Rosario Traducciones has been making its virtual rounds throughout America to find out more about the language features of each Spanish-speaking country. You can find out more in the section #ElEspañolEnElMundo. This time, we arrive in a different continent, to learn the origin of the Spanish language itself, the characteristics of its speech in Spain, and the main differences with the Spanish of Latin American countries.

 

Spanish, also known as Castilian, is a Romance language derived from spoken Latin. It belongs to the Iberian group of languages and it comes from Castile, the medieval kingdom of the Iberian Peninsula. Just like other Romance languages, it is the result of centuries of evolution from spoken Latin (called Vulgar Latin) from approximately the third century. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Hispania evolved and diversified from the other Latin variants that were spoken in other provinces of the old Empire. After its slow evolution, it gave rise to different Romance languages that currently exist in different parts of Europe.

According to RAE, Royal Spanish Academy, the term español comes from the word espaignol in Provencal, which in turn comes from the medieval Latin hispaniolus, which means “from Hispania” (Spain).

Another hypothesis holds that español comes from the Occitan term espaignon. As for Castilian, it comes from the Latin word castellanus, which means “from Castile”, medieval kingdom located in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula, the origin of this language.

 

 

 

The use of one term over the other to refer to the predominant language in Spain and Latin America has generated some controversy. The dispute comes down to whether it is more appropriate to use "Spanish" or "Castilian", or if both forms are synonyms and perfectly accepted.

 From a strictly linguistic point of view, it is impossible to justify preferences for one over the other. According to RAE, they are synonyms. However, the Diccionario panhispánico de dudas states: "The term español is highly recommended because it lacks ambiguity, as it refers univocally to the language spoken by nearly four hundred thousand people. Also, it's the term that is used internationally (Spanish, espagñol, Spanisch, spagnolo, etc.)". This dictionary guides users through the proper use of the Spanish language, and it is a regulatory work of the RAE, 

 The term español has been mainly used in Latin America since the Spanish colonizers brought in the language. In Spain, however, it is usually called Castilian, referring to the region of Castile, considered the birthplace of the language. Many people in this country choose to call it Castilian because Catalan (or Valencian), Galician or Basque are also Spanish languages spoken in the region.

 

 

 

On their way to Latin America, Spanish colonizers brought with them the Castilian that was spoken at the time and other elements of their various local dialects. Over time, the Spanish spoken by the colonies developed while keeping some old Spanish language elements. One clear example of this development is using the pronoun vos, used primarily in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Initially, the term vos was used for the second person plural, but it eventually became a less formal variant of the second person singular. While its use was widespread in Spain when the colonizers brought it to South America, vos gradually disappeared in Europe.

Nowadays, the use of vos to replace tú as the second person singular has spread to other Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Chile, Nicaragua, or Costa Rica; however, its use is not so frequent. Regardless of which pronoun is used, all Spanish speakers can understand both terms.

 

 

 

 

Unlike all Latin-American Spanish variants, which use the pronoun ustedes to refer to the second person plural, the Balearic Islands and the Spanish Peninsula use vosotros. Ustedes is also spoken in the Canary Islands.

Note that usted is an apheresis of vusted, which comes from vuestra merced, a treatment or courtesy used in the past for those who had no title. Eventually, vuestra merced developed into vustred. Less innovative Romance languages, such as Galician or Catalan, did not develop their equivalent to "vustred" which is considered a very creative solution.

 

 

One of the differences between Latin American and European Spanish is the pronunciation. In many parts of Central America, the "s" is silent or aspirated and usually omitted.

In Argentina and Uruguay, the consonants "y" and double "l" are pronounced as "sh" – equivalent to the first sound in the word "shaman". This is known as sheísmo or yeísmo.

The most notable difference between the pronunciation in Spain and Latin America is known as ceceo: the consonants "z" and "c" followed by the vowels "e" and "i" are pronounced in the same way as "z". It has been believed, though not confirmed, that this pronunciation came from King Fernando III, copied from the Spanish nobility. Other theories suggest that such pronunciation comes from medieval Castilian.