My recent trip to Panama City, Panama the second half of November was as enjoyable as I expected. Apart from many observations I did not forget to focus on some sociolinguistic aspects of Panamanian Spanish. In my opinion, there is a lack of in depth study on the Panamanian vernacular and from a sociolinguistic point of view it definitely can be a separate area study when studying and analyzing Spanish spoken in Latin America. It is often categorized under Caribbean Spanish in the broad array of analysis done on the region. However, IMO having studied and done sociolinguistic analysis, I believe Panamanian Spanish deserves separate dedication and can still continue to be grouped with other Caribbean variants such as Cuba, DR, PR, Colombia and Venezuela.
In brief Panama's history greatly shaped and continues to shape the way Spanish is spoken in Panama. The decades of American presence, its link to Colombia prior to independence, the arrival of English Caribbean immigrants during the construction of the canal and a fairly representative Chinese immigrant population played a significant factor in how Panamanian Spanish evolved in the XX century. I can only comment on Panama City and the differences that are definitely notable among the speakers, which are a result of many factors ranging from education to socio-ethnic differences. Panama today also has a growing Colombian population and overtime it will be interesting to study the influence of colombianismos in Panamanian vernacular speech.
Considering that Panama has a population of approx. three million people which represents a very small percentage of the total Spanish-speaking world may be a reason for the limited depth in sociolinguistics studies, however, in my opinion it's a region of interest since the speech pattern variations in Panama are diverse and can be categorized. Panamanian Spanish surely has similar and identical features as compared to other Caribbean Spanish-speaking countries with some slight differences that I noted.
In general, Spanish can be spoken and understood in any Spanish-speaking country however; for the sake of comparing one of the key differences from country to country is vocabulary and expressions. In some cases vocabulary is common across a few countries or a region and in other instances a word or expression is unique to its country of origin.
Notable vocabulary differences definitely stood out when speaking with my friends that are panameñismos solely (as far I know). I made a mental note of many words although I will only list a few:
Panama vs other (Caribbean) countries:
*tranque (tapón-DR, trancón, Colombia)
policía muerto (policía acostado, DR)
mamadera (biberón)
* chicha (jugo )
¡chuleta! (¡caramba!)
chicha- the meaning varies in different countries. However, in Panama chicha means juice
tranque- used in Panama to refer to a traffic jam and may be used in other Caribbean countries however, I have only heard this word used by Panamanians.
The other sociolinguistic phenomenon that is unique to Panama is the English influence in Panamanian Spanish. I am not referring to Spanglish but rather the English vernacular of Caribbean immigrants. Many words from the English Caribbean vernacular English have been hispanized in Panamanian Spanish and used among people this ethnic descent. In linguistic terms vocabulary such as the aforementioned is part of their 'speech community' or a particular speech community in Panama and is a significant part of the Panamanian vernacular. Panama is a worthwhile area of study in terms of sociolinguistic analysis.
-LDG.
In brief Panama's history greatly shaped and continues to shape the way Spanish is spoken in Panama. The decades of American presence, its link to Colombia prior to independence, the arrival of English Caribbean immigrants during the construction of the canal and a fairly representative Chinese immigrant population played a significant factor in how Panamanian Spanish evolved in the XX century. I can only comment on Panama City and the differences that are definitely notable among the speakers, which are a result of many factors ranging from education to socio-ethnic differences. Panama today also has a growing Colombian population and overtime it will be interesting to study the influence of colombianismos in Panamanian vernacular speech.
Considering that Panama has a population of approx. three million people which represents a very small percentage of the total Spanish-speaking world may be a reason for the limited depth in sociolinguistics studies, however, in my opinion it's a region of interest since the speech pattern variations in Panama are diverse and can be categorized. Panamanian Spanish surely has similar and identical features as compared to other Caribbean Spanish-speaking countries with some slight differences that I noted.
In general, Spanish can be spoken and understood in any Spanish-speaking country however; for the sake of comparing one of the key differences from country to country is vocabulary and expressions. In some cases vocabulary is common across a few countries or a region and in other instances a word or expression is unique to its country of origin.
Notable vocabulary differences definitely stood out when speaking with my friends that are panameñismos solely (as far I know). I made a mental note of many words although I will only list a few:
Panama vs other (Caribbean) countries:
*tranque (tapón-DR, trancón, Colombia)
policía muerto (policía acostado, DR)
mamadera (biberón)
* chicha (jugo )
¡chuleta! (¡caramba!)
chicha- the meaning varies in different countries. However, in Panama chicha means juice
tranque- used in Panama to refer to a traffic jam and may be used in other Caribbean countries however, I have only heard this word used by Panamanians.
The other sociolinguistic phenomenon that is unique to Panama is the English influence in Panamanian Spanish. I am not referring to Spanglish but rather the English vernacular of Caribbean immigrants. Many words from the English Caribbean vernacular English have been hispanized in Panamanian Spanish and used among people this ethnic descent. In linguistic terms vocabulary such as the aforementioned is part of their 'speech community' or a particular speech community in Panama and is a significant part of the Panamanian vernacular. Panama is a worthwhile area of study in terms of sociolinguistic analysis.
-LDG.
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