Distinctive Linguistic Features of Spanish in the Americas

Characteristics of Spanish American Spanish

The discovery of America in 1492 marked the beginning of an era of colonization, leading to the implantation of Castilian Spanish across the new continent. This process resulted in a distinct variety of Spanish, characterized by features that differentiate it from Peninsular Spanish. These characteristics are determined by several key historical and linguistic factors:

• Pre-Classical Origin: The Spanish brought to America originated primarily in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries (pre-classical period), before the complete consolidation of the modern Peninsular sound system.
• Regional Settler Influence: Among the early settlers and conquerors, individuals originating from Andalusia and Extremadura predominated. This explains the significant similarities between American Spanish and the southern varieties of Castilian.
• Language Contact: In America, Castilian came into contact with numerous indigenous languages, which exerted influence, particularly at the lexical level.

These circumstances led to the emergence of specific linguistic features, although their intensity varies across different regions of the Americas.

Phonetic Features of American Spanish

The following are key characteristics observed at the phonic level:

1. Seseo and Yeísmo: The widespread use of seseo (pronouncing 'c' before 'e' or 'i', and 'z' as /s/) and yeísmo (pronouncing 'll' and 'y' identically, usually as /ʝ/).
2. Aspiration, Assimilation, or Loss of Syllable-Final /s/: The aspiration, assimilation, or complete loss of syllable-final /s/.

   Examples: pescar pronounced as [pehˈkar] (fish); disco pronounced as [ˈdikko] (disk); después pronounced as [deˈpweh] (after).

3. Confusion of /r/ and /l/: The interchangeability of the phonemes [r] and [l], especially in syllable-final position (a feature common in Caribbean Spanish).

   Examples: pierna pronounced as pielna (leg); soldado pronounced as sordao (soldier).

4. Retention of H-Aspiration: The aspiration of initial 'h' derived from the Latin initial 'f-' (a feature now largely archaic or restricted to specific areas).

   Example: humo pronounced with an aspirated 'h' (h'umo).

Morphosyntactic Characteristics

American Spanish exhibits several distinctive features in its morphology and syntax:

1. Non-Peninsular Diminutives: The frequent formation of diminutives that are not typically accepted or used in Peninsular Spanish.

   Examples: aquicito (right here), detrasito (just behind), ahorita (right now).

2. Adverbialization of Adjectives: The frequent use of adjectives functioning adverbially.

   Example: Sabe rico (It tastes good/nice), instead of Sabe bien.

3. Voseo: The use of the pronoun vos instead of tú for the second person singular informal address, often accompanied by specific verbal conjugations.
4. Use of Ustedes: The pronoun vosotros (second person plural informal) is universally replaced by ustedes, which always agrees with the verb in the third person plural.

   Example: Ustedes son (You all are).

5. Action Nouns with Suffixes: The use of suffixes -ada and -ón to form action nouns.

   Examples: hablada (conversation), leída (a reading), platicada (a chat).

6. Simple Past Preference: A tendency to use the simple past tense (Pretérito Perfecto Simple) instead of the present perfect (Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto).

   Example: Hoy fui al campo (Today I went to the field) instead of Hoy he ido al campo (Today I have gone to the field).

7. Pronominal Verb Tendency: A tendency to make verbs pronominal (reflexive) that are not typically so in Peninsular Castilian.

   Examples: Se atrasó (He/She was late), Se enfermó (He/She became ill).

Lexical Features and Vocabulary

The lexicon of Spanish American Spanish is marked by contact, retention, and semantic shifts:

1. Semantic Shifts and Regionalisms: Words used in the Americas that are either not used in the Peninsula or are used with different meanings.

   Examples: sesión (a specific meeting); camión (bus); ruleta (a specific type of assistance/turn, highly regional); enseguida (at once).

2. Retention of Archaic Words: The preservation of words that have become archaic or obsolete in Spain.

   Examples: amargo (bitter), prieto (dark/tight), recordar (to awaken, alongside the modern meaning of 'to remember').

3. Indigenisms: Words borrowed from Native American languages, many of which have been incorporated into standard Castilian.

   Examples: tomate, maíz (corn), cacao.

4. Afroamericanisms: Words derived from African languages brought by enslaved people to the Americas.

   Examples: combo, milonga, merengue.

5. Specialized Lexical Uses: Differences in preferred verb usage for common actions.

   Examples: Using apúrate rather than date prisa (hurry up); tomar rather than beber (to drink); manejar rather than conducir (to drive); ventana rather than ventanilla (window, often referring to a car window).