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LA PALMA
Language

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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:

ArabicFrenchWest GothicEnglish
Alcázarmonjeguardialider
Aldeavinagreropamitin
Acequiamenútapatractor
Alcobacoquetaespuelafútbol

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

Last updated February 2024
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