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Andalusian Spanish
The southern Spanish that shares more with the Caribbean than with Madrid: consonants drop, the s breathes, and ch softens to sh.
Seville, Cádiz and western Andalusia
7sound rules18words and phrases11everyday lines
Neutral fine anywhere Casual friends, street Vulgar swearing Insult aimed at a person
How it sounds
Left: the sound, in pine. Middle: standard spelling. Right: meaning.
S1S where Madrid says th
Seville uses seseo: z and soft c sound like s, as in Latin America. In parts of Cádiz and Málaga it goes the other way, ceceo, and s sounds like th.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| grasias | gracias | thank you (Seville) |
| servesa | cerveza | beer (Seville) |
| thí, theñó | sí, señor | yes, sir (ceceo areas) |
S2The s before a consonant breathes or doubles the next sound
An s before a consonant becomes an h, or copies the next consonant. Esto becomes etto.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| loh doh | los dos | both |
| etto | esto | this |
| mihmo | mismo | same |
| la mohca | la mosca | the fly |
S3Final consonants drop
The d, r and l at the end of a word go quiet, so the stress lands on the open vowel.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| verdá | verdad | true, right? |
| comé | comer | to eat |
| papé | papel | paper |
| Madrí | Madrid | Madrid |
S4Cut-down words
As in the Caribbean, the d between vowels goes and short words shrink.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| pescao | pescado | fish |
| to' er mundo | todo el mundo | everyone |
| pa' qué | para qué | what for? |
| na de na | nada de nada | nothing at all |
S5Ch softens to sh
In Seville and Cádiz the ch loses its stop and sounds like the English sh.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| mushasho | muchacho | lad |
| noshe | noche | night |
| coshe | coche | car |
S6L and r swap at the end of a syllable
El becomes er, and alma becomes arma, which gives Seville its best-known term of endearment.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| er niño | el niño | the kid |
| mi arma | mi alma | my dear (literally "my soul") |
| arcarde | alcalde | mayor |
S7Ustedes with the vosotros verb
Western Andalusia uses ustedes for all plural you, sometimes with the verb form of vosotros.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| ¿Ustedes vais a venir? | ¿Vosotros vais a venir? | are you all coming? |
| Ustedes sois de aquí | Ustedes son de aquí | you're all from here |
Words and phrases
18 entries, each tagged by register.
W1Greetings and fillers
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| illo / quillo | chiquillo | mate, dudecasual |
| ¿Qué pasa, quillo? | ¿Qué pasa, chiquillo? | what's up, mate?casual |
| miarma | mi alma | my dear (Seville)casual |
| pisha | pisha | mate (Cádiz)casual |
| ¡ozú! | ¡Jesús! | wow! goodness!casual |
| ¡qué arte! | ¡qué arte! | how charming, how clevercasual |
W2Describing things and people
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| una pechá | una pechada | loads (una pechá de reír)casual |
| bulla | bulla | rush, hurry (tengo bulla)casual |
| jartible | hartible | tiresome, too muchcasual |
| esaborío | desaborido | dull, no charmcasual |
| malaje | malaje | killjoy, bad vibescasual |
| chiquillo | chiquillo | kid (also for adults)casual |
W3Food and the fiesta
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| un montadito | un montadito | a small filled rollneutral |
| pringá | pringada | shredded stew meat (in a montadito)casual |
| tinto de verano | tinto de verano | red wine with lemon sodaneutral |
| rebujito | rebujito | sherry with lemonade (the Feria drink)neutral |
| la caseta | la caseta | a marquee at the Ferianeutral |
| carajote | carajote | fool (Seville)insult |
Everyday lines
Scenes and the lines that go with them.
L1At the bar
Seville eats standing up, tapa by tapa.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Ponme una caña, illo | Ponme una caña, chiquillo | a small beer, mate |
| Un montadito de pringá | Un montadito de pringada | a little roll with stew meat |
| Ponme otra, que esto e' gloria | Ponme otra, que esto es gloria | another one, this is heaven |
| ¿Me cobras, miarma? | ¿Me cobras, mi alma? | can I pay, dear? |
L2Fiesta season
April belongs to Semana Santa and then the Feria.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| el paso | el paso | the float carried in a procession |
| el costalero | el costalero | one of the men carrying it |
| Vamos a la caseta | Vamos a la caseta | let's go to the marquee |
| Echa un rebujito | Echa un rebujito | pour a rebujito |
L3Heat
Summer here means 40 degrees by 4 in the afternoon.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Qué caló | Qué calor | so hot |
| A la sombra | A la sombra | in the shade |
| Salimos cuando caiga el sol | Salimos cuando caiga el sol | we'll go out when the sun goes down |