Information AboutLlanito |
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Llanito ( based creole spoken in the British colony of Gibraltar . It is also spoken by overseas migrants and their descendants in Spain , United Kingdom , and Spanish-speaking Latin America and Hispanic communities in United States . It is heavily influenced by English and, to a lesser extent, has influences from Moroccan , Genoese Italian , Ladino , Maltese and Hebrew , as well as other linguistic impacts (see Demographics Of Gibraltar ). Gibraltarians may also call themselves ''Llanitos'' (female ''Llanitas''). The term ''los Llanis'' is also used in La Línea , the town on the Spanish side of the border, to describe — generally disdainfully — their neighbours, although Gibraltarians do not consider it to be insulting and often pride themselves on being called ''Llanis''. To many outsiders, Llanito sounds incomprehensible, as speakers appear to Switch Languages In Mid-sentence , but to people who can understand both English and Spanish, it sounds surprising and unique. One feature of the language is the pronunciation of English words with an Andalusian flavour. For example, bacon is pronounced ''beki''; cake, ''quequi''; battery, ''batteria''; and a policeman is known as ''un bobi'', (from " Bobby "). However, this is more common with the older population as the younger generation have a different slang, for example ''la palma'' for 'the police'. Gibraltarians, especially those with higher education, speak standard Spanish of both Andalusian and Castilian dialects and standard English of the British English Variety . Examples: Llanito compared to standard (Madrid) Spanish and English Spanish: ''Tío, te digo que no puedes...'' Llanito: ''Quillo, I'm telling you que no puede...'' English: ''Mate, I'm telling you you can't...'' Spanish: ''Hay una llamada para ti.'' Llanito: ''Hay un call pa ti.'' English: ''There's a call for you.'' Spanish: ''Sí, pero a fin de cuentas...'' Llanito: ''Sí, pero at the end of the day...'' English: ''Yes, but at the end of the day...'' Spanish: ''¿Por qué, querido/a?'' Llanito: ''Por qué, darling?'' English: ''Why, darling?'' Spanish: ''Oye tío, vamos a casa a comer algo...'' Llanito: ''Cusha tio, vamo al keo pa toma papiti...'' English: ''Listen mate, let's go home to eat something...'' Spanish: ''Gibraltar es britanico'' Llanito: ''Gibraltar e British...'' English: ''Gibraltar is British'' Spanish: ''Te devuelvo la llamada de todas maneras'' Llanito: ''Te llamo p´atra anyway'' English: ''I´ll call you back anyway'' Etymology In contention. Some attribute it to ''llano'' ('plain'), a reference to the Isthmus between Gibraltar and Spain, or to ''Gianni'' + ''-ito'' or equivalently ''Johnny'' + ''-ito''. See also |