Dare to Ask: Do Spaniards view Latinos as butchering the Spanish language?

By Phillip Milano

The Florida Times-Union

Question

Do Spaniards view Latinos as butchering the Spanish language?

Ridley, 22, white male, Chambersburg, Penn.

Replies

I don't think South Americans are butchering Spanish, but I find it irritating when South Americans refer to themselves as "Spanish."

Jade, 16, Spanish, Australia

I'm from Venezuela, and when we talk to North Americans or Europeans, we never refer to ourselves as Spanish; actually, we hate when somebody says we are "Spanish" -- we say Venezuelan or Colombianos, etc.

Monica, 15, Caracas, Venezuela

There is a big difference in Castilian Spanish and the various dialects in Latin America, and even within Spain. Just like in the United States with a person from New York trying to talk to a person from New Orleans.

Frank, 34, Hispanic, Denver

Unfortunately, some folks from Spain do think that Latin Americans don't speak properly. But the same thing happens within Spain.

Angela, Georgia

Spaniards, especially ones using the Castilian dialect, sound like Elmer Fudd [Editor's note: make that Daffy Duck] to me. They use a "th" sound in place of all the "s" sounds: Buenath diath thenor. Sometimes it's hard for me to keep a straight face.

A.C.C., Mexican and American Indian male, Phoenix

You're wrong. In the "Castilian" dialect as you call it, no one says Buenath diath -- not only because dia is masculine and so would take buenos -- but also because the "th" sound is only used for "z" and "c" when followed by "e" or "i."

Maria, Hispanic, United Kingdom

Expert says

Some Spaniards do tend to look down on Latin Americans -- even using the nasty racial slur sudaca to refer to South American immigrants, said Professor Dan Greenberg, director of Latin American Studies at Pace University in New York. Some of the mistreatment comes from being confronted with people perceived as "different," and often "what marks you is the way you talk."

"There is a lot of mean harassment," he said. "Spaniards in general have always taken a superior attitude toward Latins. ... Spain has moved forward culturally, but old attitudes die hard."

Some of the language differences are because Spanish evolved as its use grew in Latin America. For example, Mexicans use a more syncopated rhythm when they talk, Greenberg said. And Lunfardo, a street slang that started with the poor, underworld and prostitutes, is spoken in places like Buenos Aires and can be hard to grasp for an average Spanish speaker.

As far as jabs about Spaniards talking "funny": In Castilian Spanish, spoken in central and northern Spain, they do pronounce "c" and "z" as "th."

"Some think they have a lisp problem, but they are just correctly pronouncing those letters that way, in that language," Greenberg said.

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Phillip Milano, author of I Can't Believe You Asked That! (Perigee), moderates cross-cultural dialogue at Y? The National Forum on People's Differences. Visit www.yforum.com to submit questions and answers. Send general column comments to phillip.milano@jacksonville.com. You can also hear his podcasts or watch his TV spots.