Spanish From Spain

I am sitting here at my desk listening to the Don Quixote CD by Jordi Savall to get my ears ready for the concert this Friday. This music awakens a deep part of my soul that only comes alive when I hear the unique sounds of castanets, clapping and stomping combined with classical guitar (or this case the viola da gamba.) It is the unmistakable sound of Spain. I know this sound well as I spent nearly a year in Spain studying while in college. I spent my year learning the culture by taking flamenco lessons, learning to play the castanets myself, listening to classical guitar, studying their accents and simply taking in the beautiful Moorish culture of Southern Spain.

The narration on the CD is in Spanish and my heart leapt when I heard the distinctive Spanish accent that can only be heard in Spain. There are of course many varieties of this accent as you travel from region to region. The clearest version is spoken in Madrid, the capital of Spain. The easiest way to know if you are hearing Spanish from Spain or some other country are in the “S’s.” Spain Spanish uses a “Th” sound rather than using a crisp “S” sound when using “S’s”. For example, “Gracias” in Spain would sound something more like “Grathias” and “Barcelona” now sounds like “Barthelona.” In Andalucia, the Southern region where I studied, you would also hear the “S” left off the end of words all together. So now “Gracias” becomes “Grathia” and “Vamos” becomes “Vamoh” with an emphasis on the “H” at the end.

I couldn’t tell you exactly where this unique accent originates. My guess would be that it has something to do with the strong Catalonian influence in the region. Catalonia is still an autonomous community within Spain and people in that area still speak this medieval language called Catalan. Regardless of its origin, the Spanish in Spain is unique and unmistakable. The narration that you will hear at our Don Quixote concert on Friday night is in English so you will not need to worry about paddling your way through the difficult Spanish accent but I guarantee the music will awaken your inner flamenco dancer and send you dreaming about your next vacation to Spain. Do not miss this concert on Friday, it is going to be a highlight of our season!