The Castilian Language: A Comprehensive Guide

Posted on Sep 26, 2024 in Social sciences

Table of Contents

ITEM 1:

  • Elements of Communication
  • Spelling: b and v

ITEM 2:

  • Functions of Language
  • Structure of the Word: Lexeme, Morpheme
  • Morphology: Noun, Adjective
  • Spelling: Capitalization

ITEM 3:

  • Formation of Castilian
  • Morphology: Determiners, Pronouns
  • Spelling: g and j

ITEM 4:

  • Varieties of Castilian
  • The Text: Characteristics and Properties (Coherence, Cohesion, Suitability, Correction)
  • Spelling: Accentuation of Diphthongs, Triphthongs, and Hiatuses

ITEM 5:

  • Other Languages: Galician and Basque
  • Syntax: Subject and Predicate
  • Spelling: Diacritical Tilde and Other Cases

Communication

The main function of language is the exchange of information.

Definition

A sender sends a message in a certain code and through a particular channel to a receiver who will decode it properly due to context, with the help of redundancies in the language, despite any noise that may exist.

Features and Functions

Elements of CommunicationFunctions of Language
Encodes and sends the message→SenderExpressive→Expressing emotion
Receives and decodes the message→ReceiverConative→Influencing the receiver, persuading
Circumstances, linguistic or otherwise, that frame the act of communication→ContextRepresentative→Transmitting information
Medium (natural or artificial) for transmitting the message→ChannelPhatic→Ensuring that the communication channel remains open
Limited set of signs and combination rules that allow the creation of the message→CodeMetalinguistic→Analyzing the language or its components
Information transmitted→MessagePoetic→Drawing attention to the message
Disturbance that leads to the message not being received→Noise
Information added to ensure that the message arrives correctly→Redundancy

Text

Properties of the Text

Features:
  • Oral or written
  • Length very variable: a poem, a book
  • Paragraphs: independent idea, visual separation by paragraph
Properties:
Coherence:Internal logic, sense, information moves gradually.
Cohesion:Statements intertwined with linguistic marks.
Suitability:Suitable for the communicative situation.
Correction:Respect the rules of grammar.

Cohesion

Connectors:
  • Addendum: Example: also, moreover, in addition, including, not only… but also
  • Time: Example: before, after, of course, then, later, etc.
  • Cause and effect: Example: so, because, as, therefore, consequently, why, etc.
  • Opposition: Example: instead, on the contrary, however, although, etc.
  • Comparison: Example: likewise, in the same way, etc.
  • Ordination: Example: first, to begin with, first of all, finally, in short, to conclude, etc.
Recurrence or repetition:
  • Synonyms: Example: make, build, construct, create, design
  • Paraphrase or explain some text: Example: It looked like the mouth of some vast underground chasm, the entry of a huge, bottomless abyss.
  • Semantic (lexical items in common): Example: screwdrivers, pliers, wrench
  • Lexical repetition: Example: Anaphora in a poem
Substitution:
  • Pronouns:
    • Anaphoric: Refers to what has been said. Example: He got up and cleaned up as usual with the same idea running through my head. All this had…
    • Cataphoric: Refers to something that will appear later. Example: This is what I say: If you don’t understand anaphoric and cataphoric pronouns well, ask in class.
  • Pro-adverbs: Replaces elements with adverbial function. Example: There may amount to… in this class, you tell me where… in the usual place, etc.

Types of Texts

According to the speaker’s intention:Narrative structure:Narrates a succession of events in space and time.
Expository structure:Logically presents a particular case.
Argumentative structure:Tries to persuade by reasoning.
According to social use:Scientific and technical:The scientific world (presentation and description).
Legal and administrative:Communication with the Administration and Justice (exposition or argument).
Humanistic:Human sciences (presentation and discussion).
Journalism and advertising:Mass media.
Literary:Literary fiction (mainly: narration, description, and presentation).

Formation and Evolution of Castilian

  • Pre-Roman languages in the Iberian Peninsula: Iberian, Celtic, Basque, Tartessian, Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek (each with its own language).
  • Romanization:
    • Incorporation of the Iberian peoples into the Roman cultural world
    • Roman conquest: 218 BC – 19 BC
    • Latin: diffusion by prestige, not imposed; traits of the Iberian substrates
  • Germanic peoples:
    • Swabians, Vandals, and Alans: rupture of linguistic unity (superstrate)
    • Visigoths: Romanized; territorial, legal, and cultural unification, not linguistic
  • Muslims: 711 – 1492
    • Eastern influence due to close cohabitation
    • Mozarabic dialect: Christians in Arab lands
    • Jarchas: first literary texts; Mozarabic refrains in Arabic poems
  • 10th Century: Glosas Emilianenses
    • (in a manuscript, translating a Latin text)
    • First testimony of Castilian
    • Emilianenses (monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla) and Silos (monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos)
  • 13th Century: Alfonso X the Wise
    • Toledo School of Translators (Jews, Muslims, Christians) translating medieval treatises
    • Helped the evolution of Castilian: spelling (fixed rules), lexicon (extended), syntax (enriched)
    • Developed the prestige of Castilian
  • 16th Century: Nebrija
    • First grammar of a Romance language, coinciding with the decline of Latin
  • 18th Century: Royal Spanish Academy (RAE)
    • First dictionary: Dictionary of Authorities
    • Fixed rules of the Castilian language similar to today’s

Substrate, Superstrate, and Adstratum in the Formation of Castilian

  • Substrate: Influence left by a language that has been replaced by another (e.g., pre-Roman languages on Latin that arrived with Romanization).
  • Superstrate: Influence of the language of an invader on the language of the invaded country (e.g., the influence of the Visigothic language on the Latin spoken in the Iberian Peninsula).
  • Adstratum: Language or dialect that influences any other language or dialect neighboring it (e.g., Arabic with respect to Castilian in the Iberian Peninsula).

Social and Cultural Varieties of Language

Social and Cultural Variety
There is linguistic unity because we share a code, but there are differences:
Diversity favored by:
Location:→Gives rise to dialects
Socio-cultural diversity and age of the speaker:→Originates linguistic levels
Situations for use:→Gives rise to linguistic registers
Language Levels
Cult Level:Careful language, high level of correctness, normative grammar and vocabulary.
Developed code, precise vocabulary, varied syntax, correct.
Vulgar Level:Low sociocultural level, poor language skills, restricted code.
Language deficiencies: morphosyntactic inaccuracies, limited and repetitive vocabulary.
Standard Level:Neutral, basic, used by the media.
Slang:Forms specific to particular social groups: doctors, lawyers, artists, students, etc.
Linguistic Registers
Formal:Care in the selection of available language resources (rich vocabulary, accuracy, grammatical correctness). Formal situation. Linked to the cult level.
Colloquial:Regardless of cultural and linguistic background. Relaxed or everyday situation. Little attention to language. Linked to orality (unfinished sentences, assumptions, repetitive vocabulary, etc.).

Geographical Varieties

Dialects

Dialects
Definition:Poorly differentiated linguistic variety, geographically delimited, without a literary tradition.
Historical Dialects:Varieties of Latin occasioned by developments in the Iberian Peninsula
(Strictly speaking, dialects of Latin, not of Castilian)
Astur-Leonese:Rural. West of Cantabria, Zamora, Salamanca, west of León.
More conservative in Asturias.
Navarro-Aragonese:Rural. North of Aragon. Influence of Catalan.
Southern Varieties:Variety occasioned by the uneven absorption of Castilian in the Iberian Peninsula.
Andalusian:Castilian spread throughout Andalusia at the end of the 15th century (end of the Reconquista).
Abundant Arabic vocabulary. Differences in vocabulary and pronunciation.
Extremaduran:Contact between Leonese (Cáceres) and Andalusian (Badajoz).
Murcian:After the Reconquista (end of 1492), repopulation by Aragonese and Catalans.
Shortly thereafter, it belonged to the Crown of Valencia.
(Reflecting: Aragonese, Catalan, Castilian, and Andalusian features)
Canarian:Late addition to the Castilian Crown (15th century).
Andalusian repopulation (Andalusian features)

Spanish Beyond the Iberian Peninsula

Spanish America:Castilian arrived hesitantly (settlers of the place), but there is linguistic cohesion.
Great cultural uniformity.
Co-official with English: Puerto Rico, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California.
Ladino:Spoken by descendants of Jews expelled from Spain (1492).
Called Sephardim (separated from Spain).
Detached from the Iberian Peninsula → archaic, maintains Castilian features from the 16th century.
Communities in Turkey, Morocco, Israel, New York.
(Endangered: scarce use, influence of dominant languages)
Spanish Philippines:Residual presence, almost only Chabacano (elements of Spanish and Tagalog): Official language.
1898: Independence.

Galician

Until the 15th century, the same language as Portuguese (called Galician-Portuguese).
12th-13th centuries: First literary texts (little tradition, coincides with Castilian literature).
15th century: Abandonment of literary use (coincides with the splendor of Castilian literature).
19th century: Rexurdimento (parallel to the Catalan Renaissance).

Basque

Only non-Romance language in the Iberian Peninsula.

Origin

Iberian languages? Relationship with languages of the Caucasus?
In any case, not Indo-European.

Batua

Standard variety created by the Royal Academy of the Basque Language (based on the Gipuzkoan dialect, with traces of others) to unify the language.

Spelling: Graphic Accentuation

General Rules of Accentuation

Acute:Ends in a vowel, -n, or -scorazón, también
BUT: Do not use acute accents on words ending in -y.virrey, convoy
Grave:Ends in a consonant (except -n or -s)árbol, álbum, Héctor
BUT: Use grave accents on words ending in a consonant + -s.bíceps, cómics
Esdrújula:All esdrújula words are accented.esdrújula, teléfono, búscamelo
REMEMBER:Capital letters are accented according to the rules given.África

Diphthongs, Triphthongs, and Hiatuses (RAE Explanation)

DiphthongDefinition:Set of two vowels pronounced in one syllable.
Graphical Representation:
  • Vowel (a, e, o) + closed vowel (i, u) or vice versa if the closed vowel is not stressed. ai, au, ei, eu, oi, ou, ia, ie, io, ua, ue, uo. Example: air, cause, comb, listen, journey, blind, kiosk, soft, strong, share.
  • Two closed vowels (u, i). Example: ruido, diurético
  • The”” between two vowels does not prevent the diphthong. Example: ahumado, reja, ahijado
Tilde:Follow the general rules of accentuation.
  • Acute: bonsái, ahí, Raúl, hidromiel, idoneidad
  • Grave: jesuita, venid, puertas, huésped
  • Esdrújula: murciélago, jesuítico
Positioning the Tilde:
  • Diphthongs with an open vowel (a, e, o) and a closed vowel (i, u) → accent on the open vowel: adiós, después, cambié
  • Diphthongs with two closed vowels → accent on the second vowel: lingüística, cuidate
TriphthongDefinition:Three vowels pronounced in one syllable: unstressed closed vowel + stressed open vowel + unstressed closed vowel.
Tilde:If it carries the stress on the open vowel. Example: apacigüéis, estudiáis, amortiguáis, despreciéis.
HiatusDefinition:Two vowels pronounced in different syllables. Example: te-a-tro, a-é-re-o, vi-gi-a, sa-lí-as.
Types:
a) Two identical vowels.Example: Saavedra. Follow the general rules of accentuation, so they are only accented if they are stressed. Example: caótico, bacalao, aldea, Jaén, toalla, león, poeta, zoólogo, habeis. Example: acreedor, traerá, coordinar, línea, arrastrador, árbol.
b) Two different vowels.Example: caer, ahogar, drama, héroe, coartada. Follow the general rules of accentuation.
c) Unstressed vowel + stressed closed vowel or vice versa.Example: caí, día, aullar, raíz, reír, búho, reúne. Always use an accent, even if it breaks the general rules of accentuation. Example: país, caí, raíz, Caín, reír, increíble, reía, oí, heroína, baúl, ataúd, delirante, día, continúa, sonríe, río, indicio, dúo, acentúo, elegíaco, vahído, rehúso, prohíbo, ahúma, vehículo, turbohélice.

Diphthongs, Triphthongs, and Hiatuses (Rooster and Hen Explanation)

Diphthongs:Two vowels pronounced in one syllable. Example: air, cause, comb
(The”” between two vowels does not prevent the diphthong. Example: ahumado, ahijado)
Hiatus:Two vowels pronounced in different syllables. Example: te-a-tro, a-é-re-o, vi-gi-a
Triphthongs:Three vowels pronounced in one syllable (unstressed closed vowel + stressed open vowel + unstressed closed vowel). Example: despreciéis
(Triphthongs always follow the general rules of accentuation)
Mnemonic:
Rooster (a, e, o) + Rooster:No problems, they get along, each one on its own.HIATUSGENERAL RULES OF ACCENTUATION
Hen (i, u) + Hen:No problems, they get along, they go together.DIPHTHONGGENERAL RULES OF ACCENTUATION
Rooster + Hen:Hen → discreet, the rooster leaves her alone, they separate.DIPHTHONGGENERAL RULES OF ACCENTUATION
Chicken → difficult to escape, it pecks.HIATUSALWAYS TILDE

Diacritical Tilde

M
O
N
O
S
Í
L
A
B
O
S
  • El: Masculine article. Example: El conductor frenó el autobús en seco.
  • Él: Personal pronoun. Example: Él me lo dijo.
  • Mi: Possessive adjective. Example: Te invito a cenar a mi casa.
  • Mí: Personal pronoun. Example: ¿Tienes algo para mí?
  • Tu: Possessive adjective. Example: Te he comprado un par de zapatos.
  • Tú: Personal pronoun. Example: Tú eres el culpable.
  • Mas: Adversative conjunction. Example: Quería convencerle, mas fue imposible.
  • Más: Adverb. Example: Habla más alto. Dos más dos son cuatro.
  • Si: Conjunction. Example: Si llueve, saldré. No sé si iré.
  • Sí: Adverb of affirmation. Example: Esta vez sí me habían invitado.
  • Sí: Personal pronoun. Example: Sólo habla de sí mismo.
  • De: Preposition. Example: Un vestido de seda.
  • Dé: Verb dar. Example: Espero que dé el dinero para hacer un buen regalo.
  • Se: Personal pronoun. Example: Se comió todo el pastel.
  • Sé: Verb saber or ser. Example: No sé nada. Sé amable con ellos.
  • O / U: Use accents when they appear between two numbers. Example: 3 ó 4.
Demonstratives
  • Determinant: Never accented. Example: Ese día me lo pasé bien. El niño ese no ha parado de molestar.
  • Pronoun: Tilde is not mandatory. Example: Esos son tus regalos, no los míos. Esos ganaron el campeonato.
    Except for ambiguity: Dijo que esta mañana allí. Dijo esta mañana que allí.
  • Neutral forms (esto, eso, aquello) never use accents: Esto no me gusta. Nada de aquello era cierto.
Interrogatives and ExclamativesAccented when they have an interrogative or exclamatory meaning (with or without question marks or exclamation marks).
¿Qué? ¿Qué dices? ¿Quiénes son? ¿Cuándo viene? ¡Qué bien! ¡Cuántos problemas! ¡Cómo ha llovido!
Cuando llegó, le preguntaron por qué estaba allí.
Explicó las dificultades que habían surgido.
¿No sabes dónde vive?
Comentó cuánto mejor sería que resolviera el problema pronto.
Sabemos la situación que ha tenido que superar.
Solo / SóloCan be an adjective (A Tomás le gusta estar solo) or an adverb (Comeremos sólo fruta).
Tilde is mandatory if there is ambiguity: Estaré solo (unaccompanied) / Sólo (only) este verano aquí.
Aún / AunWith tilde, ‘not yet’: Aún es joven. Aún no ha llegado.
Without accent, ‘even, also, too’ (or ‘even’ with negation): Aun los sordos lo oirán. Ni aun él lo sabía. Aun si lo pidiera, no le harían caso.

Compound Words

Without hyphen:Follow general rules: veintidós, baloncesto, lampara
With hyphen:Each compound maintains its accent if it had one: teórico-práctico, léxico-semántico
Adverbs in -mente:Accented if the initial adjective was accented: educadamente, fácilmente, tímidamente
Verbs with pronouns:Follow general rules: fijate, mírame, dámelo, habiéndose

Other Languages

Latin expressions:Follow general rules: Ítem, accésit, currículum, alma máter.
Other:
  • When the spelling is not adapted, do not add an accent that it did not have: catering, Windsor.
  • When the spelling is adapted, follow the general rules. Example: búnker, París, Támesis.