Spanish Element in the English Vocabulary

In dealing with Spanish borrowings we must consider not merely words of originally Spanish and Portuguese stock, but also those which the Hispanic tongues themselves borrow­ed first from Arabic, later from the American Indian languages with which the Portuguese navigators and the Spanish conquistadors were the first to come in contact, and which they later transmitted to English, either directly, or indirect­ly, through French or Italian. The Spanish contribution to the English vocabulary is one of the most varied, abundant, and important.

In contrast with the Scandinavian, French, Latin and Greek loan words, which begin very early in history, the His­panic contribution is a relative latecomer. Very few words of assured Hispanic origin appear during the Middle English period, and even the fifteenth century, which saw the dis­covery of America, has little to offer. The Hispanic tide really begins with the sixteenth century, continues through the seventeenth, diminishes in the eighteenth, then, in the nineteenth and twentieth, shifting its course from the home­land of English to the North American continent. The contact born of rivalry in the voyages of discovery and exploration permitted words of Hispanic origin to flood the English-speaking world. Since this period extended through the XVI-XVII centuries, the majority of Spanish words is concentrat­ed here. A new peak is achieved in the XIX century due to the American settling of the West and the extensive contacts between speakers of American English and speakers of Mexican Spanish.

As for the nature of the borrowings, it would be extre­mely difficult to assign them as a whole to any specific ca­tegory. It cannot be said that they favor one sphere of human activity over another. It is possible to classify some of them.

Bullfighting, for instance, is peculiarly a Hispanic ac­tivity, and its vocabulary has been heavily drawn upon in direct rather than translated form. Hence, English dictiona­ries contain such words as corrida, torero (or “toreador”), picador, matador, espada, banderilla.

There are certain forms of entertainment, particularly music and the dance which retain their Spanish form in Eng­lish; fiesta is a term known to all English speakers. parade (Spanish “parada”); bolero, flamenco style of dancing, sara­band owe their origin to Spanish.

In all English dictionaries we may find certain titles and forms of address which are thoroughly Spanish; senor, senora, senorita, caballero, don, dona (duena), hidalgo.

Some of the terms refer to articles of attire; certain words are used in English, but only with reference to arti­cles worn in Spain or in Spanish-speaking countries (mantil­la, sombrero, serape). Coins like seal, doubloon, peso, peseta are obviously Hispanic, but we also find a metal like platinum, which few English speakers will connect with its true origin, the Spanish plata (silver).

Most political, military, and historical terms that have come to English from Spanish reveal themselves by their form or use (armada, caudillo, infanta, junta, camarilla, Cortes, incommunicado, presidio, Guardia civil, carabineros, guerrilla). Others have acquired an English or French form which effectively disguises them: squad, squadron, escadrille, filibuster.

One of the most productive sources of borrowings from Spanish is the food field. Here we have on the one hand a series of originally Spanish dishes and items with which Eng­lish speakers have become acquainted (tortilla, vanilla, etc.) on the other hand, there is a whole array of foods originat­ing with the American Indians, brought by the Spanish explo­rers to Europe, then passed on to English: potato, maize, barbecue, tobacco, chocolate, tomato, cocoa, tapioca, banana, papaya.

There are words current in the American Southern states, though they are not nearly so numerous as those of the West; “quadroon”, for example, represents a Spanish cuarteron. “Creole”, first appearing in 1604, is the Spanish criollo. “Pickanini” is variously ascribed to Spanish (pequeno nino) or to Portuguese (pequenino). There is the “cannibal” which represents Columbus’ caribal, a Carib Indian an American in some Spanish-speaking countries came from the opening line of a song sung by American troops during the war with Mexico, “Green Grows of Grass”. Together with the word NEGRO which first appeared in English in 1555 came Spanish borrowings which to some extent retained their spelling and pronuncia­tion: embargo, siesta, plaza, padre, casa, peon, hacienda, rodeo, corral, machete, pinto, lasso (lazo), mustang (mesteno).

There seems to be no doubt about the Spanish origin of “cask” (Casco), “cigar”, “risk” (a word that Spanish took from Greek), capstan, caravel, contraband, emery, paragon, romance, savanna.

Spanish passes on to English many words from American Indian languages and from Arabic: canoe, hurricane, hammock, coyote, jaguar, poncho, quinine, alpaca, llama.

Arabic, that great source of additions to the peninsular vocabularies, presents the difficulty of determining whether its words were passed on to English by Spanish or by other Mediterranean languages, such as French or Italian. Among the doubtful words are: jar, alcohol, algebra, alkali, caliber, magazine. Among words of Arabic stock concerning Spanish transmission we have carafe, alcove, tariff, almanae, bizarre.

The borrowing process does not limit itself to mere words. There are suffixes which are occasionally taken over from one language into another, and a few of them become productive of new words in the borrowing language. Such is the case for instance with the ending -eria, which originally came into English through cafeteria. This suffix became so popular in English as an indication of the fact that the cus­tomer serves himself that it was attached to words having no connection with Spanish, such as booketeria and valeteria. Other suffixes are perhaps not productive in the new language, but appear in a sufficient number of borrowed words. This is the case with the -illa of “guerrilla”, camarilla, mantilla, vanilla, etc., along with its French modification -ille of escadrille,

quadrille, and the masculine form that appears in negrillo. Sometimes the extension of a Spanish suffix is limited to personal and place names (the - ito, - ita of “mosquito, bonito, negrito, manzanita, for example, goes on to such names as Juanito, Juanita, Anita, Bonita).

Personal names include family names of a historical variety that have become household words in the English-speaking world; names of painters, explorers, statesmen, leaders, chess players: Velazquez, el Greco, Bolivar, Marti, Villa, Castro, Capablanca. They also include widely used per­sonal names of Spanish origin (Inez, Dolores, Ferdinand, Elvir, Elvira, Alonso, Mercedes, Carmen, Consuelo, Mona, Linda) along with Spanish forms of names that have an English equi­valent but are occasionally used in the English-speaking world (Carlos, Joan, Diego or Jaime, Fransisco, Juse, Pablo, Pedro, Miguel).

Some Spanish place names from outside English-speaking areas are so familiar to English speakers that even their meanings are known: Tierra Del Fuego, Valparaisa, Vera Cruz, Venezuela (“Little Venice”). Far more widespread is the use of Spanish names in those areas of the United States that were long subject to Spanish influence: New Mexico, Arizona, Alamo, Loz Alamos, Alamogordo. We have names of states, like Florida, California, Nevada, Montana; rivers, like the Per dido of Florida, the Cimarron of Oklahoma, the Brazos of Texas; mountain ranges like the Sierra Nevada, Sierra Madre; cities, like Las Vegas, Sacramento, Santa Fe, Las Gruces, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco.

Among English borrowings from Portuguese we may point out such words as albino, apricot, bayadere, fetish, mandarin, caste, mango, junk.

The introduction of Spanish words into English by direct contact hardly begins until the XVI century. After that period Spanish words begin to be borrowed with some freedom, though they are never adopted in such numbers as Italian words.

From the end of the XV century Spanish merchant-vessels were exploring the ocean westwards from Europe.

When the naval power of England began to grow and Englishmen came into contact (though hostile) with Spaniards upon the high seas, in the West Indies and on the coasts of Mexico and South America, they adopted from them the names they used for the inhabitants, animals, plants, etc.

The XVII century shows the largest number of Spanish borrowings of which some relate to Spanish life, trade, po­litics, etc.: duenna, toreador, junta, cortes, embargo, etc..

XVI century - 1) Spanish trade and products;

2) Words denoting persons and titles of rank;

3) Games and dancing;

4) Naval and Military;

5) Miscellaneous;

6) Words from America.

1. Peso, Cask, Real, Rusk, Sherry;

2. Don, Infante, Infanta, Senora, Renegade, Hidalgo, Santon, Grandee, Booby;

3. Primero, Corants, Spade;

4. Galleon, Grenade, Armada, Casque, Comrade, Escalade;

5. Tornado, Corral, Sombrero, Peccadillo, Bravado;

6. Cannibal, Negro, Mulatto, Alligator, Batata, Mosquito, Potato, Banana, Bonity, Manilla, Machete, El Dorado.

XVII century –

1. Doubloon, Cargo, Creole, Toreador, Dona, Picaroon (Pirate), Duenna, Matador;

2. Dorado, Granadilla, Lime;

3. Embargo, Junta, Cortes;

4. Corvette, Parade;

5. Saraband, Guitar, Castanet, Ombre;

6. Sierra, Cavacole, Escapade, Esplanade, Plaza

American. Peon, Piccaninny, Chinchilla, Ananas, Cockroach, Manchineel, Turtle, Vanilla.

XVIII century

Guadroon, Albino, Stevedore, Picador, Merino, Domino, Quadrille, Bolero, Marinade, Caramel, Elotilla, Carmine, Mantilla, Auto-Da-Fe, Jade, Cigar.

Jerk, Alpaca, Mate, Hacienda, Mesa, Ratoon.

XIX century (most of them are from the American side of the Atlantic)

Cigarette, Esparts, Camisole, Guerilla, Camarilla, Pelota, Lasso, Gaucho, Rodeo, Bronco, Nutria, Pueblo, Patio, Serape, Canyon, Dayo, Cafeteria (XX c.), Tango (1913).