“LOL” said the Portuguese “LMAO” The idea that a Spanish…
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“LOL” said the Portuguese “LMAO”
The idea that a Spanish king had a lisp and his subjects began copying him out of respect or fear and thus setting off a language changing chain reaction is today proven to be just a historical myth. However it is a myth that has existed for centuries and is believed to have begun with the chronicler Pero López de Ayala. He wrote about the 14th century King Pedro of Castile that he “lisped a little”. Whilst the true origins of the misinformation isn’t known, it is believed that the myth came to be as an inside joke or story by Portuguese neighbors, who spread the rumor so much that it ended up being told in history lessons in some countries of Europe.
The Spanish “lisp” that is referred to here, isn’t a lisp at all. It is a recognized linguistic feature called *distinción* (distinction). In standard European Spanish, "s" is pronounced with an "s" sound, but "z" and "c" (before an "e" or "i") are pronounced like the English "th" (e.g., *gracias*). It evolved over hundreds of years out of the much more complex Old Spanish consonant system.
#history
The idea that a Spanish king had a lisp and his subjects began copying him out of respect or fear and thus setting off a language changing chain reaction is today proven to be just a historical myth. However it is a myth that has existed for centuries and is believed to have begun with the chronicler Pero López de Ayala. He wrote about the 14th century King Pedro of Castile that he “lisped a little”. Whilst the true origins of the misinformation isn’t known, it is believed that the myth came to be as an inside joke or story by Portuguese neighbors, who spread the rumor so much that it ended up being told in history lessons in some countries of Europe.
The Spanish “lisp” that is referred to here, isn’t a lisp at all. It is a recognized linguistic feature called *distinción* (distinction). In standard European Spanish, "s" is pronounced with an "s" sound, but "z" and "c" (before an "e" or "i") are pronounced like the English "th" (e.g., *gracias*). It evolved over hundreds of years out of the much more complex Old Spanish consonant system.
#history
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