Hispanisms in Neapolitan: Loanwords as Indicators of Past Social Contact

Abstract

The work presented here is based on 400 Spanish loanwords attested in Altamura's Dizionario dialettale napoletano, one of the first etymological works in Neapolitan. Thirteen semantic fields have been identified, which have a direct relationship with certain groups of Spaniards and represent the linguistic legacy left in Naples by the Spanish masters. The soldiers and sailors left loanwords related to the semantic fields of the armed forces, aggression, robbery, insults, sexual practices and the camorra. The aristocrats left vocabulary associated with clothing, work-industry and the court. Other fields include loanwords used by all Spaniards: animals, food, administration, and leisure. This study shows that the loanwords themselves enclose information about their users and by extension, information about the type of social and linguistic contact among Spaniards and Neapolitans.