Llanito

[ yah-nee-toh, jah-nee-toh ]

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Gibraltar.
2. Also Ya·ni·to []. a dialect of Andalusian Spanish spoken in Gibraltar that is heavily influenced by English, and also contains vocabulary from Genoese, Hebrew, Maltese, and Portuguese.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Llanito¹

First recorded in 1995–2000; of uncertain origin; possibly from Spanish: literally, “person of the flatlands” (from llano “even, flat,” also “flatland, plain”); possibly from Italian dialect (Genoese) slang Gianito “Johnny” (the Genoese constituted about one-third of the population of Gibraltar in the late 18th century)

Example Sentences

English is the official language, but people also speak Spanish, often switching between the two in a form of code switching they call Llanito.

From BBC

In fact, what is most commonly heard in the street is Llanito - a local dialect that is primarily Spanish but with unique phrasings, spoken in an accent that can only be described as Gibraltarian.

From BBC

Voters who have habitually voted at the San Lucas Institute in the middle-class neighborhood of El Llanito here were transported by opposition-supplied buses throughout the day to a voting station in a working-class neighborhood, Barrio La Unión.

From New York Times

The opposition candidate for governor of Miranda, Carlos Ocariz, was among them: He, too, used to vote at the school in El Llanito but was being forced to vote on Sunday in Barrio La Unión.

From New York Times

Authorities say Romero and another man forced Landovazo at gunpoint into the trunk of a car, drove him to El Llanito, beat him with a baseball bat, hogtied him and then fatally choked him.

From Washington Times