¿Dónde nació el CASTELLANO realmente?

Where Did Spanish Really Originate?

The Birthplace of Castellano

• The speaker questions the true birthplace of the Spanish language, suggesting locations like Burgos, La Rioja, and Cantabria. They reference that schools often teach La Rioja as the cradle of Castellano due to historical documents.

Historical Documents: Glosas Emilianenses

• The first written document in Spanish is identified as the "glosas emilianenses," with a comparison between original text and modern Spanish provided. This highlights the evolution of language over time.

Language Evolution and Orthography Course Promotion

• A personal promotion for an etymological orthography course is introduced, emphasizing understanding why certain words are spelled differently across languages (e.g., "gobierno" vs. "government"). The course aims to build confidence in writing by teaching word origins rather than rote memorization.

Characteristics of Early Spanish

• The speaker notes discrepancies in early Spanish compared to modern usage, particularly through examples from glosas emilianenses that reveal linguistic features not aligning with contemporary Castellano. They hint at comparing these features with an unknown language.

Linguistic Features Highlighted

• Diphthongization: An example is given where 'est' in Latin evolved into 'es' in modern Spanish but shows diphthongization in other languages like Asturleonese or Aragonese, indicating variations in language development.

• Retention of Latin Sounds: Certain sounds from Latin (like FL and PL) are retained in glosas emilianenses but have changed in modern Castellano (e.g., "flama" becoming "llama"). This suggests a divergence between early forms and current usage.

• Initial Consonant Groups: Discussion on how initial consonant groups such as AL evolved into AU or O in various Romance languages while remaining unchanged in another unidentified language indicates different paths of linguistic evolution.

This structured approach provides clarity on key themes discussed within the transcript while allowing easy navigation through timestamps for further exploration of specific points made by the speaker.

Language Comparison: Unknown Language vs. Castilian

Characteristics of the Unknown Language

• The current standard of the unknown language has chosen a non-dialectal article, which is considered acceptable despite its rarity in documentation.

• There are very few examples of this language using the article "o," making it extremely rare compared to Castilian. Thus, the score stands at unknown language 4, Castilian 0.

Latin Influence and Sound Changes

• In Latin, sounds like P, T, and K between vowels sonorized into B and D in Castilian; however, these sounds are preserved in some glosses from the unknown language. Examples include "adiutare" becoming "ayutorio."

• While not all varieties maintain these sounds, none of them exist in Castilian. This leads to an additional point for the unknown language (5) against Castilian (0).

Identifying the Unknown Language

• The traditionally recognized unknown language is Navarro-Aragonese, currently referred to as Aragonese; there’s debate about whether what appears in glosses is actually Navarro or a different dialect altogether.

• The glosses are written in Romance Riojano—a variety closely related to Aragonese—indicating that they are not part of Castilian heritage.

Historical Context and Textual Evidence

• The ongoing debate centers on whether Aragonese and Navarro represent geographical varieties of one language or distinct languages; recent trends lean towards recognizing them as separate entities.

• Acknowledging that Emilian glosses were not written in Castilian has been a gradual process with many historical misconceptions needing correction. Some theories even suggested that Castilian originated from La Rioja rather than Castilla itself.

Early Textual Records

• The next candidate for early written text in Spanish comes from a monastery known as Santos Justo y Pastor where an extensive document called "La noticia de quesos" was produced around the 10th century. This text primarily lists cheeses but reflects attempts at Latinization by its author.

• Although this document shows characteristics common across Ibero-Romance languages, it is identified as Asturleonés due to its geographic origin and specific vocabulary such as “bacillar,” which is predominantly used in León province today.

The Evolution of Language in León: Insights from Historical Texts

Latinization in Leónese Texts

• Discussion on the phenomenon of intervocalic occlusive consonants transitioning from P, T, K to B, D. This reflects a notable excess of Latinization characteristic of Leónese texts.

• Example provided with the word "público," showcasing variations like "público" with double P or simply "público." Highlights the author's understanding and adaptation of Latin sounds.

Characteristics of Early Written Spanish

• Introduction to a text from a clearly Leónese area that exhibits typical writing forms from that period, suggesting its significance in early Spanish literature.

• Overview of the Cartularios de Valpuesta, documents dating from the 9th to 11th centuries. These texts are written in Latin but reflect local speech patterns due to limited knowledge among scribes.

Linguistic Features Observed

• Notable presence of Romance language traits within these early texts, indicating an intermediate stage between Latin and what would become modern Spanish.

• Examples include diphthong changes such as "pielle" evolving into "piel," demonstrating phonetic shifts over time.

Verb Forms and Sound Changes

• Identification of verb forms like "fitso" (hizo), which closely resemble contemporary Spanish. However, some forms still exhibit archaic characteristics.

• Explanation of how certain sounds evolved; for instance, the absence of Z sound during this period led to variations like "fito."

Diminishing Diphthongs and Palatalization

• Analysis on the reduction of decreasing diphthongs seen in words like “carrera,” tracing their evolution back to colloquial Latin roots.

• Mentioning palatalization processes where K and T sounds transformed into CH sounds (e.g., Fontecha), illustrating challenges faced by scribes when documenting these changes.

Conclusion: Significance of Cartularios de Valpuesta

• Affirmation that Los Cartularios de Valpuesta represent some of the earliest written examples we have in Castilian or Spanish.

• Location context provided—these documents were found in Valpuesta monastery near Burgos—highlighting their historical importance regarding the origins of the Castilian language.

The Origins of the Spanish Language

Complexity in Identifying the Birthplace of Spanish

• The emergence of the Spanish language cannot be attributed to a specific location or province; languages develop from a variety of linguistic traits across small territories before expanding.

• Determining where Spanish originated is complicated and relative, as Latin was spoken continuously by families in regions with uninterrupted Christian settlement, avoiding Muslim influence.

Continuity and Evolution of Language

• Language changes occur gradually over time, making it impossible to pinpoint an exact moment for the birth of a language; we can consider modern Latin as a continuation from ancient forms.

• Terms like "Old Basque" refer to languages that are no longer understood by contemporary speakers, highlighting how names can mislead perceptions about continuity.

Linguistic Classification Challenges

• Classifying languages simplifies understanding but can obscure complexities; there is a recognized transition period between Latin and Romance languages spanning three centuries (5th to 8th century).

• Some scholars propose the concept of "protoromance" starting in the 1st century, indicating ongoing debates about linguistic evolution and classification.

Misconceptions About Language Dates

• Assigning specific dates to language origins is practical yet misleading; oversimplified truths can lead to misconceptions about linguistic history.