Andalusian dialect

Andalusian is a dialect of Spanish . It is spoken in the regions of Andalusia , Murcia in southern Spain and southern Extremadura with some differences between the various provinces and cities.

The dialects in Spain.

An example of the use of Andalusian as a stylistically indispensable feature are the flamenco song texts , which also illustrate the problem of an adequate Andalusian orthography that results from the written down of an oral practice.

General characteristics of Andalusian

Aspiration , aspiración from -j- in European Spanish

Aspiration, aspiración from -s- in European Spanish

Elision , elusion of -d- in European Spanish

Elision , elusion of -r- in European Spanish

Elision , elusion of -z- in European Spanish

Areas with -yeísmo- in European Spanish

The following features characterize Andalusian:

Aspiration of the implosive / s /: "s" is often pronounced like a German "h": One says "ehtá" (with a long "a" at the end) instead of "estar", "ahta" instead of "hasta", "Lihto" instead of "listo", "loh libroh" instead of "los libros" etc. This pronunciation is also found frequently in Latin America .
Silence of the "d" in the endings "ado / ada": "hablao" instead of "hablado", "enfadao" instead of "enfadado", in the feminine form: "enfadá", with a long "a" at the end etc This pronunciation is also common in many regions of Latin America , for example in the Dominican Republic .

Especially in Andalusia, the "d" is deleted in other places of a word, be it at the beginning of the word as in "ëhnortao" instead of "desnortado" and "esí" instead of "decir", be it in the middle of the word as in "vía" instead from "vida" or be it at the end of the word as in "universiá" instead of "universidad".

Silent consonants:

In Andalusian, the consonants at the end of the word are usually deleted. Exceptions to this are the nasal consonant "n", the fricative consonant "h", and the vibrant consonant "r", but this is not always the case. One says “comprá” (with a long “a” at the end) instead of “comprar”, “feardá” (long “a”) instead of “fealdad”, Manué (with a long open “e” at the end) instead of Manuel etc.
As a rule, the nasal consonant "n" at the end of the word is not deleted. They say “compraron”, “comen”, “calientan” just like in high Spanish.

However, there are a few exceptions, such as the endings “-ión”, “-ón” and sometimes also “-en” (not verbal). You hear “campeó” (with a long open “o” at the end) instead of “campeón”, “mu bié” (with a long open “e” at the end) instead of “muy bien”, “cöhtitusió” (both “ o "are open here, the first unstressed and the second stressed) instead of" constitución "etc. Very rarely the vibrant consonant" r "is replaced by an" n "at the end of a word, two examples are" muhén "(open "E") instead of "mujer" and "mehón" (open "o") instead of "mejor". A non-existent “n” in high Spanish is added to the end of a word in Andalusian if the word ends with a short closed “i”. One says “marroquín” instead of “marroquí”, “asín” instead of “así”, “mayorquín” instead of “mayorquí”. This “n” is usually retained in the plural form of the word: “marroquinëh”, “mayorquinëh” (both “e” are open here).

"S", "Z" and "X":

At the end of a word or between a vowel and a consonant: The high Spanish consonants "s", "z" and "x" are used in Andalusian between a vowel and a consonant and also at the end of a word by an "h" (as pronounced in German) replaced. One says “löh ombrëh” (“ö” and “ë” are open unstressed vowels) instead of “los hombres”, “ëhtoy” (open “e”) instead of “estoy” etc.
At the beginning of the word: In this case the high Spanish consonants "s", "z" and "x" are replaced by either an "s" or a "z". One says “silófono” or “zilófono” instead of “xilófono”, “senofobia” or “zenofobia” instead of “xenofobia”, “susio” or “zuzio” instead of “sucio” etc.
Between vowels: In this case the high Spanish consonants "s" and "z" are replaced by either an "s" or a "z". One says “asao” or “azao” instead of “asado”, “enseño” or “enzeño” instead of “enseño”, “casa” or “caza” instead of “casa” and “casa” or “caza” instead of "Caza", "asù" or "azù" instead of "azul" etc.

The "x", on the other hand, is replaced by a reduplication of "s" or "z". One says “tassi” or “tazzi” instead of “taxi”, “assioma” or “azzioma” instead of “axioma” etc.

Abbreviations in word transitions: "p 'arriba" instead of "para arriba", "p' abaho" instead of "para abajo" etc. Also often in Latin America , for example in Colombia .

Seseo: In general, Andalusians pronounce the consonants s and z equally as sharp s , whereas z in high Spanish is pronounced interdentally like the sharp English th . So there are for the Andalusian pronunciation z. B. no difference between the word casa ("house") and caza ("hunt"). Except for the Seseo are the regions of Andalusia, where Ceceo predominates. Seseo is not only used in Andalusia, but also in Latin America and the Canary Islands .

Ceceo: In some regions of Andalusia, especially in southern Andalusia, the consonant s is pronounced as interdental z like the sharp English th . This gives the dialect a strongly lisped character. Especially in Málaga and Cádiz (especially in the hinterland) “que pasa” becomes “que paza”, or “Sevilla” becomes “Cevilla” etc.

Correct use of the accusative form of the personal pronouns in the third person: Just like in America and in contrast to northern Spain, the personal pronouns of the third person in the accusative are used correctly in Andalusian, that is, there is an absence of " leísmo ", " laísmo " and " loísmo ”, which are characteristics of the high Spanish language. (In standard Spanish, however, only “leísmo” is considered correct, and only if the pronoun replaces a masculine person in the singular. “Loísmo” and “laísmo” are always considered incorrect in standard Spanish.)

Use of “ustedes” instead of the high Spanish “vosotros”: Andalusians use the pronoun ustedes (German “you”, in the plural) for the pronoun vosotros (German “you”). The difference between an expression like “you buy” (high Spanish ustedes compran , Andalusian ühtedëh compran ) and “you buy” (high Spanish vosotros compráis , Andalusian ühtedëh compráïh ) is only realized in the verb in Andalusian. Ustedes as a substitute for vosotros is used not only in Andalusia, but also in Latin America and the Canary Islands ; in these regions the verb always congruent with the subject, that is, in America and the Canary Islands it is said “ustedes compran” instead of “vosotros compráis”, and not as in Andalusia “ühtedëh compráïh” (ustedes compráis *).
Feminization of masculine words: In many regions, for example, “la calò” (with an open long “o”) is used instead of “el calor”.
Rotation of certain word groups: The parts of certain word groups are turned around in Andalusian when the word group consists of two parts. One says "máh nunca" instead of "nunca más", "máh nadie" instead of "nadie más", "máh ná" instead of "nada más", "me se" instead of "se me", "te se" instead of "se te" etc.

Andalusian lute

Andalusian vowels

In contrast to high Spanish, Andalusian has ten vowels. Like high Spanish, Andalusian has the vowels a , e , i , o and u , for Andalusian these five vowels form the group of closed vowels . However, there is a second group of vowels in Andalusian, the group of open vowels . These open vowels are: ɐ , ɛ , ɪ , ɔ and υ , because these phonetic signs are not easy to write in normal written language, they are represented as follows: ä , ë , ï , ö and ü when they are unstressed . However, if these are stressed, then they are often represented, according to the Spanish rules of stress, as follows: à , è , ì , ò and ù . Due to the absence of fixed orthographic rules, there are different representations of these vowels.

Pronunciation of the Andalusian vowels

Closed vowels
vocal	Compared to the German
a	Like the German “a” in a bag.
e	Like the German “e” in b e ten.
i	Like the German "i" from M i krobe.
O	Like the German "o" in o livgrün.
u	Like the German "u" from St u pide.

Open vowels
vocal	Compared to the German
ä ( ɐ )	Similar to the German "er" in Mutt it , but harder.
ë ( ɛ )	Like the German "ä" in Ä pfel.
ï ( ɪ )	Like the German “i” in M i tte.
ö ( ɔ )	Like the German "o" in o ffen.
ü ( υ )	As the German "u" of M u tter.

However, this does not mean that all Andalusian speakers use all of these ten vowels. Eastern Andalusian usually uses all of the Andalusian vowels, while not all of them are used in Western Andalusian. In addition, in certain regions of Andalusia the vowel ë (ɛ) becomes ä (ɐ), and the vowel ä (ɐ) becomes ë (ɛ).

The open vowels of Andalusian are the result of "swallowing" the following consonants and the "aspiration" of the consonants "s", "z" and "x".

Andalusian consonants

Pronunciation of the Andalusian consonants

B, b (/ b /, / ß /, / v /) : This sound is usually pronounced as in high Spanish, the only difference is that it has three different allophones in Andalusian, namely: / b / , / ß / and / v / . The high Spanish only has two allophones, namely / b / and / ß / . The sound / b / is not deleted in Andalusian.
- Examples:
  - Andalusian: un b arco, ëhte b arco, ëhtöh b arcöh - [um b arko], [ɛhte ß arko], [ɛhtɔh v arkɔh]
  - High Spanish : un b arco, este b arco, estos b arcos - [um b arko], [este ß arko], [estoz b arkos]
C, c (/ k /) : This sound is usually pronounced as in high Spanish and is usually not deleted. In the many attempts to give the Andalusian dialect a fixed orthographic norm, the letter “c” for the sound / k / has often been replaced with the letter “k”, and rarely with the letter “q”. The reason for this should be that the letter “c” in high Spanish is pronounced not only as / k / but also as / θ /, which is not particularly suitable for Andalusian.
D, d (/ d /, / ð̥ /, / ð̬ /) : This sound is usually pronounced as in high Spanish , one difference is that it has three different allophones in Andalusian, namely: / d / , / ð̥ / and / ð̬ / . The high Spanish
only has two allophones, namely / d / and / ð̥ / .
- Examples:
  - Andalusian: un d eporte, ëhte d eporte, ëhtöh d eportëh - [un d eporte], [ɛhte ð̥ eporte], [ɛhtɔh ð̬ eportɛh]
  - High Spanish : un d eporte, este d eporte, estos d eportes - [un d eporte], [este ð̥ eporte], [estoz d eportes]
- The biggest difference is that the sound / d / is very often deleted in Andalusian, namely:
  - At the beginning of the word, often: " ëh nortao" instead of " des nortado".
    - However, with exceptions: “ de porte” as well as “ de porte”.
  - Between two vowels, very often: “encant ao ra” instead of “encant ado ra”.
    - However, with exceptions: “n adà ” similar to “n adar ”.
  - At the end of the word, always: "ocup à " instead of "ocup ad ".

F, f (/ f /) : This sound is usually pronounced as in high Spanish and is usually not deleted, in many cases, in contrast to high Spanish, it is replaced with an "h".

Examples: "ahuera" stands for "fuera", "huimöh" stands for "fuimos" etc.

G, g (/ g /, / ɣ̥ /, / ɣ̬ /) : This sound is usually pronounced as in high Spanish , the difference is that it has three different allophones in Andalusian, namely: / g / , / ɣ̥ / and / ɣ̬ / . High Spanish
has only two allophones, namely / g / and / ɣ̥ / . The sound / g / is rarely deleted in Andalusian.
- Examples:
  - Andalusian: un g ato, ëhte g ato, ëhtöh g atöh - [un g ato], [ɛhte ɣ̥̥ ato], [ɛhtɔh ɣ̬ atɔh]
  - High Spanish : un g ato, este g ato, estos g atos - [un g ato], [este ɣ̥̥ ato], [estoz g atos]

H, h (/ h /) : The sound / h / is one of the most common sounds in Andalusian, it is represented nowadays with an "h", in ancient texts the Andalusian sound / h / was sometimes with a "j", sometimes represented with an "x" and sometimes with an "h". This sound replaces all high Spanish "s", "z" and "x" if they are at the end of a word or if they are between a vowel and a consonant. Sometimes this sound replaces some highly Spanish "f". Sometimes the mute high Spanish "h" is pronounced as "h" in Andalusian. Therefore, the silent high Spanish "h" should not be written when representing the Andalusian dialect, since not all silent high Spanish "h" are actually pronounced in Andalusian. In addition, all “j” pronounced as / χ / are replaced with an “h” in Andalusian.

J, j (/ j /) : In the many attempts to give the Andalusian dialect a fixed orthographic norm, the unsyllabic vowel "i" for the sound / j / has been replaced with the letter "j". The reason for this should be that the letter "j" with its high Spanish pronunciation does not exist in Andalusian, and to simplify the complicated rules of the representation of the Spanish accent in written form. Where the letter "j" pronounced as / χ / is to be found in high Spanish, there will be an "h" pronounced as / h / in Andalusian.

K, k (/ k /) : See “C, c”.

L, l (/ l /) : This sound is usually the same as in high Spanish, but there are many exceptions, namely:

Deletion : As a rule, the sound / l / in Andalusian is deleted at the end of the word. One says "leà" instead of "leal", "iguà" instead of "igual" etc.
- In some words, this sound is not deleted, but replaced by an "r" ( Rhotazism , Spanish Rotacismo), see the following.
Rhotazismus (Rotacismo) : It is about the conversion of an "l" to an "r". Most often this happens when there is an "l" between a vowel and a consonant within a word. One says "arto" instead of "alto", "artamùh" instead of "altramuz", "artiyo" instead of "altillo", "er gato" instead of "el gato", "er kangreho" instead of "el cangrejo" etc.

M, m (/ m /) : This sound is usually pronounced as in high Spanish, at the end of the word it is replaced with an "n". One says, for example, “curriculun” instead of “curriculum”.

N, n (/ n /) : This sound is usually pronounced as in high Spanish, is not always, but often, deleted at the end of the word and thus the vowels that occur are pronounced openly. It is discussed whether the deletion of this consonant also causes the "nasalization" of the vowels that occur or not.

Examples of the deletion of the "n": "corasò" instead of "corazón", "mu bië" instead of "muy bien" etc.
Examples without deletion: "ëhperan" instead of "esperan", "tien" instead of "tienen" etc.

Ñ, ñ (/ ɲ /, / nj /) : This sound can be pronounced like in high Spanish, namely: / ɲ /. There is a second realization for the letter “ñ” in Andalusian, namely: / nj /. Both of these realizations of the letter “ñ” occur in free variation in Andalusian . That is, there are people who only say / ɲ /, others only say / nj /, and others use both. You can either hear “añeho” or “anjeho” for the high Spanish “añejo” etc.

P, p (/ p /) : This sound is usually pronounced as in high Spanish and is usually not deleted.

Q, q (/ k /) : See “C, c”.

R, r (/ r /, / ɾ /) and rr (/ r /) : These sounds are usually pronounced as in high Spanish. These are always deleted at the end of the word. One says “comprà” instead of “comprar”, “orbià” instead of “olvidar” etc. For more information see “L, l”.

S, s (/ s /, / θ /) :

T, t (/ t /) : This sound is usually pronounced as in high Spanish and is usually not deleted.

V, v (/ w /): In the many attempts to give the Andalusian dialect a fixed orthographic norm, the consonant "v" for the sound / b / has always been replaced with the letter "b". The reason for this is that the letter “v” is pronounced exactly like a “b”, not only in Andalusian but also in high Spanish and because in Andalusian the sound / v / is an allophone of the sound / b /. The letter "v" is used in some attempts to give the Andalusian dialect a fixed orthographic norm for the sliding sound / w / in order to simplify the complicated rules of the representation of the Spanish accent in written form.

X, x (/ ∫ /, / t∫ /) : Stands for the high Spanish sound / t∫ /, in the written form “ch”. In Andalusian, the high Spanish sound / t∫ / is realized as / ∫ / or / t∫ / in free variation , you can then use both “/ ∫iki'yɐ / (xiquiyà)” and “/ t∫iki'yɐ / (txiquiyà) ”for“ chiquillada ”etc. The high Spanish letter“ x ”pronounced as / gz / or / ks / is replaced with an“ h ”at the end of the word and between a vowel and a consonant, and the previous vowel is pronounced more openly. At the beginning of the word, this is replaced with / s / or / θ /. And replaced between two vowels with / ss / or / θθ /.

Y, y (/ ʒ /, / dʒ /) : is pronounced like "naja" in German. In Andalusian, a “y” is often pronounced as a “dsch” with umlauts. B. suyo as "sudscho";

Z, z (/ s /, / θ /) : See “S, s”.

Assimilation of the Andalusian consonants

Andalusian dialect expressions

There are great regional differences in dialect expressions in Andalusia. The following table (sorted alphabetically) mainly contains expressions that are used in the Cordoba area. The Andalusian version is written roughly as it would be pronounced by an Andalusian-speaking person and a Castilian-speaking person.

Expression	Meaning (roughly ...)	Example (pronounced Andalusian version)	Example (pronounced Castilian version)	Castilian version	Translation example sentence
berrinche	Anger, great anger (green face guy)	hó tío, qué berrinshe tengo con mi yeast	jo, tío, qué berrinche tengo con mi jefe	me he enfadado con mi jefe	I'm angry with my boss today ...
chuzo	Standing alone without meaning	van a caè shuzöh de punta	van a caer chuzos de punta	va a llover fuertemente	it will rain very heavily (type of cloudburst - very rare event in Andalusia)
chiribiri	Standing alone without meaning	ehtá cayendo shiribiri	esta cayendo chiribiri	está lloviendo un poco	it is raining lightly
ea	Frequently used filled expression actually meaningless.	ea, qué cansao ´htoy	ea, qué cansado estoy	estoy cansado	ah ..., I am tired today
marimorena	alone without meaning	s' a formao la marimorena	se ha formado la marimorena	había una discusión muy fuerte	there was a real argument
irse de perol	have a picnic (perol is a saucepan in which to cook paella)	he domingo möh vamöh de però	el domingo nos vamos de perol	vamos a hacer una barbacoa en el campo el domingo	we have a picnic on Sunday
tela	much	oy ace tela (de) frío	hoy hace tela de frío	hoy hace mucho frío	it's damn cold today

References and comments

↑ Biblioteca Nacional de España Demófilo : Colección de cantes flamencos. Edition from 1881 (Spanish), link to the digitized version of the ESD, accessed on August 6, 2020