A facet of the inhabitants
that always intrigues the visitor is their manner of speech,
which, despite the fact that it falls within the confines
of perfectly understandable Spanish, has also been influenced
by the linguistic diversity that was brought to the islands
by the continuous passage of foreign visitors through the
course of time. For many people, the speech of the people
of Gran Canaria is reminiscent of the Latin American dialects,
in the sense that both have a sweetness of intonation, while
it is also replete with curious practices, such as the use
of the affectionate diminutive (Antoñito instead of
Antonio) and the substitution of the "c" and "z"
by the "s". In any event, the people of Gran Canaria
are very accustomed to foreign languages and one can easily
find local inhabitants who have taught themselves to speak
and understand many foreign languages.