Spanish" where S and Z/C are pronounced differently.
I've heard a couple of ceceantes/zezeantes. It sounded funny at first but you get used to it quickly. After a few minutes of conversation you don't even notice it anymore.
There are actually Spaniards who pronounce the S as English TH. They're called ceceantes (or zezeantes) and are found in parts of Andalusia. This is not to be confused with seseantes and "Standard Spanish" where S and Z/C are pronounced differently.
I've heard a couple of ceceantes/zezeantes. It sounded funny at first but you get used to it quickly. After a few minutes of conversation you don't even notice it anymore.
You are right about your explanation of "ceceo". I am confused about "seseo", are you equating it to Standard European Spanish pronounciation or saying they are different? "Seseo" is not standard European Spanish pronunciation, although it is Standard Latin American Spanish pronounciation.
A brief summary:
Both "ceceo" and "seseo" are variations of standard European Spanish pronunciation.
In "ceceo", all "s" letters as well as all "ce,ci" and "z" letters are pronounced with the sound "th".
In "seseo", the opposite occurs, which is what you find in Latin America, i.e., all "s" letters as well as all "ce,ci" and "z" letters are pronounced with the sound "s".
Both "ceceo" and "seseo" are different from Standard European Spanish pronounciation, in which the "s" letter is pronounced with an "s" sound, but "ce,ci" and "z" letters are pronounced with the sound "th".
Taken from the same link I gave above, this is explained further:
"The same leveling process that results in the birth of the Andalusian variety is also a major factor in the formation of the many local speech varieties in Spanish America. The majority of conquistadors and settlers are Castilians, Andalusians, or Canary Islanders (whose dialect is very much akin to that of western Andalusia), but immigrants from Galicia and the entire eastern half of Spain are also common. Here, the leveling process leads to the universal adoption of the Andalusian seseo and replacement of vosotros. Two additional factors are decisive in the determination of local speech characteristics in America. First is the intensity and nature of contact with Spain that applied in each area. Lowland areas, i.e., coastal areas and the islands of the Caribbean, for example, maintain strong contact with the evolving language of Andalusia through that region’s dominance in transatlantic transportation. This factor explains the fact that American lowlands varieties share additional significant traits with Andalusian, including all four of those listed above. The Spanish that arises in areas far from the coasts is less subject to this influence since, in administrative centers far from the sea – such as Bogotá and Mexico City – the prestige of Castilian remains paramount, though not to such a degree as to impede the leveling process. The second factor is patterns of immigration to Spanish America, especially in the nineteenth century. Records show that Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela received so many Andalusians and especially Canary Islanders through this century that their speech had a decisive effect on local speech patterns. Indeed, to an outsider’s ear the Spanish of the Caribbean, Canary Islands, and Andalusia are strikingly similar."
This is such an interesting subject, yet also much misunderstood!
I know!!! I love it. We all speak the same language but so many variations and tones. And yet, most poeple are not aware of why we speak the way we do. Thanks for the link, it is great!
No, I am saying that the castillian accent, as spoken in parts of Spain, has a lisp to it, derived from a former king of spain, who, if not homosexual, certainly sounded like a stereotypical one. This is also the derivation of the stereotype.
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Fernando VIII, no, he was not a maricon.
He couldn't pronounce D's...He said, for instance, Madriz instead of Madrid.
The lisp survives among some, for example Zapatero.
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