Last Names Spelling

Question

My question has has to do with a last name spelling. Ynostrosa vs Ynostroza. As with pronunciation of the letters S and Z, when and why does the letter change from an S to a Z or vice versa? (Originally the name was Henestrosa (Seville area).

Answer 1

Hi RudyY1946,

Since the Spanish 'z' has a sound very similar to 's' it is not surprising that it has changed in spelling (an orthographical change) due to 'sound change.'

Why does this occur? There are a number of reasons ranging from error in transcription (or purposeful, given the clerk - note the changes made to foreign last names as individuals came through Ellis island to the United States), to natural assimilation of grammar changes.

In the case of [Y]nostrosa arriving from [He]nestrosa, it is not a far jump from the 'He' sound to the 'Y (ee)' sound, if not quite the same. Again, this could have happened from transcription error or simply ease in vowel sounds (the tongue works less hard to travel from 'ee' to 'nos' than it does for 'he' to 'nos').

I hope this helps!

¡Gracias!

Joshua

Good explanation. - katydew, Sep 2, 2012

Thank you, Katy! - SpanishExamples, Sep 4, 2012