''Llanito'' or ''Yanito'' () is a form of
Andalusian Spanish
The Andalusian dialects of Spanish ( es, andaluz, , ) are spoken in Andalusia, Ceuta, Melilla, and Gibraltar. They include perhaps the most distinct of the southern variants of peninsular Spanish, differing in many respects from northern varietie ...
heavily laced with words from English and other languages, such as
Ligurian; it is spoken in the
British overseas territory
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
of
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
.
It is commonly marked by a great deal of
code switching
In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualism ...
between
Andalusian Spanish
The Andalusian dialects of Spanish ( es, andaluz, , ) are spoken in Andalusia, Ceuta, Melilla, and Gibraltar. They include perhaps the most distinct of the southern variants of peninsular Spanish, differing in many respects from northern varietie ...
and
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
and by the use of
Anglicisms and loanwords from other Mediterranean languages and dialects.
The English language is becoming increasingly dominant in Gibraltar, with the younger generation speaking little or no Llanito despite learning Spanish in school.
''Llanito'' is a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
word meaning "little plain".
Gibraltarians
The Gibraltarians (Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterran ...
also call themselves ''Llanitos''.
Etymology
The etymology of the term is uncertain. In Spanish, means "little flatland" and has been interpreted as "people of the flatlands". It is thought that the inhabitants of La Línea with important social and economic ties with Gibraltar, were actually the first to be referred to as since La Línea lies in the plain and marsh land surrounding The Rock.
Another theory for the origin of the word is that it is a
diminutive
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
of the name : "gianito", pronounced in Genoese slang with the "g" as "j". During the late 18th century 34% of the male civilian population of Gibraltar came from
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
and was a common
Italian forename. To this day, nearly 20% of Gibraltarian surnames are Italian in origin.
History
The most influential periods for the formation of Llanito are:
* 1713. The
Treaty of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne o ...
yields Gibraltar to the United Kingdom.
* After the
Spanish War of Independence
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, ...
and the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
, British authorities form
an education system of British inspiration.
* During the
evacuation of Gibraltar within the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the authorities realise that most of the Gibraltarians lack a sufficient command of English. Subsequently, Spanish is relegated to a foreign language subject in the education system.
* 1969–1982. Spanish governments close
"the fence" (the land border) and Spanish workers cannot cross the border into Gibraltar. This reduced the need for Spanish in the workplace and the input of Spanish nannies.
Language
Andalusian Spanish from the surrounding ''
Campo de Gibraltar
Campo de Gibraltar (, "Gibraltar Countryside") is a comarca (county) in the province of Cádiz, Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of mainland Europe. It comprises the municipalities o ...
'' is the main constituent of ''Llanito'', but it is also heavily influenced by British English. However, it borrows words and expressions of many other languages, with over 500 words of
Genoese (
Ligurian) medieval dialect (with additionally some of
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
origin via
Judaeo-Spanish
Judaeo-Spanish or Judeo-Spanish (autonym , Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew script: , Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: ), also known as Ladino, is a Romance languages, Romance language derived from Old Spanish language, Old Spanish. Originally spoken in Spain ...
).
Its other main language constituents are
Maltese and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
.
It often also involves
code-switching
In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualism ...
(using different languages for different sentences) and
code mixing
Code-mixing is the mixing of two or more languages or Variety (linguistics), language varieties in speech.
Some scholars use the terms "code-mixing" and "code-switching" interchangeably, especially in studies of syntax, Morphology (linguistics) ...
(using different languages for different words in the same sentence) from Spanish to English.
Caló borrowings have been lost.
Some ''Llanito'' words are also widely used in the neighbouring Spanish town of
La Línea de la Concepción
La Línea de la Concepción (, more often referred to as La Línea) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia.
The city lies on the sandy isthmus which is part of the eastern flank of the Bay of Gibraltar, an ...
(due to the influx of people from La Línea working in Gibraltar over many years).
To some outsiders who speak either only English or only Spanish, ''Llanito'' may sound incomprehensible, as speakers appear to
switch languages in mid-sentence, but to people who are
bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
in both languages, it can sound interesting and unique. One feature of the language is the pronunciation of Anglicisms with an Andalusian flavour. For example, "bacon" is pronounced '; "cake", ' (although these particular words are not prevalent today); and porridge is called (a
hispanicisation of the brand
Quaker Oats
The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001.
History Precursor miller companies
In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. S ...
).
Most Gibraltarians, especially those with higher education, also speak standard Spanish with
Andalusian pronunciations and standard English of a British English
variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
.
For example, "Gibraltar" may be pronounced in English within an English sentence and in Spanish within a Spanish sentence.
Like other Andalusian varieties, ''Llanito'' is marked by high rates of
final velarisation, neutralisation and elision of pre-consonantal and word-final and , and
reduction of final . One difference from surrounding dialects is that Gibraltarians tend to maintain this high rate of reduction of final consonants even in very elevated registers, whereas Andalusians would try to adopt a more neutral pronunciation.
Llanito has undergone some degree of lexical restructuring as a result of its reduction of final consonants and the unofficial status of Spanish. For example, 'tunnel' is often pronounced , and its plural form may be pronounced as instead of .
According to the Italian scholar Giulio Vignoli, Llanito originally, in the first decades of the 19th century, was full of Genoese words, later substituted mainly by Spanish words and by some English words.
Llanito has significant Jewish influence, because of a
long standing Jewish population in Gibraltar. They introduced words and expressions from
Haketia
Haketia ( he, חַכִּיתִּיָה; ar, حاكيتيا; es, Haquetía) (also written as Hakitia or Haquitía) is an endangered Jewish Romance language also known as ''Djudeo Spañol'', ''Ladino Occidental'', or Western Judaeo-Spanish. It ...
, a largely extinct Judeo-Spanish language spoken by the
Sephardic
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
communities of Northern
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, such as
Tetuan and
Tangiers
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...
and the Spanish
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
s of
Ceuta
Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa.
Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...
and
Melilla
Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
in North Africa.
Even though Llanito is seldom written, a Llanito dictionary, , was published in 1978 by
Manuel Cavilla, and in 2001
Tito Vallejo published ''The Yanito Dictionary. Including Place Names and Yanito Anecdotes''.
Core elements of Llanito vocabulary
Although Llanito is largely based on the colloquial Spanish spoken in the Campo de Gibraltar, there are numerous elements beyond code-switching to English which make it unique. These are as follows.
Anglicisms
They may be
false friend
In linguistics, a false friend is either of two words in different languages that look or sound similar, but differ significantly in meaning. Examples include English ''embarrassed'' and Spanish ''embarazada'' 'pregnant'; English ''parents'' ...
s or involve an informal playfulness.
*: "watchman" or "guard". From English ''"Check Gate"'' influenced by the Basque surname
Echegaray.
*: Gibraltar border with Spain. From English ''"Four Corners"''.
*: "to give him an apology" instead of . In standard Spanish, is a "
defence speech".
Calques from English to Spanish
Llanito frequently uses verbal expressions with , or , mirroring use of
English phrasal verbs ending in "back".
*: Literal translation into Spanish of English phrase "I'll call you back". In standard Spanish, one would normally say "I'll return your call" (, ).
*: "To give back".
*: "To come back".
*: "To talk back".
*: "To pay back".
*: "To move back".
Usage of expressions is also widespread in
US Spanish, including in
Isleño Spanish
Isleño Spanish ( Spanish: , french: espagnol islingue) is a dialect of the Spanish language spoken by the descendants of Canary Islanders who settled in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States, during the late 18th century. It has been grea ...
.
expressions are unique as a calque of an English verbal particle since other phrasal verbs are almost never calqued into Spanish.
Because of this, and because expressions are both consistent with Spanish structure and distinctly structured to their English equivalents, they are likely a result of a conceptual, not linguistic loan.
The word in Llanito means ("liquorice") in Spanish, stemming from the English "liquorice bar".
Calques from Spanish to English
*': Literal translation of Spanish expression , meaning "stop annoying me".
*'' '': This is a humorous expression based on the Spanish word which means "" in British English. The end of the word is how the word (finger) is pronounced in colloquial Andalusian Spanish, thus '.
Local expressions
* Literally, ''"Who do you think you are? The son of the Melbil?"'', as used when someone is acting with excessive self-importance. is a Spanish approximation of the pronunciation of the British name ''Melville'', and the expression is an allusion to
Lord Melville, a British statesman prominent in the early 19-century, and his son. The
elder Lord Melville was
Secretary at War
The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. Afte ...
(1794–1801), and
First Lord of the Admiralty
The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...
(1804–1805); the
younger Melville was also First Lord of the Admiralty from 1812 to 1827.
Llanito words introduced into Spain
Many Llanito terms have been introduced into the Andalusian Spanish dialect of the bordering city
La Línea de la Concepción
La Línea de la Concepción (, more often referred to as La Línea) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia.
The city lies on the sandy isthmus which is part of the eastern flank of the Bay of Gibraltar, an ...
, where the resulting dialect is known as Linense. However, according to Gibraltarian linguist Tito Vallejo, a few words common throughout Spain may be of Llanito origin, notably meaning "cool" or "brilliant" (from
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
) and meaning "big nose" from the Governor
Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala
Field Marshal Robert Cornelis Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala (6 December 1810 – 14 January 1890) was a British Indian Army officer. He fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Second Anglo-Sikh War before seeing action as chief en ...
. Churchill was associated with foreign imports from the United Kingdom which were highly sought in Gibraltar and, according to Vallejo, Lord Napier had a particularly big nose.
However, linguists also propose to be a contraction of the
Caló term meaning "truth", since this language is the source of a significant proportion of Spanish slang.
Broadcasting
The
Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation
The Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) is Gibraltar's public service broadcaster. It has provided the community with a radio and television service since 1963.
History
Modelled on the BBC, the Corporation was established in 1963 with ...
has also aired some programmes in Llanito including ''Talk About Town'' – a discussion series in which three presenters discuss local affairs, from the need to replace a street sign to important political affairs.
''Pepe's Pot'' was a cookery programme/program which also used Llanito.
Film
A documentary film, ''People of the Rock: The Llanitos of Gibraltar''
(2011) discusses Llanito speech characteristics, history and culture. Notable interviews include Pepe Palmero (of GBC's ''Pepe's Pot''),
Kaiane Aldorino
Kaiane Loise Aldorino Lopez, GMH ( née Aldorino; born 8 July 1986) is a Gibraltarian politician, former Mayor of Gibraltar and beauty queen who won Miss World 2009. From 2017 to 2019, she held the ceremonial position of Mayor of Gibraltar, a ...
(Miss World 2009), and Tito Vallejo (author of ''The Llanito Dictionary'').
Demonym
The official
demonym
A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...
of Gibraltar is ''
Gibraltarians
The Gibraltarians (Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterran ...
''. However, the people of Gibraltar may also be referred to as (female: ). This term is commonly used in the neighbouring towns of
La Línea
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
,
San Roque,
Algeciras
Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...
and the rest of the
Campo de Gibraltar
Campo de Gibraltar (, "Gibraltar Countryside") is a comarca (county) in the province of Cádiz, Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of mainland Europe. It comprises the municipalities o ...
, as well as in Gibraltar itself. When speaking in English, the people of Gibraltar tend to use the word ''Gibraltarians'' to refer to themselves but when speaking in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
they prefer to use the word rather than the Spanish name for their official demonym, .
The
truncated term is also used by the people of Gibraltar, where it can be heard all around the territory and chanted in songs during the annual
Gibraltar National Day
Gibraltar National Day, celebrated annually on 10 September, is the official national day of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The day commemorates Gibraltar's first sovereignty referendum of 1967, in which Gibraltarian voters wer ...
.
See also
*
Diglossia
In linguistics, diglossia () is a situation in which two dialects or languages are used (in fairly strict compartmentalization) by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety (labeled " ...
*
Languages of Gibraltar
The sole official language of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, is English, which is used by the Government and in schools. The eponymous Gibraltarian English accent is spoken in the territory.
Most locals are bilingual, also speaki ...
*
Languages of the United Kingdom
English, in various dialects, is the most widely spoken language of the United Kingdom, but a number of regional languages are also spoken. These are Scots and Ulster Scots and the Celtic languages, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and, as a ...
*
Spanglish
Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Llanito alphabet and pronunciationat ''Omniglot''
*
ttp://www.panorama.gi/views.htm A weekly comical editorial in exaggerated code-switching Llanito by the daily ''Panorama'' (newspaper)
‘Andalunglish’: the English words Spaniards have borrowed from Gibraltar 31 October 2016, Nick Lyne,
El País
''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.
It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
. Article about a collection of Anglicisms used in Campo de Gibraltar.
Dictionaries
*
*
{{Authority control
Languages of Gibraltar
Spanish dialects
Macaronic forms of English
Mixed languages
Languages of the United Kingdom