Castrapo

Castrapo (a portmanteau of castellano and trapo, meaning rag) is the name for the form of the Spanish language spoken in the region of Galicia that uses much Galician vocabulary and syntax.

The dictionary from the Royal Galician Academy defines it as a "variation of the Spanish language, distinguished by the abundance of words and expressions taken from Galician language". It is Spanish with many Galician features, not the other way around.

For example, the phrase Close the window would be Pecha a ventana (Castrapo). In other languages, it would be Pecha a xanela (Galician); Cierra la ventana (Spanish); Fecha a janela (Portuguese)..

Galician reintegrationist groups also use the word Castrapo to refer disapprovingly to the current standard form of Galician, which they consider to be too influenced by Spanish and unnaturally distant from the standard Portuguese language.

See also

• Reintegrationism - a movement which advocates for the unity of Galician and Portuguese as a single language

External links

• El español en contacto con el gallego, by Álvaro Porto Dapena. Ponencia en el II Congreso Internacional de la Lengua Española (Valladolid 2001) - in Spanish