Spanish Dialect in Equatorial Guinea

Road sign in Malabo

Spanish Dialect in Equatorial Guinea ( Spanish Español ecuatoguineano ) - Spanish dialect used by the people of Equatorial Guinea . This is the only dialect of the Spanish language that has a national official status in the countries of Black Africa . According to available estimates, the number of speakers is about 90% of the population, which amounted to 1,170,308 people (2011) ^[1] (according to other sources - 740,743 (2013) ^[2] ), almost all residents speak a second language ^[3] . The regulator of the Spanish dialect in the country is the .

Content

History

Spanish Guinea (including the island of Bioko , formerly Fernando Po) united Spanish possessions located in the Gulf of Guinea , which existed from 1778 to 1968. Equatorial Guinea's independence from Spain was proclaimed on October 12, 1968.

Despite the fact that the country has retained the languages of indigenous peoples, after the declaration of independence, Spanish remained the national and official language. Spanish is spoken by about 90% of the population of Bioko and the coastal part of the Rio Muni region and from 60% to 70% of the population in the deep part of Rio Muni ^[4] .

Dialect Features

The Spanish dialect in Equatorial Guinea is more similar to Spanish in Spain ( Spanish Español de España ) than to Spanish in America ( Spanish Español de América ). Some of its features ^[5] :

both syllabic and final / s / are strongly pronounced;
/ ɾ / and / r / are merged;
articles are omitted.
the usted pronoun (“You”) can be used with the conjugation of the verb on tú (“You”);
there is no difference between indicative and subjunctive moods;
the pronoun vosotros is used interchangeably with the ustedes ;
The preposition en replaces a when specifying the direction: voy en Bata instead of voy a Bata .

Comparison with the dialects of the Spanish Caribbean

According to linguist John Lipsky, a comparison of the Spanish dialect of Equatorial Guinea and the dialects of the Spanish Caribbean countries does not give reason to talk about the influence of African languages on Caribbean Spanish, despite some earlier theories. These dialects of Spanish vary widely. However, in another article, Lipsky admits that African languages could enhance the reduction of consonants in Caribbean Spanish that occurs in dialects of southern Spain ^[6] .

Notes

↑ World Gazetteer (Neopr.) . Date of treatment November 11, 2011. Archived on May 27, 2012.
↑ Countries and Areas Ranked by Population . US Department of Commerce (2013). Date of treatment November 3, 2016. Archived on May 9, 2013.
↑ Penny, Ralph. A History Of The Spanish Language. - 2. - 2002. - P. 33. - “ Spanish is spoken by part of the population of Equatorial Guinea. Spanish is the language of education and the press, and is the only common language in an otherwise linguistically diverse country. However, those who speak Spanish use it as a second language, often acquired in adulthood and therefore not always in a fully native manner. ".
↑ John M. Lipski. The Spanish of Equatorial Guinea: research on la hispanidad's best-kept secret (neopr.) (PDF). Personal.psu.edu. Date of treatment May 20, 2015.
↑ Lipski, John. The Spanish Language of Equatorial Guinea (Neopr.) // Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies. - T. 8 . - S. 120-123 .
↑ John Lipski. A new look at Afro-Hispanic Phonology: th case of Equatorial Guinea (neopr.) (PDF). Personal.osu.edu. Date of treatment May 20, 2015.

[1] World Gazetteer (Neopr.) . Date of treatment November 11, 2011. Archived on May 27, 2012.

[2] Countries and Areas Ranked by Population . US Department of Commerce (2013). Date of treatment November 3, 2016. Archived on May 9, 2013.

[3] Penny, Ralph. A History Of The Spanish Language. - 2. - 2002. - P. 33. - “ Spanish is spoken by part of the population of Equatorial Guinea. Spanish is the language of education and the press, and is the only common language in an otherwise linguistically diverse country. However, those who speak Spanish use it as a second language, often acquired in adulthood and therefore not always in a fully native manner. ".

[psu-4] John M. Lipski. The Spanish of Equatorial Guinea: research on la hispanidad's best-kept secret (neopr.) (PDF). Personal.psu.edu. Date of treatment May 20, 2015.

[5] Lipski, John. The Spanish Language of Equatorial Guinea (Neopr.) // Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies. - T. 8 . - S. 120-123 .

[Lipski2-6] John Lipski. A new look at Afro-Hispanic Phonology: th case of Equatorial Guinea (neopr.) (PDF). Personal.osu.edu. Date of treatment May 20, 2015.