Do you have friends who came back home from Spain showing off how they can pronounce Barcelona like the Spaniard, Bar”th”elona? Cute eh? 😊

The so-called “Spanish lisp” is one of the most widely discussed and misunderstood aspects of the Spanish language. Many people believe that Spaniards “lisp” their pronunciation of certain consonants, but this perception is based on misconceptions about how Castilian Spanish phonetics work. In reality, what people call a “lisp” is a distinct linguistic feature known as “distinción”—a phonetic distinction between the sounds “s” and the “th” sound that we have in English. 

Origins of the Spanish “Lisp”

A common myth suggests that the Spanish lisp originated because a historical Spanish king (King Pedro of Castile) had a speech impediment, and his court adopted his way of speaking out of reverence. However, there is no historical evidence to support this claim. In fact, the phonetic evolution of Spanish occurred naturally over centuries, with no single person influencing the way an entire country spoke.

During the late Middle Ages, Old Spanish had several different “s”-like sounds, including “s” and “z”. By the 16th and 17th centuries, Spanish underwent a phonetic shift, merging some of these sounds in different ways depending on the region.

Technically, it is the difference between Distinción vs. Seseo

The so-called “lisp” is actually a pronunciation rule that distinguishes between the following sounds:

• /s/ as in “casa” 

• /θ/ as in “cima”, pronounced “thee-ma” in Northern and Central Spain or “see-ma” in Latin America and in most of southern Spain.

This system is known as distinción and is standard in most of Spain, especially in central and northern regions. In contrast, southern Spain (Andalusia) and nearly all of Latin America use seseo, where both /s/ and /θ/ are pronounced the same way (like the English “s”). 

In Andalucia, you will hear a very soft “th” at times but never as pronounced as in the North or central Spain.

Why Does Latin America Not Use the “Lisp”?

When Spanish explorers and settlers colonized the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries, most came from southern Spain, particularly Andalusia and the Canary Islands. These regions already favored seseo, meaning they pronounced words like “casa” and “cima” with the /s/ sound. As a result, Latin American Spanish overwhelmingly uses seseo, while Castilian Spanish (from central and northern Spain) retains distinción.

Furthermore, in Barcelona, they speak Catalan where there is no “th” sound. So, if you hear Barcelona with a “th” sound, it was a Castilian Spanish person pronouncing it their way, not a Barcelonian.

Conclusion

The Spanish “lisp” is not a speech defect but a linguistic feature called distinción, which differentiates “s” “c” and “z” sounds in certain Spanish dialects. This feature developed naturally over time and is primarily found in Spain, while Latin America and South of Spain overwhelmingly uses the regular “c” without lisp. Understanding this phonetic distinction helps dispel myths about the Spanish language and highlights its rich diversity. 

No need to pronounce Barcelona with “th” or say “grathias” with a heavy “th” sound if you visit Barcelona or Andalucia!