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Llanito


Llanito or Yanito or Giannito(pronounced [jaˈnito]) is a form of Spanish heavily laced with words from English and other languages such as Genoese, spoken in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It consists of an eclectic mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English, marked by a great deal of code switching, anglicisms and loanwords from many other Mediterranean languages and dialects.

Llanito is a Spanish word meaning "little plain". Gibraltarians also call themselves Llanitos.

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.


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