| Panamanian Spanish | |
|---|---|
| Español panameño | |
| Pronunciation | [espaˈɲolpanaˈmeɲo] |
| Native to | Panama |
Native speakers | 4,400,000 (2025)[1] |
Early forms | |
| Latin (Spanish alphabet) | |
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | Academia Panameña de la Lengua |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | es |
| ISO 639-2 | spa[2] |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| IETF | es-PA |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Panamanian Spanish is theSpanish language as spoken in the country ofPanama. Despite Panama's location in Central America, Panamanian Spanish is considered aCaribbean variety.[3]
The variations among different speaker groups of the same language can belexical (vocabulary),phonological (pronunciation),morphological (word forms), or in the use ofsyntax (grammar).
Historically,Panama andColombia were part of the same political entity. Colombia, governed from theReal Audiencia of Panama during the 16th century, then part ofCastilla de Oro, with its capital in Panama, during the 17th century, and after independence from Spain, Panama voluntarily became part of theRepublic of Gran Colombia along with Venezuela and Ecuador, with its capital in Bogota. From the colonial times and periods and also during most of the 19th century and until 1903, and even though there are still lexical similarities shared by the two countries (e.g.,pelao in bothColombia andPanama means 'kid' or 'child'), phonetically, Panamanian Spanish is very similar with the Spanish as spoken in the coastal areas around theCaribbean, specificallyCuba,Puerto Rico, theDominican Republic and the Caribbean coasts ofColombia andVenezuela. As Panama is located in Central America, Panamanian Spanish is transitional between Central American and Caribbean dialects.
A notable characteristic of Panamanian Spanish, and other varieties ofCaribbean Spanish, is thedebuccalization of the/s/ sound at the end of a syllable or word, such as in the wordcascada, 'waterfall', pronounced[kahˈkaða] (like "h" in the English word "he") instead of[kasˈkaða]. This results in a phonetic merger with/x/. The aspiration is also observed in thecoastal regions of Peru andEcuador; inChile,Argentina, and Uruguay; and inAndalusia and theCanary Islands of Spain.[4] This/s/ can also be pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative[x] when before/k/ or/g/.[5]
As in many other varieties, word-final/n/ is oftenvelarized in Panamanian Spanish. Word-final/n/ is more often elided on the Costa Arriba ofColón Province, east of the city ofColón, than inPanama City.[6]
Another change observed in Panamanian Spanish is thedeaffrication of/tʃ/ (as "ch" in the English word "chips") to[ʃ] (as "sh" in the English word "she"), somuchacho is pronounced[muˈʃaʃo], rather than[muˈtʃatʃo].[7] It is found primarily among less-educated speakers, but it can sometimes be observed among better-educated speakers, as inAndalusian Spanish. The [ʃ] sound is also typical in dialects ofCuba, northMexico, andChile, the latter is where this sound is also more stigmatized among less-educated speakers.
As in most of the Spanish-speaking world, word-final/d/ is typically deleted in informal Panamanian Spanish.[7]
Thetrilled R is often pronounced with a preceding[h] sound.[7]
Throughout rural Panama, as in much of the rest of the Spanish-speaking world,/f/ is usually pronounced as avoiceless bilabial fricative, that is, with both of the lips rather than with the bottom lip and the upper teeth.[7]
In much of rural Panama, but not in the Costa Arriba ofColón Province east ofColón, word-initial[h] (phonemically/x/) is actually pronounced in several words such ashondo[ˈhondo] 'deep' orharto[ˈhaɾto] 'fed up'. This is related to the historical aspiration and eventual loss of Latinf in Spanish. In a few areas, this[h] kept being pronounced in some words.[5]
In at least the Costa Arriba,/ʝ/ is rendered as a fricative[ʝ] (rather than an approximant[ʝ˕], which is more common in other dialects) or often the correspondingaffricate[ɟʝ], and almost never being elided.[5]
Syllable-final/f,p,b,t,d,k,g/ are often elided. Syllable-final/f/ is often converted to a simple aspirate[h], while/p,b/ may be backed to a velar approximant[ɣ]. The same happens to/t/, although it's more common for/t/ to become[ð], and the most common option is for/t/ to simply be deleted.[5]
The/x/ is realized as glottal[h], as inCaribbean and otherAmerican Spanish dialects,Canarian, andAndalusian Spanish dialects.[5]
Rural Panamanian Spanish has a few grammatical forms which are often considered to bearchaisms. These were once more common, but have fallen into disuse in 'standard' Spanish. In the Costa Arriba ofColón Province, some verbs are found with prothetic vowels and prefixes:arrecordar forrecordar 'remember',entodavía fortodavía,arrebuscar forrebuscar 'look for'. Also,cualquiera 'any' can be used as an adjective, as incualquiera persona 'anyone', and the termalgotro 'some other' is still used. Rural western Panama has more forms considered archaic.[8]
Lexically, Panamanian Spanish presents a variety of new terms introduced and being incorporated into the daily language all the time. The following quotation shows some common Panamanian expressions:[9]
"Vecina, yo no soyvidajena, y no me gusta esavaina ... pero te voy a contar unbochinche...
pero si me das de comer un poco dechicheme,concolón,carimañola, sancocho y mondongo...Eseman flacuchento yñato vestido deguayabera azul ysombrero montuno que viene allí ... Sumotete ya no tiene ñame, guineo niguandú. Lo que tiene es unpocotón dechécheres. Según la comadrefularadiobemba, el cambio en eselapé no se debe a unamacuá ..."
[Note:lapé =pelao ('boy') (vesre)]
Panamanians sometimes useloanwords fromEnglish, partly due to the prolonged existence of thePanama Canal Zone. Examples arebreaker (fromcircuit breaker) instead of the Spanishinterruptor,switch (fromlight switch) instead of the Spanishinterruptor,fren (fromfriend) instead of Spanishamigo oramiga (this term is used in a unisex way),ok (fromokay) instead of the Spanishvale, and so on. Many of these quotes and phrases are based in theMacaronic language presented in Panamanian slang.
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