 When
in 1510, the Spanish conquest traversed the Cuban island, the Castilian
or better, the Spanish, official language of Spain, was imposed to
our natives with such persuasive methods as whip and death. From this
moment on, started a permanent flow of Spanish immigrants with different
origins.
The appearance in our country of Andalusians and Canaries around the
XVII century was noteworthy, because they set the basis for some features
inherent to the Spanish spoken in Cuba, which influence is still alive
in our current culture.
Our language took from Canaries, Andalusians and other ethnic groups.
The two first left us the seseo as a peculiar way of pronounce S,
C and Z; the yeísmo, making no difference between sounds Y
and LL; some regional substitutions of R for L and the aspiration
of S.
Moreover, some words were borrowed from Andalusía, such
as cherna and jurel, and from Canarias Islands,
gofio and fañoso. There are also numerous
voices with Arabic roots, like mazorca and joroba
and Gipsy words as jarana and sandunga. All these
facts allow the notable Fernando Ortiz to affirm our culture is
''a real ajiaco''.
Although the extinction of the American inhabitants after the conquest
blocked the cultural development of many peoples, our native languages
undoubted tinged the Spanish with a lot of words, used to name objects
of our present-day life.
Some of these voices, coming from our autochthonous languages and
the rest of America, are still present nowadays: majá,
cocuyo, tiburón, guayaba, huracán, Camagüey,
Baracoa and Cuba. Areas of the Caribbean like Yucatan
and Florida also contributed with some words: arepa, butaca,
tomate, tamal, maraca, caucho and papa, among others.
The inclusion of slave working forces coming from Africa, as outcome
of the Cuban natives extinction and the development of sugar cane
and coffee industries, gave birth to a complex process and the new
immigrants` linguistic diversity generated the necessity of communication
among them, who were forced to speak a sort of Spanish-based slang
known as ''bozal''.
In addition, several popular proverbs and sayings came to stay forever
in our language: ''Chivo que rompe tambó, con su pellejo
paga…''
After the elimination of slaves traffic and the creation of the
Law for the Suppression of Clandestine Traffic on 1840, the colonial
authorities quickly searched for cheap laborers, employing massively
Chinese immigrants around 1847; the false hopes of economic prosperity
given to these workers originated the phrase: ''Te engañaron
como un chino''. It's undeniable the influence of the Chinese presence
in the island, popular expressions and sayings prove this: ''Tener
un chino detrás'' (referring to bad luck), ''Quedarse en
china'' (when you don't understand what is about) or ''Eso no lo
cura ni el medico chino'' (to express that something has no solution).
English and French languages have profusely influenced in the evolution
of the Spanish language in Cuba. French influence came out as reflex
of the French-style Spain from XVIII and XIX centuries. Chofer,
avión, bulevar were borrowed from this language.
Indeed, with the first North American intervention in Cuba on 1899,
English displaced French as the most important foreign language.
Luckily, we already had a well-defined linguistic and cultural community
which, despite its racial diversity, was linked to a unique language:
Spanish.
Other examples of foreign influence were, from German: cabaret,
kindergarten… from Russian: sputnik.
Of course, this is not a final process. Each society is responsible
for its language, to protect it from bad influences that may damage
or spoil it; each country has the obligation of preserving and enriching
the language for future generations.
In our online Books Shop, you can find the book ''El
habla popular cubana de hoy'' by Argelio Santiesteban, offering
synonyms and crossed references, tracing also the origin of words
and even signifying when they are common in other Latin American
countries. The text features examples of how to use these words,
taken from Spanish, Hispanoamerican and namely from Cuban literature.
Taken from the radio program ''Palabras contra el olvido'':
El español que se habla en Cuba. Courtesy of Armantina Almiñaque.
Producer and Director of Radio Programs. April/04
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