LA PALMA
Language
Language
Popular destinations SPAIN
| Andalusia | Catalonia | Costa blanca |
| Costa brava | Costa del sol | El hierro |
| Formentera | Fuerteventura | Gran canaria |
| Ibiza | La gomera | La palma |
| Lanzarote | Mallorca | Menorca |
| Tenerife |
Language
The Canarian population speaks Castillian Spanish ((Castellano), the official language of Spain. The Spanish spoken on La Gomera and all the other Canary Islands sounds more melodious than that of the Spanish mainland; the pronunciation is somewhat reminiscent of that in South America. It is also noticeable that the 's' at the end of a word is often swallowed.
There are still some Guanche words in use, such as 'guagua' for bus and 'papa' for potato.
Castellano (Castilian) has been the official state language since around 1250. Abroad, Castellano is actually always referred to as "Spanish". Castellano is a Romance language with many derivations from Latin, but also from many other languages. Spanish contains about 100 words that were brought to the peninsula by the Visigoths, among others.
During the domination of the Moors, approximately 4,000 words were introduced into the Spanish language. Furthermore, many words have been borrowed from French and Italian, and more recently from English.
Examples of derivations are:
| Arabic | French | West Gothic | English |
| Alcázar | monje | guardia | lider |
| Aldea | vinagre | ropa | mitin |
| Acequia | menú | tapa | tractor |
| Alcoba | coqueta | espuela | fútbol |
The Castellano language differs in some respects from other Romance languages, particularly in pronunciation. The letters of the Spanish alphabet are: a, b, c, ch, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ll, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, x, y, z.
Sources
Canarische eilanden
Van Reemst
Evers, K. / Canarische eilanden : Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro, La Palma, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote
Gottmer
Klöcker, H. / La Palma
Deltas
Lipps, S. / Wandelgids La Palma
ANWB
Murphy, P. / Canarische eilanden
Kosmos-Z&K
Renouf, N. / Canarische eilanden
Kosmos-Z&K
Rochford, N. / Wegwijzer voor La Palma en El Hierro : een landschapsgids
Sunflower Books
Schulz, H.H. / La Palma
Van Reemst
Valk, T. / Wandelgids La Palma : 16 wandelroutes
Elmar
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles
Copyright: Team The World of Info