Castellano del Siglo de Oro
Golden Age Spanish (Siglo de Oro)
Indo-European (Italic, Romance, Ibero-Romance, Castilian; Siglo de Oro) · historical / hidden variety
Golden Age Spanish (Castellano del Siglo de Oro, ~1500-1681) is the Castilian of the Spanish literary Golden Age: Cervantes's Don Quijote (1605/1615), Lope de Vega's comedias (Fuenteovejuna, El caballero de Olmedo), Calderón de la Barca (La vida es sueño, El gran teatro del mundo), Quevedo's satirical prose and conceptismo poetry, Góngora's culteranismo, Santa Teresa de Jesús and San Juan de la Cruz's mystic poetry. Distinct from Old Spanish (osp, 12-15c.) and Modern Spanish (es_eu) by: pre-merger 4-way sibilant system (s vs ç /t͡s/ vs z /d͡z/ vs ss /s/, all collapsing to /s θ/ by ~1650); distinct b vs v phonemes; preserved /ʃ/ in <x>/<j> before its shift to velar /x/ (Cervantes' name was pronounced /miˈɣel de θeɾˈβantes saaˈβeðɾa/ with /ʃ/ for j/x); transitional "vuestra merced" → modern "usted"; active "vosotros" 2pl distinct from "ustedes". The pedagogical canon for reading 17th-century Spanish literature in modern Spanish-medium education.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Golden Age Spanish (Siglo de Oro)
Water
agua
/ˈaɣwa/
Fire
fuego
/ˈfweɣo/
Sun
sol
/sol/
Moon
luna
/ˈluna/
Mother
madre
/ˈmadɾe/
Father
padre
/ˈpadɾe/
Eat
comer
/koˈmeɾ/
Drink
beuer
/beˈβeɾ/
Love
amor
/aˈmoɾ/
Heart
coraçón
/koɾaˈt͡son/
Tree
árbol
/ˈaɾβol/
House
casa
/ˈkasa/
Dog
perro
/ˈpero/
Cat
gato
/ˈɡato/
Hand
mano
/ˈmano/
Eye
ojo
/ˈoʃo/
Hello
Dios os guarde
/djos os ˈɡwaɾde/
Thank you
gracias
/ˈɡɾat͡sjas/
One
uno
/ˈuno/
Good
bueno
/ˈbweno/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Italic, Romance, Ibero-Romance, Castilian; Siglo de Oro) languages
| Meaning | Golden Age Spanish (Siglo de Oro) | Spanish (Europe) | Old Spanish | Chavacano | Asturian | Aragonese | Extremaduran |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɡwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | augua /ˈawɡwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ |
| Fire | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɡo/ | fueu /ˈfweu/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | huegu /ˈweɣu/ |
| Sun | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sɔl/ |
| Moon | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | lluna /ˈʎuna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ |
| Mother | madre /ˈmadɾe/ | madre /ˈmaðɾe/ | madre /ˈmaðre/ | nana /ˈnana/ | ma /ma/ | mai /maj/ | mai /mai/ |
| Father | padre /ˈpadɾe/ | padre /ˈpaðɾe/ | padre /ˈpaðre/ | tata /ˈtata/ | pa /pa/ | pai /paj/ | pai /pai/ |
| Eat | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | come /koˈme/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | minchar /minˈt͡ʃaɾ/ | comel /koˈmel/ |
| Drink | beuer /beˈβeɾ/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | bever /beˈveɾ/ | bebe /beˈbe/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | bebel /beˈβel/ |
| Love | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | ama /ˈama/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amol /aˈmol/ |
| Heart | coraçón /koɾaˈt͡son/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | coraçón /koɾaˈt͡son/ | corazón /koraˈson/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | curaçón /kuɾaˈsɔn/ |
| Tree | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbor /ˈaɾβoɾ/ | árbol /ˈaɾbol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | arbol /ˈaɾβol/ |
| House | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkaza/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ |
| Dog | perro /ˈpero/ | perro /ˈpero/ | can /kan/ | perro /ˈpeɾo/ | perru /ˈperu/ | can /kan/ | perru /ˈpɛru/ |
| Cat | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gatu /ˈɡatu/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gatu /ˈɣatu/ |
| Hand | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | manu /ˈmanu/ |
| Eye | ojo /ˈoʃo/ | ojo /ˈoxo/ | ojo /ˈoʒo/ | ojo /ˈoho/ | güeyu /ˈɡweʝu/ | güello /ˈɣweʎo/ | oju /ˈohu/ |
| Hello | Dios os guarde /djos os ˈɡwaɾde/ | hola /ˈola/ | salud /saˈlud/ | buenas /ˈbwenas/ | hola /ˈola/ | hola /ˈola/ | salú /saˈlu/ |
| Thank you | gracias /ˈɡɾat͡sjas/ | gracias /ˈɡɾaθjas/ | mercedes /meɾˈt͡seðes/ | gracias /ˈɡɾasjas/ | gracies /ˈɡɾaθjes/ | gracias /ˈɡɾaθjas/ | gracias /ˈɣɾasjas/ |
| One | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ | ún /un/ | un /un/ | un /un/ |
| Good | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bono /ˈbono/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bonu /ˈbonu/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.