I lived in Spain for two years. From the time I found out I was going there until now, I’ve heard the same question.
Don’t they talk with a lisp there?
The short answer is no, they don’t talk with a lisp, and if you think they do, and you speak English, then you speak with a lisp too.
You see, Castellano (the form of Spanish spoken in Spain) has the ‘th’ sound while other dialects don’t, such as the Spanish spoken in South America. However, and this is important, Castellano also has the ’s’ sound. Someone with a lisp is unable to pronounce a normal ’s’ sound.
For example, in both dialects of Spanish, the word ‘nosotros’ (we) is pronounced the same way, with just ’s’ and no ‘th’.
However, the word ‘gracias’ (thank you) is pronounced ‘grah-see-us’ or ‘grah-thee-us’. The soft ‘c’ makes a ‘th’ sound while an ’s’ continues to make an ’s’ sound. In English, we have the word ‘thinks’ which has a ‘th’ sound and an ’s’ sound. According to some people’s logic, if it was pronounced ’sinks’ in the US and ‘thinks’ in the UK, the British would have a lisp.
It’s quite beneficial to have the ‘th’ sound because it allows you to distinguish between words. Without the ‘th’ sound, it’s hard to know how to spell words because you don’t know if it’s spelled with a ‘c’, ‘z’ or ’s’. In addition, where was Spanish first spoken? Spain. It’s like Americans telling people from England they speak with a funny accent.
I find it funny that people go to such great lengths to explain the story behind the lisp when there isn’t one. Some claim a Spanish king had a lisp and all the members of his kingdom imitated the lisp to keep him happy. In fact, this site still hasn’t figured it out.
People think Spain is weird for using a ‘th’ sound, when it fact it’s the South Americans who are the odd ones because they don’t have a ‘th’ sound. Why aren’t there any stories to explain how that happened?
By the way, to learn Spanish, click here.
As someone who learned non-Castellano Spanish, I love to hear the accent of people from Spain. I just think there’s something cool about it. Maybe it’s just me, but I also notice a sort of whistle when a Castellano speaker makes the ’s’ sound. Very cool.
Along the ‘Spanish accent’ line, I also like to hear Argentinians speak. They don’t have the “lisp”
but they do have this awesome sort of sing-song way of speaking. I’ve heard it’s because of a lot of Italian influence, but I could be wrong.
» Comment by mckay on August 1, 2006 @ 8:34 am“People think Spain is weird for using a ‘th’ sound, when it fact it’s the South Americans who are the odd ones because they don’t have a ‘th’ sound. Why aren’t there any stories to explain how that happened?”
Note that in Spain itself, there is already a split: in Andalucia, folks speak “seseo” with no ‘th’ sound. In fact, that’s why South American dialects are the way they are: most of the immigrants came from the South of Spain.
See Wikipedia for some quite informative summaries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_dialects_and_varieties and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceceo.
(Note that I am a linguist in real life but this area is not really within my expertise. I learned my Spanish in Andalucia and so find the Castillan dialect rather strange.)
» Comment by Kai von Fintel on August 1, 2006 @ 11:02 amI second that! When I was in school I studied Spanish, and made it a point to study the “real” Spanish (that which is spoken in Spain).
Similarly, people in Argentina pronounce “ll” as “ja” (as in amarillo (a-mar-ee-o in Spanish versus a-mar-ee-jo in Argentinian).
Just as we in America speak “American” (aka EN-US), and those in Spain speak “Spanish”, those in Mexico speak “Mexican.”
- Joe
» Comment by Joe Levi on August 1, 2006 @ 11:54 amBy the way, what part of Spain were you in?
» Comment by Joe Levi on August 1, 2006 @ 11:54 ammckay: I know what you’re talking about. I would say it’s less of a whistle and more of an airy ’s’ sound. I’m not familiar with the Argentine accent, but I spoke with a guy from Columbia and he had a really easy going, smooth Spanish accent. It was really nice to listen to.
kai: That’s true. A good friend of mine in Spain is from the Canary Islands and he drops his ’s’ sounds almost completely, but didn’t use the ‘th’ sound. I hadn’t realized that Andalucia was the same way or that most of the immigrants came from that area. Thanks for the explanation.
Joe Levi: Very good points. I was in central spain. I lived in Alcobendas, Ciudad Real, Madrid, Toledo and Merida. I’d love to go back and visit, and see some of the other parts of the country.
» Comment by dan on August 1, 2006 @ 12:18 pmBut Dan, that’s one of the few things we can make fun of. In all reality, it can be a very beautiful accent. I was in Bar[th}elona for a week and tried hard to speak with the ‘theta’.
» Comment by Cameron on August 1, 2006 @ 9:53 pmI agree, the language sounds much better with the ‘th’ sound instead of nothing but ’s’. I’m jealous that you got to go to Barcelona. Was it for work or pleasure?
» Comment by dan on August 2, 2006 @ 5:36 amVery cool! About 10 years ago I was slated to live in and around Bilbao for a couple years… Due to a pretty funky illness (long story) the closest I got was getting my visa at the Spanish Consolate in L.A.
Technically, I was in Spain for all of about 1/2 hour.
» Comment by Joe Levi on August 4, 2006 @ 8:02 amJoe: If you ever get a chance to go, take it.
» Comment by dan on August 4, 2006 @ 9:27 amOkay- first of all, to Joe, Argentinians don’t make the “j” sound in place of “ll”… those are Colombians my friend… you’re mistaken… and all that crap about the “real” spanish.. whatever.. Even my profesor, who is from Galicia, says that people who think that one kind of Spanish is better than another, shouldn’t be speaking it. One isn’t “more correct” than another. Yes, some are more “common” and “known”, even “accepted” than others, but to say that Castellano is “better” than Spanish spoken in Colombia or Panama, is just being ignorant.
Now, we all have our preferences about what we like to hear, and what we think sounds the best. I really, REALLY don’t like to listen to Dominicans talk. If any form of Spanish is “wrong” or messed up, it’s theirs. I have many friends and professors from all over, and EVERY ONE of them agree that Dominicans and Puerto Ricans drop letters and stuff, which makes it VERY hard to understand exactly what they’re saying. Just like Mexicans- it literally is so different, and there are so many made-up words, that it’s almost like another language…
I personally, would rather hear a Colombian talk more than anyone. As far as a smooth tone, I think they have some of the prettiest speaking of any Spanish form. My best friend is Colombian, so I’m used to it. But when I got my first profesor from Spain, it took me a while to get used to his accent, mostly because of his form of ceceo that he speaks (him being a “gallego” and all…)
» Comment by Brian Gravely on September 25, 2007 @ 1:18 pmI would like to point a few errors you have made on your article, first of all the Th sound found in old Castillian was only for the letter ‘Z’ while now spanish people pronounce the letter ‘S’, ‘C’, and ‘Z’ with the sound ‘th’, spanish language as we know it know was derived from Castillian which is a language not a dialect, and the one spoken in Latin American countries is known as Spanish not as different dialects as you mentioned. Please review the difference between dialect and language.
And not only in South American countries they speak Spanish, they also speak it in Central American countries and one North American one, Mexico.
As English derived from the Anglo and Saxon languages, also spanish from Castillian, and the fact that Latin American countries don’t pronounce the ‘Z’ as ‘TH’ is as wrong as the Spaniards pronouncing everything with that sound
I hope this helps and clarifies a few misunderstandings.
» Comment by Iliana on October 10, 2007 @ 2:01 pmIliana: Thanks for your comments. Regarding the errors you pointed out, I’ve responded to each one below.
the Th sound found in old Castillian was only for the letter ‘Z’ while now spanish people pronounce the letter ‘S’, ‘C’, and ‘Z’ with the sound ‘th’
Do you have a source for the pronunciation of old Castillian?
Regarding the current pronunciation of, while I was in Spain I never heard ’s’ pronounced with the ‘th’ sound. If the ’s’ where pronounced as ‘th’, that would be a lisp and there would be no ’s’ sound in the language.
spanish language as we know it know was derived from Castillian which is a language not a dialect
From Wikipedia: Spanish and Castilian are used interchangeably to describe a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. It is the official language of Spain, most Latin American countries, and Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara, in Africa. Spanish originated as a dialect of Latin along the remote cross road strips among the Cantabria, Burgos, Soria and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade.
Please review the difference between dialect and language.
A dialect is, “a regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a variety of speech differing from the standard literary language or speech pattern.” That sounds like a good description of the different types of Spanish or Castilian spoken around the world. You can read more about Spanish dialects and varieties on Wikipedia.
And not only in South American countries they speak Spanish, they also speak it in Central American countries and one North American one, Mexico.
Yup - and not just in the Americas, but also in Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara, in Africa. Spanish is the primary language spoken in more than twenty-five nations and territories, and is spoken in every continent around the world.
As English derived from the Anglo and Saxon languages, also spanish from Castillian,
Sort of. Spaniards tend to call the language español (Spanish) when contrasting it with languages of foreign states, such as French and English, but call it castellano (Castilian), that is, the language of the Castile region, when contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician, Basque, and Catalan. Spanish originated as a dialect of Latin along the remote cross road strips among the Cantabria, Burgos, Soria and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain. From there, its use gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile, where it evolved and eventually became the principal language of the government and trade. It’s rather complex actually - take a look at all the names of the Spanish language to learn more.
the fact that Latin American countries don’t pronounce the ‘Z’ as ‘TH’ is as wrong as the Spaniards pronouncing everything with that sound
They don’t pronounce everything with that sound - that’s the whole point. Spaniards use the ‘th’ sound and the ’s’ sound, whereas other dialects only have the ’s’ sound.
The ‘th’ sound is an essential part of the language, and even though all living languages are evolving, if you heard someone pronounce the letter ’s’ in English as ‘th’, well that’th jutht thilly.
I hope that clarifies your clarifications
» Comment by dan on October 10, 2007 @ 5:44 pmFirst the Spanish spoken in the Americas is not a dialect it is a language,
» Comment by Osky Wosky on March 30, 2008 @ 7:32 amsecond the inflection that the Spaniards have in their language is because a Spanish king who was very gay used to talk with a lisp
and people not wanting to loose their heads hat to imitate the way he spoke.
Osky: Read the original post. The story about the gay king is hogwash.
» Comment by dan on March 31, 2008 @ 12:57 pmI totally “agree” with Osky Wosky.
» Comment by yongo on April 15, 2008 @ 12:24 pmI disagree with you Brian Gravely…….who told you that the sound “j” instead of “ll” is from Colombia??????……I’m argentinean and happens that I live in Chicago and every single time that someone hears me talking in spanish and understands it….the first thing that they ask me if I’m from Argentina……they do not ask me if I am from Colombia or from any other country in the middle of the american continent…..maybe your colombian friend tries to “imitate” how we the argentineans speak because that will make him feel better or so; anyway, to make the story short, the sound “sh” for example in the word “amarillo”…will sound as “amarisho”…”pollo”…as “posho”…”lluvia”…as “shuvia”…etc; so, as you can see, that kind of talking is EXCLUSIVELY from ARGENTINA, not from anywhere else. No offense to anyone. Thank you.
yongo: Thanks for chiming in. Have you lived in Colombia to be able to say that it’s exclusively spoken that way Argentina? I have some Colombian friends who disagree with you
Who would have guessed there would be such controversy over this topic?
» Comment by Dan on April 15, 2008 @ 2:11 pmNo, I did not lived in Colombia, but I have a friend ‘who’ is from Colombia (Bogotá to be precise) and he told me that he heard some colombians speaking with the ’sh’ sound and there’s nothing more ridiculous in Colombia than trying to speak like argentinians. We were born speaking like that…….maybe some ‘others’ countries “adapted” to their own way, but there’s nothing like it.
» Comment by yongo on April 17, 2008 @ 10:25 amHuh…….well
Colombia is a big country and there is a lot of variety in the accents people may use. It’s possible that people in Colombia use the ’sh’ without any knowledge that it’s used in Argentina, even if it’s not used by the majority of Colombians.
In any case, thanks for sharing.
» Comment by Dan on April 17, 2008 @ 10:31 amAlrighty then.
» Comment by yongo on April 18, 2008 @ 12:32 pm