Castilian Language: Modern Features and Regional Variations

Characteristics of Castilian Language: Geographical Variants

Except for the flow of its lexicon, the state of the Castilian language today is very similar to that presented in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when it became definitively fixed and modernized. However, some linguistic features can be identified in our own day:

• Phonetic Generalization of Sibilance: The pronunciation of 'z' (a, o, u) and 'c' (e, i) as /s/ is generalized across America, similar to what happened in the Canary Islands and much of Andalusia.
• Yeísmo: This phenomenon has spread throughout America and much of Spain. It involves the confusion of the sounds of 'll' and 'y', which has caused the loss of the distinct 'll' sound and makes it impossible to orally distinguish between words like "bench" and "chicken" (in contexts where this distinction would normally exist).

Morphosyntactic Level

Instability continues in the use of unstressed pronoun referents, a phenomenon that dates back to the origins of the language. Thus, etymological uses coexist today with the phenomena of leísmo and laísmo.

Lexical Level

The constant creation of neologisms is noteworthy. These often arise to name new realities, but at other times without this purpose, which has provoked some criticism regarding the unconscious use of language.

Geographical Varieties

Apart from the Spanish of America, which is the richest and most widespread variety, Castilian dialects now number four: Andalusian, Extremaduran, Murcian, and Canary. These historically arose from the different assimilation of the language in distinct territories as Castile incorporated them into its domains. In general, they possess great vitality and, in some cases, extend beyond the administrative boundaries of their respective regions of origin.

The Andalusian Variety

The largest by number of speakers is Andalusian. Its most characteristic features are phonetic: the seseo (pronounced /z/ for /s/), yeísmo, the confusion of liquid consonants 'l' and 'r' in final syllable position, the tendency to aspirate the initial 'h', and the relaxation of 's' in final syllable position. Lexically, it features the use of the pronoun 'vosotros' for the first person plural and the presence of archaic words and Arabicisms used elsewhere in Spain.

The Extremaduran Variety

Extremaduran, in turn, gathers characteristics of Astur-Leonese, more visible in the province of Cáceres (conservation of the 'mb' group, shift of 'l' to 'r' in 'pl-', 'cl-', 'fl-' groups, etc.), and Andalusian, predominantly in Badajoz (yeísmo, aspiration of 'h-', loss of intervocalic 'd', etc.).

The Murcian Variety

Murcian, for its part, presents characteristics of Castilian, Aragonese, and Valencian, due to the repopulation process experienced by the Kingdom of Murcia after its reconquest, and Andalusian, due to geographical proximity. Among the first sources, we can cite: the conversion of the initial Latin 'l-' to 'll-', preserving original 'pl-', 'cl-', 'fl-' groups, or the presence of the diminutive suffix '-ico'. In contrast, of Andalusian origin are the articulation of relaxed intervocalic consonants, the aspiration of final 's', and the confusion of '-r' and '-l'.

The Canary Islands Variety

Finally, the Canary Islands variety has characteristics explained by its late entry into the Crown of Castile (15th century) and repopulation directed from Andalusia. Thus, this variety is greatly influenced by the Andalusian aspiration of initial 'h-' and final 's', yeísmo, generalized seseo (not lisp), almost exclusive use of the pronoun 'ustedes' for the 2nd person plural, and confusion of '-r' and '-l' in the final syllable, among others.