Languages of Gibraltar

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Languages of Gibraltar
Gibraltar bilingual sign.jpg
One of the many bilingual signs found in the Gibraltar Nature Reserve, printed in both English and Spanish.
Official English
Recognised Spanish
Main English
Vernacular Llanito
Minority Maghrebi Arabic, Sindhi, Hindi, Maltese, Hebrew
Signed British Sign Language
Keyboard layout
British (QWERTY)
KB United Kingdom.svg

The sole official language of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, is English, which is used by the Government and in schools. The eponymous Gibraltarian English accent is spoken in the territory.

Contents

Many of Gibraltar's linguistic influences come from its neighbours, Spain and Morocco. Location Gibraltar EU.png
Many of Gibraltar's linguistic influences come from its neighbours, Spain and Morocco.

Most locals are bilingual, also speaking Spanish, because of Gibraltar's proximity to Spain. Most Gibraltarians converse in Llanito , their vernacular which is mostly based on Andalusian Spanish but with numerous loanwords from English as well other Mediterranean languages. However, because of the varied mix of ethnic groups which reside there, other languages such as Moroccan Berber, Moroccan Arabic and Hindi are also spoken on The Rock.

Llanito

Llanito (pronounced [ʎaˈnito] ) is the main local vernacular, and is unique to Gibraltar. It consists of an eclectic mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English, as well as languages such as Maltese, Portuguese, Ligurian of the Genoese variety and Haketia.

Andalusian Spanish is the main constituent of Llanito, but is also heavily influenced by British English. However, it borrows words and expressions of many other languages, with over 500 words of Genoese and Hebrew origin. It also typically involves code-switching to English.

The term Llanito is also used as an alternative demonym to Gibraltarian .

Spanish

Over the course of its history, the Rock of Gibraltar has changed hands many times, among Spanish, Moorish, and British hands, although it has been consistently under British control since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Before the British takeover, Spanish was widely spoken, but afterwards as most residents left the Rock, the language had a much smaller population (in 1753 there were just 185 Spaniards, and only 134 in 1777 [1] ). However, the border with Spain has been opened since 1985, allowing easier travel in and out of Spain, one of the factors which has given Andalusian Spanish considerable presence in Gibraltar. In 2001, there were 326 people of Spanish nationality in Gibraltar, and a large number of "Frontier Workers" who commute there for work.

Berber language and Maghrebi Arabic

Owing to its close proximity to Morocco and Algeria, the Berber language and Maghrebi Arabic are spoken by the Moroccan and other North African minorities in the city.

In 2001, there were 961 Moroccans in Gibraltar.[ citation needed ]

Other languages

Hindi and Sindhi is also spoken by the Indian community of Gibraltar. Maltese, a language which was widely used in Gibraltar up until the late 19th century, and is still spoken by some families of Maltese descent. Similarly, Genoese was spoken in Catalan Bay well into the 19th century, dying out in the early decades of the 20th, by some families of Genoese descent. Hebrew is also spoken by the Jewish community.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Gibraltar</span> Demographics of Gibraltar

Demographic features of the population of Gibraltar include ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanito</span> Spanish variety spoken in Gibraltar

Llanito or Yanito is a form of Andalusian Spanish heavily laced with words from English and other languages, such as Ligurian; it is spoken in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is commonly marked by a great deal of code switching between Andalusian Spanish and British English and by the use of Anglicisms and loanwords from other Mediterranean languages and dialects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Gibraltar</span> Overview of the culture in Gibraltar

The culture of Gibraltar reflects Gibraltarians' diverse origins. While there are Spanish and British influences, a result of the territory's status as a British overseas territory and its proximity to Spain, the ethnic origins of most Gibraltarians are a mix of Andalusian Spaniards, Genoese, Maltese, Portuguese and British. The main religion is Christianity, the majority group being the Roman Catholic Church, then the Church of England. There is a long established Sephardic Jewish community, a number of Hindu Indians and a Moroccan Muslim population. Gibraltarians of Genoese origin came to The Rock in the 18th century, with the Maltese and Portuguese following in the 19th century, coming to work and trade in the British military base. Spanish Andalusian origins are the result of generations of intermarriage with inhabitants of surrounding towns.

Maghrebi Arabic is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb. It includes the Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Libyan, Hassaniya and Saharan Arabic dialects. It is known locally as ad-Dārija. This serves to differentiate the spoken vernacular from Standard Arabic. Maghrebi Arabic has a predominantly Semitic and Arabic vocabulary, although it contains a few Berber loanwords which represent 2–3% of the vocabulary of Libyan Arabic, 8–9% of Algerian and Tunisian Arabic, and 10–15% of Moroccan Arabic. Maghrebi Arabic was formerly spoken in Al-Andalus and Sicily until the 17th and 13th centuries, respectively, in the extinct forms of Andalusi Arabic and Siculo-Arabic. The Maltese language is believed to have its source in a language spoken in Muslim Sicily that ultimately originates from Tunisia, as it contains some typical Maghrebi Arabic areal characteristics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English language in Europe</span>

The English language in Europe, as a native language, is mainly spoken in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Outside of these states, it has official status in Malta, the Crown Dependencies, Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. In the Netherlands, English has an official status as a regional language on the isles of Saba and Sint Eustatius. In other parts of Europe, English is spoken mainly by those who have learnt it as a second language, but also, to a lesser extent, natively by some expatriates from some countries in the English-speaking world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Morocco</span> The culture of Morocco

The culture of Morocco is a blend of Arab, Amazighs, Andalusian cultures, with African, Hebraic and Mediterranean influences. It represents and is shaped by a convergence of influences throughout history. This sphere may include, among others, the fields of personal or collective behaviors, language, customs, knowledge, beliefs, arts, legislation, gastronomy, music, poetry, architecture, etc. While Morocco started to be stably predominantly Sunni Muslim starting from 9th–10th century AD, in the Almoravids empire period, a very significant Andalusian culture was imported and contributed to the shaping of Moroccan culture. Another major influx of Andalusian culture was brought by Andalusians with them following their expulsion from Al-andalus to North Africa after the Reconquista. In antiquity, starting from the second century A.D and up to the seventh, a rural Donatist Christianity was present, along an urban still-in-the-making Roman Catholicism. All of the cultural super strata tend to rely on a multi-millennial aboriginal Berber substratum still strongly present and dating back to prehistoric times.

There have been many languages spoken in the Iberian Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haketia</span> Romance language

Haketia is an endangered Jewish Romance language also known as Djudeo Spañol, Ladino Occidental, or Western Judaeo-Spanish. It was historically spoken by the North African Sephardim in the Moroccan cities of Tétouan, Tangier, Asilah, Larache, Chefchaouen, Ksar el-Kebir, and the Spanish towns of Ceuta and Melilla. Tetuani Ladino was also spoken in Oran, Algeria. One of the distinctions between Ladino and Haketia (Haquetia) is that the latter incorporates Arabic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibraltar</span> British Overseas Territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to some 32,688 people, primarily Gibraltarians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judeo-Moroccan Arabic</span> Judeo-Arabic variety of Morocco

Judeo-Moroccan Arabic is the variety or the varieties of the Moroccan vernacular Arabic spoken by Jews living or formerly living in Morocco. Historically, the majority of Moroccan Jews spoke Moroccan vernacular Arabic, or Darija, as their first language, even in Amazigh areas, which was facilitated by their literacy in Hebrew script. The Darija spoken by Moroccan Jews, which they referred to as al-‘arabiya diyalna as opposed to ‘arabiya diyal l-məslimīn, typically had distinct features, such as š>s and ž>z "lisping," some lexical borrowings from Hebrew, and in some regions Hispanic features from the migration of Sephardi Jews following the Alhambra Decree. The Jewish dialects of Darija spoken in different parts of Morocco had more in common with the local Moroccan Arabic dialects than they did with each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Gibraltar</span> Ethnic group

The history of the Jews in Gibraltar dates back more than 650 years. There have been periods of persecution, but for the most part the Jews of Gibraltar have prospered and been one of the largest religious minorities in the city, where they have made contributions to the culture, defence, and Government of Gibraltar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibraltarian cuisine</span> Cuisine of the territory of Gibraltar

Gibraltarian cuisine is the result of a long relationship between the people of Spanish Andalusia and those of Great Britain, as well as the many foreigners who have made Gibraltar their home over the past three centuries. These influences include those of the culinary traditions of Malta, Genoa, and Portugal. This marriage of tastes has produced in Gibraltar an eclectic mix of Mediterranean and British cuisines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibraltarians</span> Ethnic group

Gibraltarians are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Morocco</span> Languages of the country and its peoples

There are a number of languages in Morocco. De jure, the two official languages are Standard Arabic and Standard Moroccan Berber. Moroccan Arabic is by far the primary spoken vernacular and lingua franca, whereas Berber languages serve as vernaculars for significant portions of the country. The languages of prestige in Morocco are Arabic in its Classical and Modern Standard Forms and sometimes French, the latter of which serves as a second language for approximately 33% of Moroccans. According to a 2000–2002 survey done by Moha Ennaji, author of Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco, "there is a general agreement that Standard Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, and Berber are the national languages." Ennaji also concluded "This survey confirms the idea that multilingualism in Morocco is a vivid sociolinguistic phenomenon, which is favored by many people."

Gibraltarian English can refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibraltarian English</span> Denotes the accent of English spoken in Gibraltar

Gibraltarian English denotes the accent of English spoken in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The English language has been present at Gibraltar for approximately 300 years, and during these centuries English has mixed with diverse languages, particularly Andalusian Spanish. Gibraltarian English has become a subject of study for linguists interested in how English and other languages mix. While the primary language of Gibraltarians is a variety of Andalusian Spanish called Llanito or Yanito, Gibraltarian English has become more prominent, and there has been a theory proposed that this variety of English is becoming "nativised". Gibraltarian English is similar in many respects to British English, particularly southern varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Genoese in Gibraltar</span> Gibraltarians of Genoese descent

Genoese Gibraltarians have existed in Gibraltar since the 16th century and later became an important part of the population. It is an ethnic community made up of descendants of Genoese and Ligurians who emigrated to Gibraltar during the Italian diaspora. The population of Gibraltar with Genoese surnames is around 20% of the total.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Baptist Scandella</span>

John Baptist Scandella STD was a Gibraltarian Roman Catholic priest of Genoese descent. He was Vicar Apostolic of the Diocese of Gibraltar between 1857 and 1880. He spoke fluent English and his native Spanish. Scandella is mainly remembered in Gibraltar for seeing the return of the statue of Our Lady of Europe to Gibraltar from Algeciras in Spain and for his efforts to improve education in the territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Tunisia</span>

Of the languages of Tunisia, Arabic is the sole official language according to the Tunisian Constitution.

References

  1. Government of Gibraltar. "Census of Gibraltar, 2001" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27.