SpanishLesson 2 of 4 in the course Varieties of Spanish

Regional Pronunciation, Vocabulary, and Grammar in American Spanish

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Spanish in the Americas is not a single uniform dialect. It includes many regional varieties shaped by history, geography, and contact with other languages. This lesson introduces that diversity and explores how vocabulary and regional identities distinguish varieties.

American varieties of Spanish differ from one another and from Peninsular Spanish, the collective term for varieties spoken in the Iberian Peninsula. Spanish is also spoken in places such as Equatorial Guinea, Western Sahara, and the Philippines. No feature belongs to every Hispanic American vernacular while being absent from all varieties of Iberian Spanish: features often occur across regional boundaries.

All flashcards

Peninsular Spanish
A collective label for Spanish varieties spoken in the Iberian Peninsula.
Seseo
Pronouncing the sounds represented by z and c before e or i like /s/.
Yeísmo
Pronouncing ll and y without a distinction between them.
Voseo
Using vos as a second-person singular pronoun.
Leísmo
Using indirect-object pronouns in place of direct-object pronouns.

Quiz questions

  1. In varieties with distinción, how is z or c before e or i distinguished from /s/?Answer: It is pronounced as [θ], distinct from /s/.
  2. Which pronunciation of ll and y is often heard in Rioplatense Spanish?Answer: [ʒ] or [ʃ]
  3. What may happen to syllable-final /s/ in many coastal Spanish varieties?Answer: It may be aspirated to [h] or deleted.
  4. In which areas is leísmo found despite being uncommon in Hispanic America overall?Answer: Paraguay and the highlands of Ecuador.
  5. Which statement best describes vosotros in everyday Hispanic American speech?Answer: It is generally not used; ustedes serves for plural address.

Based on the Wikipedia article Spanish language in the Americas, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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