Sabine River Spanish facts for kids

Sabine River Spanish is a special kind of Spanish. People used to speak it near the Sabine River, which is a border between Texas and Louisiana. It was spoken by families whose ancestors settled there way back in the 1700s, in places like Los Adaes and Nacogdoches. Because of its old history, this Spanish sounds a bit old-fashioned and uses many words from rural Mexican Spanish. Sadly, this language is almost gone because parents stopped teaching it to their children many years ago.

What is Sabine River Spanish?

Sabine River Spanish grew from the Spanish spoken in rural Mexico. Some people in Nacogdoches used to think it came from the Isleño people, but that's not quite right.

The people who spoke Sabine River Spanish didn't have a special name for their group. Some experts, like Samuel G. Armistead, called the Spanish spoken on the Louisiana side Adaeseño. This name comes from the old settlement of Los Adaes. Other names used were "Zwolle-Ebarb Spanish," after two towns in Louisiana. But the name "Sabine River Spanish" is used by many because the language was found on both sides of the river.

How Did Sabine River Spanish Start?

The communities where Sabine River Spanish was spoken were created in the 1700s. This was part of Spain's plan to settle the eastern edge of Texas and parts of Louisiana. Places like Nacogdoches and Los Adaes were founded during this time.

The Spanish language stayed alive in these communities for a long time, even until the 1900s. This was because the communities were quite isolated. In Texas, people stuck together because of their shared background. In Louisiana, the communities were even more isolated. They were far from big towns, often poor, and spoke a different language than their neighbors.

However, things changed in the 20th century. When public schools started, children were strongly encouraged to speak only English. Also, new things like electricity, paved roads, and telephones connected these isolated areas to the outside world. This meant that parents stopped teaching Spanish to their children. Because of this, the Spanish language mostly disappeared in just one generation along the Sabine River.

Today, this special Spanish language is almost gone. By the 1980s, fewer than 100 people could still speak it well. In some areas, only about ten people, mostly in their seventies and eighties, were still fluent.

Where Was Sabine River Spanish Spoken?

This unique Spanish dialect was found on both sides of the Toledo Bend Reservoir, along the Sabine River. In Louisiana, most speakers lived around Zwolle, Ebarb, and Noble. Some were also in the Spanish Lake community near Robeline. In Texas, they were mainly in the Moral community, west of Nacogdoches.

The communities in Louisiana and Texas had different ways of seeing themselves. Louisiana residents looked different from each other; some were very fair-skinned, while others had darker complexions. They also started to identify more with their American Indian heritage. So, they might call themselves Spanish, Indo-Spanish, or American Indian. Their Anglo-American neighbors sometimes used other names for them, like "Meskin" or "Red Bones." However, Louisiana residents did not like being called "Mexican."

On the other hand, people in the Moral community in Texas often used the term mexicano for themselves and their dialect. They didn't identify with Native American culture, even if some residents had darker skin.

Different Ways of Speaking

Different studies have looked at the Spanish spoken in these areas. Some focused on the way people spoke in Zwolle and Ebarb. Others looked at all the Louisiana dialects, calling them Adaeseño.

Overall, the Adaeseño varieties in Louisiana were quite similar. However, the Spanish spoken in Moral, Texas, might have kept more features from early 1800s Mexican Spanish. The Louisiana dialects, however, came from 1700s Mexican Spanish. This is because Nacogdoches grew a lot between 1821 and 1836. The Moral dialect today has more speakers and is more influenced by modern Mexican Spanish. This is because people there have more contact with Mexican Spanish speakers.

Also, the communities closer to Natchitoches used more French words in their Spanish.

How Sabine River Spanish Sounds

Sabine River Spanish came from northern Mexican Spanish, so it kept many old sounds. It generally kept consonants and avoided mixing sounds together. English also influenced how it sounds. Like most Spanish dialects, it uses yeísmo (where 'll' and 'y' sound the same) and seseo (where 'c' before 'e'/'i' and 'z' sound like 's').

Fricative Sounds

Sometimes, the 's' sound can be softened or even disappear, especially between vowels or at the end of a word. For example, nosotros ('we') might sound like nojotros or lojotros.

The 'f' sound sometimes becomes a soft 'h' before a 'w' sound. So, afuera ('outside') might be said as [aˈhwera]. The 'j' sound is also usually pronounced like 'h'.

Nasal Sounds

This Spanish does not change the 'n' sound at the end of words to a 'ng' sound. Sometimes, the 'n' can disappear between vowels or at the end of a word, making the vowel before it sound nasal.

The 'ñ' sound (like in cañon) is often pronounced like a nasal 'y' sound, which makes the vowel before it nasal. For example, año ('year') might sound like [ãj̃o].

The 'm' sound is usually pronounced normally.

Voiceless Stop Sounds

The 't' sound is sometimes pronounced like the 't' in English, or even like a quick 'd' sound (a "flap"). This is because of English influence. Unstressed vowels often become a very soft 'uh' sound. The 'p' and 'k' sounds are usually like standard Spanish. The 'ch' sound is also normal.

Liquid Sounds

The 'l' sound can sometimes disappear before other consonants. The 'r' sound at the end of words often disappears, especially in verbs like salir ('to leave'). Sometimes, an 'r' at the end of a word can turn into an 'l' if the next word starts with a vowel.

The difference between the strong 'rr' sound and the soft 'r' sound is often lost. This might have happened a long time ago. Sometimes, the strong 'rr' sound can even disappear.

In casual talk, the 'r' sound can disappear before 't' or 'd' sounds, or at the end of a sentence. For example, cardenal ('cardinal bird') might sound like [kaðeˈnal].

Voiced Obstruent Sounds

The 'b', 'd', and 'g' sounds can be a bit different from standard Spanish. The 'b' sound can sometimes be like a 'v' sound, even at the beginning of a word. It can also disappear when it's before another consonant, like in obtuvo ('obtained'), which might sound like [oˈtuvo]. The word también ('also') often sounds like [taˈmjen].

The 'd' sound is rarely like the hard 'd' in English. It's usually a soft 'th' sound (like in 'the'). Between vowels, in a syllable that isn't stressed, it can disappear. For example, dedo ('finger') might sound like [ˈdeo]. It often disappears at the beginning of words, so donde ('where') might be [ˈon.ne].

The 'g' sound is like the hard 'g' in 'go' at the beginning of a word or in a group of consonants. Otherwise, it's a soft 'g' sound (like in 'agua'). It can also disappear between vowels. The 'gu' sound often becomes just 'w', so guajolote ('turkey') might be [wahoˈlote].

The 'y' or 'll' sound is often very soft, like the 'y' in 'yes'. It can even disappear when next to 'i' or after 'e'. For example, gallina ('hen') might sound like [gaˈina].

Vowel Sounds

Sabine River Spanish has the same five main vowel sounds as other Spanish dialects. Vowels become nasal (like speaking through your nose) when they are between nasal consonants or before the nasal 'y' sound. The 'e' and 'o' sounds are usually mid-range, but can be slightly higher after certain sounds. Unstressed vowels, especially 'a', often become a soft 'uh' sound. The 'o' sound often turns into 'u', especially at the end of words. Speakers also try to avoid having two vowels next to each other by either combining them or dropping one.

Sound Clusters

There's a tendency to make sound groups simpler and to drop consonants before voiceless stops in some words. For example, doctor ('doctor') might be pronounced dotor. Also, 'e' or 'o' at the beginning of words can be dropped if they are followed by 's' and another consonant. So, escuela ('school') might be [ˈskwela]. Sometimes, the whole first part of such words can be dropped, like saying cuela for escuela.

How Sabine River Spanish Grammar Works

The grammar of Sabine River Spanish shows its roots in older, rural Mexican speech. It also shows influence from English and changes because the language is dying out.

You'll find old-fashioned words and verb forms that are not common in standard Spanish today. For example:

• trujo or truje instead of trajo or traje ('brought')
• vido or vide instead of vio or vi ('saw')
• mesmo instead of mismo ('same')
• muncho instead of mucho ('a lot')
• asina or ansina instead of así ('like this/that')

Many verb forms are also simplified or changed, like cierraron instead of cerraron ('they closed'), or tenimos instead of tuvimos ('we had').

Some words and phrases are common in Mexican Spanish, like using mero instead of mismo, or ya mero for "almost." The phrase De nosotros ('of us') has almost completely replaced nuestro ('ours'), similar to some Mexican and Caribbean Spanish. Also, Nomás is often used instead of sólo or solamente ('only'). The verb Estar ('to be' for temporary states) is very often used instead of ser ('to be' for permanent states).

Interestingly, in the Adaeseño dialect, people sometimes used vosotros as the "you all" pronoun, which is common in Spain but not in most of Latin America. However, if you said "you and your sister," the verb would be like the "they" form, not the vosotros form.

Because speakers also knew English, you might hear "Spanglish" phrases. Also, because the language is dying, the rules for making words agree in gender (like masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) are weaker. Speakers also use the subjunctive mood (for wishes or doubts) and the future and conditional tenses much less often. They prefer simpler ways to say things.

Words Used in Sabine River Spanish

Sabine River Spanish uses many words from Mexican Spanish, including a lot of words that came from the Nahuatl language (an ancient language of Mexico). It also uses many old or rustic words. Most Nahuatl words are nouns and refer to plants, animals, or everyday items.

Sabine River Spanish has very few English words mixed in. However, French words are common in communities closer to Natchitoches, even more so than English words.

Despite a long history of contact, Sabine River Spanish has almost no words from other Native American languages besides Nahuatl. This might be because Native Americans were often pushed aside in these frontier areas. All the words for "Indian" in this dialect were somewhat insulting.

The word Chonche, a local insult for Spanish people, might come from a Wichita word for the Lipan Apache. Many of these Apache people were sold as slaves to the Spanish and French and are ancestors of many Sabine River Hispanic people.

The word arrear, which means to drive animals, became the word for driving a car in the Zwolle-Ebarb community. This is also how it's used in traditional New Mexican Spanish. The word ánsara for geese is also found in both Zwolle-Ebarb and Traditional New Mexican Spanish.

Nahuatl Words in Sabine River Spanish

Many words in Sabine River Spanish come from the Nahuatl language. Here are some examples:

• mecate 'rope'
• molcajete 'a stone bowl for grinding food'
• metate 'a flat stone for grinding corn'
• chancles 'bad shoes'
• molote 'hair bun'
• topanco 'ceiling'
• troje 'corn cob'
• chimonca 'Pine knot'
• guaje 'gourd'
• muelvo 'wagon'
• chichahuiste 'basket'
• comal 'a flat griddle for cooking'
• petate 'a mat'
• tamales 'a traditional Mexican dish'
• pozole 'sweetened' (In Mexican Spanish, it's a type of stew.)
• chichi 'mother's milk'
• cuate 'twin'
• cuacha 'baby poop'
• zopilote 'buzzard'
• chilizonte 'mockingbird'
• guajolote 'turkey'
• zumacaya 'owl'
• tecolote 'owl'
• pichicuate 'water moccasin'
• tapalcate 'tadpole'
• ajolote 'mud puppy'
• tacuache 'possum'
• chichote 'ringworm'
• mayate 'black bug'
• ocotesillo 'ticks'
• chapule 'grasshopper'
• huilotes 'butterflies'
• jicote 'wasp'
• cojosote 'sweet gum'
• copal 'sweet gum sap'
• nogal 'hickory/pecan'
• ocote 'pine'
• ampesote 'weeds'
• amolde 'Yucca'
• zacate 'grass'
• nixtamal 'corn treated with lime'
• elote 'ear of corn'
• olote 'corn cob'
• chicales 'braided corn'
• cacahuate 'peanut'
• camotes 'sweet potatoes'
• tomates 'tomatoes'
• ejote 'snap beans, peas'
• pastli 'Spanish moss'
• pinole 'parched corn'
• atole 'thin sweet gruel'
• tuza 'mole'

Other Mexican Words

Here are some other words from Mexican Spanish found in Sabine River Spanish:

• tejón 'raccoon'
• güero 'blond, light-skinned'
• charola 'tray'
• labor 'a division of land'
• blanquillo 'egg'
• ándale 'Let's go, OK'
• pinche 'damned'

Old or Rustic Words

Sabine River Spanish also uses words that are now considered old-fashioned or rustic in standard Spanish:

• mercar or marcar 'to buy'
• calzón or calzones 'pants'
• túnico 'a woman's dress'
• calesa 'horse-drawn buggy'
• la provisión 'supplies, provisions'
• noria 'water well'
• truja or troja 'barn'
• encino 'oak tree'
• peje 'fish'
• fierro 'iron, tool'
• lumbre 'fire'
• prieto 'black'

Other Interesting Words

• huaguín 'wagon'
• payaso 'bat' (This word usually means 'clown' in standard Spanish.)
• maní 'peanut' (This word comes from the Taíno language of the Caribbean, but cacahuate is more common.)
• ojo negro 'black-eyed pea'
• pan de molino 'corn bread'
• cusca or cushca 'buzzard'

Mixing Languages (Code-Switching)

People who could only speak a little Sabine River Spanish often mixed English words into their sentences. This is called code-switching. They would switch between Spanish and English very often, sometimes even in ways that don't usually happen when fluent bilingual people speak. For example, they might say "they hervía las ollas" ("they would boil the pots"), or "si el papá y la mamá no agreed" ("if the father and the mother didn't agree"). This shows how much English had influenced the language as it was dying out.

See also

In Spanish: Adaeseño para niños