Llanito

Language

Andalusian Spanish from the surrounding Campo de Gibraltar is the main constituent of Llanito, but it is also heavily influenced by British English. However, it borrows words and expressions of many other languages, with over 500 words of Genoese (Ligurian) medieval dialect (with additionally some of Hebrew origin). Its other main language constituents are Maltese and Portuguese. It often also involves code-switching from Spanish to English. Some Llanito words are also widely used in the neighbouring Spanish town of La Línea de la Concepción (due to the influx of people from La Línea working in Gibraltar over many years).

To some outsiders who only speak either English or Spanish, Llanito may sound incomprehensible, as speakers appear to switch languages in mid-sentence, but to people who are bilingual in both languages, it can sound interesting and unique. One feature of the language is the pronunciation of English words with an Andalusian flavour. For example, bacon is pronounced beki; cake, keki; battery, batteria; a policeman is known as la parma, and porridge is called kuecaro (a hispanicization of the brand Quaker Oats). Most Gibraltarians, especially those with higher education, also speak standard Spanish with either Andalusian or normative pronunciations and standard English of the British English variety.

According to the Italian scholar Giulio Vignoli, Llanito originally, in the first decades of the 19th century, was full of Genoese words, later substituted mainly by Spanish words and by some English words.

Llanito has significant Jewish influence, because of a long standing Jewish population in Gibraltar. They introduced words and expressions from Haketia, a largely extinct Judeo-Spanish language spoken by the Sephardic communities of Northern Morocco, such as Tetuan and Tangiers and the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa.

Even though Llanito is seldom written, a Llanito dictionary, Diccionario Yanito, was published in 1978 by Manuel Cavilla, and in 2001 Tito Vallejo published The Yanito Dictionary. Including Place Names and Yanito Anecdotes.

Core elements of Llanito

Although Llanito is largely based on the colloquial Spanish spoken in the Campo de Gibraltar, there are numerous elements beyond code-switching to English which make it unique. These are as follows.

Anglicisms

Calques from English to Spanish

Calques from Spanish to English

Local expressions

Llanito words introduced into Spain

Many Llanito terms have been introduced into the Andalusian Spanish dialect of the bordering city La Línea de la Concepción, where the resulting dialect is known as Linense. However, according to Gibraltarian linguist Tito Vallejo, a few words common throughout Spain may be of Llanito origin, notably "Chachi" meaning "Cool" or "Brilliant" (from Winston Churchill) and "Napia" meaning "Big Nose" from Lord Napier. Churchill was associated with foreign imports from the United Kingdom which were highly sought in Gibraltar and, according to Vallejo, Lord Napier had a particularly big nose.

However, linguists also propose chachi to be a contraction of the Caló term chachipén meaning "truth", since this language is the source of a significant proportion of Spanish slang.

Broadcasting

The Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation has also aired some programmes in Llanito including Talk About Town – a discussion series in which three presenters discuss local affairs, from the need to replace a street sign to important political affairs.

Pepe's Pot was a cookery programme/program which also used Llanito.

Film

A documentary film, "People of the Rock: The Llanitos of Gibraltar" (2011) discusses Llanito speech characteristics, history and culture. Notable interviews include Pepe Palmero (of GBC's "Pepe's Pot"), Kaiane Aldorino (Miss World 2009) and Tito Vallejo (author of "The Llanito Dictionary").

Demonym

The official demonym of Gibraltar is Gibraltarians. However, the people of Gibraltar may also be referred to as Llanitos (female Llanitas). This term is commonly used in the neighbouring towns of La Línea, San Roque, Algeciras and the rest of the Campo de Gibraltar, as well as in Gibraltar itself. When speaking in English, the people of Gibraltar tend to use the word Gibraltarians to refer to themselves but when speaking in Spanish they prefer to use the word Llanitos rather than the Spanish name for their official demonym, Gibraltareños.

The truncated term Llanis is also used by the people of Gibraltar, where it can be heard all around the territory and chanted in songs during the annual Gibraltar National Day.

Etymology

The etymology of the term Llanito is uncertain. In Spanish, Llanito means "little flatland" and has been interpreted as "people of the flatlands". It is thought that the inhabitants of La Línea with important social and economic ties with Gibraltar, were actually the first to be referred to as Llanitos since La Línea lies in the plain and marsh land surrounding The Rock.

Another theory for the origin of the word is that it is a diminutive of the name Gianni: "gianito", pronounced in Genoese slang with the "g" as "j". During the late 18th century 34% of the male civilian population of Gibraltar came from Genoa and Gianni was a common Italian forename. To this day, nearly 20% of Gibraltarian surnames are Italian in origin.