Malo

Some time ago, I translated a song titled Malo, performed by the Spanish singer Bebe. The song deals with the topic of domestic violence; and while that's a subject of concern on itself, what is of interest here is its linguistic factor: it showcases the singer's accent. The lyrics being quite strong and explicit, I translated the song into English with some freedom, in an idiomatic fashion.

Bebe is from Southern Spain region of Extremadura. Her accent serves to highlight certain features that are common throughout not only Latin America and the Caribbean, but also Southern Spain and the Canary Islands.

Location of Extremadura within Spain. Source: Wikipedia

The first thing that must be pointed out is that she maintains the distinction between /θ/ and /s/, a pronunciation feature normally associated with the standard idiom in Spain. For this reason, her accent can be thought of as a transitional accent, distinguishing between /θ/ and /s/, sharing this with the Northern and Central Spanish accents, while at the same time having features that are common to the Latin American, Andalusian, and Canarian accents.

The main feature in Bebe's Extremaduran accent that we will review is one that is heard throughout the Spanish speaking world, and like seseo, is starting to become more of the norm rather than the exception: the phoneme /s/ in closed syllables being rendered as aspiration, [h], quite often altering the quality of the preceding vowel. A few examples from Bebe's recording are apareciste [apaɾe'θi̞hte], estoy ['ɛhtoy], mujeres [mu'xeɾɛh], and the recurring eres ['eɾɛh], with this happening even across word boundaries las heridas [læ̞he'ɾið̞æ̞h].

Other the features you will hear in her pronunciation, with examples from the song, are:

• loss of word-final /r/, especially noticeable in the infinitives, quemar [ke'ma], salir [sa'li], tragar [tɾa'ɣ̞̞a] (but volverme [β̞o̞l'β̞e̞rme] and cobrarme [ko'β̞ɾarme); valor [β̞a'lo], mejor [me'xo], olor [o'lo], favor [fa'β̞o] (but por favor [po̞rfa'β̞o]). This occurs colloquially in various regions in Latin America as well, though it is not as extended or accepted as the change /s/ > [h] discussed above (though the dropping of /-r/ in infinitives has ocurred throughout the Romance languages, i.e. Catalan cantar [kən'ta], French chanter [ʃɑ̃'te], colloquial Brazilian Portuguese cantar [kɐ̃'ⁿta], and so in the Extramaduran accent cantar [kan'ta]).
  
• loss of intervocalic /d/ in cansada [kan'sa:], morado [mo'rao] (but deditos [ð̞e'ð̞itɔh], ido ['ið̞o], puedo ['pweð̞o]). More usual with the participle endings -ada and -ado, this is common throughout the Spanish speaking world, although it is characteristic of a few regions where it has become generalized, such as Spain itself, the Caribbean, and some Southern American countries. 
• Though Bebe preserves /θ/ in her accent, she lacks the /s/ of apical quality heard throughout Northern and Central Spain (that is, one that acoustically approaches [ʃ], like sh in the word show); she pronounces a laminal type of /s/, like the one heard in Latin America.
  

Malo	Bad
Apareciste una noche fria, con olor a tabaco sucio y a ginebra. El miedo ya me recorría mientras cruzaba los deditos tras la puerta. Tu carita de niño guapo se la ha ido comiendo el tiempo por tus venas. Y tu inseguridad machita se refleja cada día en mis lagrimitas.	You appeared one cold night, with the smell of dirty tobacco and gin. By this time, I already felt horrified while I held my fingers crossed behind the door. Through your veins, time has been eating away your pretty face. And your macho insecurity is reflected everyday in my tears.
Una vez más, no, por favor que estoy cansada y no puedo con el corazón. Una vez más, no, mi amor, por favor, no grites que los niños duermen. Una vez más, no, por favor, que estoy cansada y no puedo con el corazón. Una vez más, no, mi amor, por favor, no grites que los niños duermen.	Not again, please. I am tired and my heart can't take it. Not again, darling, please. Don't shout, the kids are sleeping. Not again, please. I am tired and my heart can't take it. Not again, darling, please. Don't shout, the kids are sleeping.
Voy a volverme como el fuego voy a quemar tu puño de acero. Y del morao de mis mejillas saldrá el valor pa' cobrarme las heridas.	I'm going to become like fire and burn your iron fist. And from the bruises on my cheeks I'll get the courage to make you pay for my wounds.
Malo, malo, malo eres no se daña a quien se quiere, no tonto, tonto, tonto eres no te pienses mejor que las mujeres Malo, malo, malo eres no se daña a quien se quiere, no tonto, tonto, tonto eres no te pienses mejor que las mujeres.	Bad, you are a bad, bad person, You are not supposed to hurt someone you love. Stupid, you are stupid, stupid, Don't think you're better than a woman. Bad, you are a bad, bad person, You are not supposed to hurt someone you love. Stupid, you are stupid, stupid, Don't think you're better than a woman.
El día es gris cuando tú estás, y el sol vuelve a salir cuando te vas y la penita de mi corazon yo me la tengo que tragar con el fogón. Mi carita de niña linda se ha ido envejeciendo en el silencio. Cada vez que me dices puta se hace tu cerebro mas pequeño.	The day is cloudy when you're around, And the sun comes out again when you're gone. With the burner on the stove, I have to suppress the grief in my heart. My pretty girl face has been growing old in silence. Every time you call me a whore your brain becomes smaller.
Una vez más, no, por favor que estoy cansada y no puedo con el corazón. Una vez más, no, mi amor, por favor, no grites que los niños duermen. Una vez más, no, por favor, que estoy cansada y no puedo con el corazón. Una vez más, no, mi amor, por favor, no grites que los niños duermen.	Not again, please. I am tired and my heart can't take it. Not again, darling, please. Don't shout, the kids are sleeping. Not again, please. I am tired and my heart can't take it. Not again, darling, please. Don't shout, the kids are sleeping.
Voy a volverme como el fuego voy a quemar tu puño de acero y del morao de mis mejillas saldrá el valor pa' cobrarme las heridas.	I'm going to become like fire and burn your iron fist. And from the bruises on my cheeks I'll get the courage to make you pay for my wounds.
Malo, malo, malo eres no se daña a quien se quiere, no tonto, tonto, tonto eres no te pienses mejor que las mujeres Malo, malo, malo eres no se daña a quien se quiere, no tonto, tonto, tonto eres no te pienses mejor que las mujeres. 2x	Bad, you are a bad, bad person, You are not supposed to hurt someone you love. Stupid, you are stupid, stupid, Don't think you are better than a woman. Bad, you are a bad, bad person, You are not supposed to hurt someone you love. Stupid, you are stupid, stupid, Don't think you are better than a woman. 2x
Malo, malo eres, malo eres, porque quieres... malo, malo eres... no me chilles, que me duele...	Bad, you are a bad person. You are bad, because you choose to be that way... Bad, you are a bad person... Don't yell at me, because it hurts me...
Eres debil y eres malo, y no te pienses mejor que yo ni que nadie... y ahora yo me fumo un cigarrito y te echo el humo en el corazoncito... porque, malo malo eres tú... malo, malo eres, sí... malo, malo eres, siempre... malo, malo eres...	You are weak and you are bad. Don't think you are better than me or anyone else. And now I'll smoke a cigarrette And blow the smoke in your little heart... Because you are a bad, bad person... Bad, you are bad, yes... Bad, you are bad, always... Bad, you are a bad person.

For a comparison of accents, listen to this rendition of the same song, by Mexican singer Yuridia.
You will notice that she, as opposed to Bebe:

• does not posses /θ/, as can be expected from Latin Americans, and so, for example, pronounces corazon as [koɾa'son] and acero as [a'seɾo], unlike Bebe who says [koɾa'θon] and [a'θeɾo].
• pronounces /s/ in all positions (the vast part of Mexico is among the few regions that does not see the change /s/ > [h] in any position, though it is heard in a few places within the country). So we have Yuridia saying apareciste [apaɾe'siste], mujeres [mu'xeɾes], and eres ['eɾes], while Bebe says [apaɾe'θi̞hte], [mu'xeɾɛh] , and ['eɾɛh]. Yuridia renders the phrase una vez más as [unaβ̞es'mas], whereas Bebe sings [unaβ̞eθ'mæ̞h].
• retains all final consonsants, particularly /-r/, as in cantar [kan'tar], quemar [ke'mar], olor [o'lor], por favor [porfa'β̞or].
• retains /d/ in all positions, i.e. cansada [kan'sað̞a] (but she keeps the morao from the original).
• replaces puta (whore) with bruta (stupid), which, more than anything, has to do with differences in television censorship between the two continents (America and Europe).